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-- opposum breaking 101 (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/showthread.php?threadid=928366790)

Never ...ever ... ever .. EVER!!! shoot game out to .. or in front of a dog that you don't want them to hunt ... they see you shoot it , but can't understand why they are in trouble for it ?

Never .. ever .. try to outsmart a dog's nose or intuition ..ever . Fake set-ups or dumping them out to shock them .. it will not fool them .


be consistant .. if you have cut them slack when it's just you and the dog ... don't go ape-poo when it happens in front of your friends and the dog wants slack again ... a mild method done consitantly will go farther than the extreme executed randomly.

I didnt shoot the opposum out i shook it out. I treat him the same when its just
Me and him as i do when im with somebody else. Im trien to make a coon dog not friends. I tried the pulling him off saying no. Tried the pulling his ear as i pulled him off the tree. Now im trien to beat him with it.

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jason

quote:

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Originally posted by ole hoss
I didnt shoot the opposum out i shook it out. I treat him the same when its just
Me and him as i do when im with somebody else. Im trien to make a coon dog not friends. I tried the pulling him off saying no. Tried the pulling his ear as i pulled him off the tree. Now im trien to beat him with it.

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The sound of the rifle cracking.

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jason

quote:

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Originally posted by ole hoss
I tried that and it didnt work on mine.

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breaking em

I believe that breaking them off the possum track instead of the tree is a more effective way. Find one crossing the road or turn one loose and let him start trailing it and e collar him. Don't wait til he trees it. Hey, it works on other off game. A deer can't climb a tree so this is the only option we have to break from running them. I'm no expert by any means but i think this way may help. Good luck

.........Stop a habit before it starts.....,I assume all my pups will chase anything therefore I have learned to introduce deer and possums to them very early in a negative manner in a controlled setting most times before they ever tree their first coon.Why wait and let it happen,.. Most will need a Bi Annually dose but some will pull your hair out if you wait too long and breaking a dog from unwanted game the wrong way at the wrong time will create even more bad issues....You gotta be smarter than the dog....

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Reedy Creek Kennel

training

have any of you guys ever been whipped with a opossom or had your ribs kicked in in a beer joint.i don't understand some of your training methods if i was your dog and i got out of scite of your lite you would nt see me no moe. i havecoon hunted over 50 yrs so whats the matter with the old slap cap we use to use. it worked the same as a news paper rolled up and there was not near as many coon.point is you do not haft to mame to train.treat you dog like you treat your child. never corect while mad. we seem to be stronger when mad.

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-Leonard-

Maybe some of you took this wrong so let me explain it. The pup has been treeing coons consitently since he was 6 months old by his self. We have shot probably 10 out to him. Every now and then he would tree a opposum. At first i just pulled him off thinking it wont be a problem. Didnt help. Then id twist his ear and say no. Didnt work. So now im letting him know when he trees them they hurt. Maybe it aint right maybe it is. I ask what you guys do to break yours. Ive tried the easy loveing and it did not work. He is still young and im trien to break him while hes young. Dont want a two year old opposum dog.

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jason

Like to train at home. With shock collar. Catch a slick tail in a trap , show it to the pup he shows interest light him up . One of them things that can be done at home . Not under tree . Least he knows better . And not in woods

Interesting post

This is interesting. I've tried the "shoot-the-possum-out-and-shock-the-dog" method and all it did was teach the dog not to grab game when it hit the ground. Now I just scold the dog and lead him away. Possums are easy to find in the tree. When you walk in, look the tree over. If you see the grinner, scold the dog and lead it or as in the case with my dogs, "Come. Heel!" and walk away. Don't handle the dog or show any sign you are pleased until you are sure there's no possum there. If you know anything about training, your dog knows when you aren't happy.

The dog I'm hunting now will tree the occasional possum but I can tell by his trail bark if he's on one and I just scold and tell him to heel and he knows he screwed up. The possums are few and far between. Like his master, he messes up once in awhile.

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“ I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to each and every life. " - Ronald Reagan

im with shockin em off the tree done it to a bunch of them it works and has never taken the tree out of em!

Come on now Steve. What have you done, joined the Save A Possum Society? No No bad dog has never worked for me. Maybe those ole Plott hounds break easier than these hard headed walkers.

they way ive did it is when u get to the tree and as soon as u see a possum lead him away as soon as u can and scold him.when he trees a coons let him know how proud you are of him. main thing is bond with the dog so he will want to please you.

Just one more thing. The occasonial possum is like your old lady being a little bit pregnant. Either is or ain't. The occasional possum will jump up and bite you in the butt at the worst possible moment in competition. Already this year, with two different dogs, in the month of Feburary, one was leading the cast and stood to place high, and bam, a possum. Done. The other had never treed but one possum before and stood to win the hunt and going down to the wire, bam, another slicktail. With the expense and time involved in attending hunts that occasional possum sure gets expensive.
Use whatever method that you are comfortable, but after over 50 years of coonhunting I still think a pat on the head for a job well done and a swift kick on the other end for correction is the way to go.
If you are waiting for everyone to agree on a method, well, hope you have plenty of time.
If you are just a pleasure hunter, what the heck. The dog still sounds good under a grinner.

No, Yadkin, I do my homework with my dogs and when I say no they know exactly what that means. Many coon hunters think training involves turning them loose, catching them (maybe) and pushing a button. My methods are much more involved than that.

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“ I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to each and every life. " - Ronald Reagan