Tiger
Bear Hunting Magazine|January/February 2017

I’ve been approached about writing a story about one of my best bear dogs. I am not a story writer, but I will take a stab at it.

Leroy Haug
Tiger

Now, I don’t have any fancy names for my dogs, so just plain old Tiger will have to do. I’ve hunted with a bunch of old timers and their best bear dogs were named just plain old Joe, Bob, Dan or something like that. Nowadays, you pick up some book and you see a dog that has treed a coon, bear or lion and after the first three or four other names you’ll find his name. Now, I never could figure out if it makes him any better or does it just make the story better.

Anyhow, here is my story on a dog, a Plott that goes by the name of Tiger. Back when I was still active, I had a pack of Plotts that I let Chip Sprague hunt for me. Chip was from the state of Massachusetts. Let me tell you that Chip was a hard hunter. He kept this pack in the woods almost every day. He hunted whenever the season was open.

I hunted every year Chip had my dogs up there. Anyhow, my friend and I pulled into his yard one evening and after introducing my friend to Chip I said, “Where are the dogs?” as I noticed all the doghouses were empty except one. Chip said, “They are all at the vets. As I got on a really mean bear and every one of the dogs got tore up something bad, except Tiger. The only reason he isn’t tore up is because he treed a bear himself.”

As this was going to be a 2-week hunt, I thought, “what are we going to do?” Chip replied, “Don’t worry, we still have Tiger.” I said, “One dog for 2 weeks?” Chip said, “He’ll tree us a bear every day. That is, if he doesn’t get torn up.”

This story is from the January/February 2017 edition of Bear Hunting Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the January/February 2017 edition of Bear Hunting Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM BEAR HUNTING MAGAZINEView All
THE END OF 2020, CHALLENGES COMING IN 2021
Bear Hunting Magazine

THE END OF 2020, CHALLENGES COMING IN 2021

SOMETHINGS EVERY SPORTSMAN OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT. STAY ENGAGED!

time-read
7 mins  |
January - February 2021
SPRING HUNTING IN MAINE
Bear Hunting Magazine

SPRING HUNTING IN MAINE

In 1982 Maine closed its spring season, but you can still spring hunt with an outfitter on some tribal lands.

time-read
3 mins  |
January - February 2021
Bear Hunting Magazine

Bears & Gobblers

SPRING BEAR & TURKEY IN MONTANA

time-read
9 mins  |
January - February 2021
Western Bear Hunting
Bear Hunting Magazine

Western Bear Hunting

Picking the right outfitter - Picking the right outfitter can make or break your experience.

time-read
6 mins  |
January - February 2021
Three Phases of the Spring
Bear Hunting Magazine

Three Phases of the Spring

Understanding the Pros & Cons in the Timing of Spring Bear Hunting

time-read
8 mins  |
January - February 2021
Extreme Utility
Bear Hunting Magazine

Extreme Utility

Jeff Senger kills for a living.

time-read
7 mins  |
January - February 2021
Canning - Bear Meat
Bear Hunting Magazine

Canning - Bear Meat

The last six months my non-hunting friends asking increasingly specific questions about how to turn animals into meat.

time-read
6 mins  |
January - February 2021
Bear Dogs - East vs West
Bear Hunting Magazine

Bear Dogs - East vs West

The term “bear dog” means something different to every houndsman.

time-read
8 mins  |
January - February 2021
Alaska - One Last Grizzly (DIY)
Bear Hunting Magazine

Alaska - One Last Grizzly (DIY)

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER, BUT THE AUTHOR HAS HAD A HECK OF A RUN ON ARCTIC GRIZZLY

time-read
10+ mins  |
January - February 2021
Understanding Skull Size in Evaluating Trophy Black Bear
Bear Hunting Magazine

Understanding Skull Size in Evaluating Trophy Black Bear

Black bears can be one of the most difficult big game animals to judge before the shot.

time-read
7 mins  |
November - December 2020