Mike,

I am not just a dog hunter. Iwalk in your shoes every season when still hunting my farm. Guys run their dogs all year and it sucks to have a nice crisp October morning interrupted by someones dogs running through. I know and can relate. For the most part I do the same thing many of you do "tolerate it". Yes it frustrates me and yes it has cost me time afield. The only thing we did(that was proactive)was develop a good relationship with the two wardens in the area and voiced our concerns. We also would catch and return dogs but rather than ask the dog drivers we would just ask for the name and number of the club president and speak directly with them in regards to problems. We surprisingly had good success with the main club in our area as my father is retired Navy and the club president was too andthe only peoples dogs we continue to have trouble with are some of the smaller unorganized clubs/groups of guys. It is really up to your local warden and authorities to fine and ticket those breaking the current laws on the books. The main laws that applyread as follows:

1.
When the chase begins on other lands, fox hunters and coonhuntersmay
follow their dogs on prohibited lands, and hunters of all other game, when the chase begins on other lands, may go upon prohibited lands to retrieve their dogs, but may not carry firearms or archery tackle on their persons or hunt any game while thereon. The use of vehicles to retrieve dogs on prohibited lands shall be allowed only with the permission of the landowner or his agent.

2.
Unlawful to hunt dogs when hunting any species with archery tackle during any archery season.(muzzleloader too as it coincides with the end of archery season)

3.
The training of dogs on live wild animals is considered hunting and is unlawful during the closed season.(There are some exceptions for rabbit and non-migratory game birds but not deer.)

I know for a fact that when we presentedour problemsand concerns(about enforcing laws)to our local wardens they responded and ticketed violators. There are laws and no they don't cover everything but if they are enforced and people start getting hit in their pocket they will change or hunt somewhere else. This is the main part of your post that bothers me "they have gotten no help from the authorities". That is unacceptable, those authorities have bosses and if enough heat is put on them something will change. It took us almost 3 seasons to see real results and we still have occasional problems but nowhere near what they were before. Light a fire under somebodies a$$(local authorities and wardens)is what I would try. I know that is not want you want to hear but it is the only real solution and if those local guys are in the clubs and are part of the problem then you go above them not just with a phone call but with documented events and other local landowners that will back you up.

Thanks for your 2 cents. I already shoot to a handicap of 9, but thanks for the advice. I should have known that you don't own land. It's funny to me that we see posts of guys paying for hunts, they get bashed and hear that others would NEVER pay to hunt. Now when I am looking for solutions to a legitimate problem, you tell me to take up golf. If you don't like reading pages on a certain thread, go to another thread that peaks your interest. To belittle and say we don't understand the tradition or have had a bad experience is moronic. It is not a pain in the but SOMETIMES! I can't hunt my own land because of the dogs. Seriously, this is a no-brainer, stick to breaking up the fights over Spiderman.

Same in FL

I do own land, sunshine. But its nice to see that you don't have issues with anger management[:-] Better hit that golf course and wack some balls to calm down.[&o]

One thing I don't understand is how it ruins hunts. I have had dogs run through my farm all morning while bowhunting and still kill deer in the evening. Go figure. The way a lot of people post is like huge packs of dogs run every deer off their property to another state and they never return. The dogs run only a small portion of all deer and they probably bother you and me more than most of the deer. But in fairness I don't do a ton of stillhunting on my farm when shotgun season is in so it could be different/worse then(i.e. more dogs). I usually am doing some late season bow/blackpowder on other land or hunting with my club on the big land(about 4000 acres).

New,

Folks don't seem to understand the Ying/Yang of stuff like this. The same thing that runs game away from you, might run it toward you. Hell, I need to write that down somewhere.

NEW,

That is one of the points I was trying to make. I realize that it can mess up your hunt, but at the same time I know of a lot of big bucks killed by still hunters as they were slipping away from dog pressure. Under normal conditions these bucks would have been bedded down.

Unfortunately, logic like that doesnt matter though if you are the type who would complain about a BJ.

I actually doubt the testimonials of some of these folks. They don't like dog hunting, so if they hear one howl over in the next section, suddenly they are claiming that there is a whole pack of them on their property. Yeah right, they ran every single deer off your land, knocked up your poodle, pissed on your BMW tires, then headed off to assault another homestead.

[quoteThe laws in the northeast seem to be a bit out of whack. They're apparently jailing a guy who shot a trespassing dog, and yet they allow perverted scumbags who have been convicted of repeatedly sexually molesting 4 year old boys to run free. Great priorities..[/quote]

Sorry but, these scumbags get jail time too, if the parents don't catch him/her first! Try itagain?

How much land do you own sunshine and how much did you pay for it? You just posted that $150k was too much money. You guys just don't get it. Why should I have to put up with anything that someone else does on land that I am paying for? You have compared people to your children, suggested I take up golf, said I need anger management, called me Sunshine, inferred someone here would complain about a BJ, joked about someone being an "anti", told me not to fly off the handle, and inferred that the people that are not agreeing with you are not telling the truth. Oh, and that there is probably only one dog, not a whole group. Thanks for all of your great input. The only theory or help you tried to add was your Yin/Yang theory. Nice, I hope that the Ohio DNR knows that they have a genious in the state. I would hate for all of your talent to go to waste.