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Starting young

Are we coon hunters as a whole missing out on good dogs and good traits and good DNA because we are demanding that pups start too soon and demanding that young dogs mature too fast ? What if there are abilities and traits we never see and are missing out on because the later starting pups are being culled out of the gene pool over a period of time ? Just something I was thinking. What do y'all think ?

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For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John3:16

John Wick has a article on that very same subject in this month's American Corner magazine

I give them longer than most because here there is no crop farming so coons have to work for a living and it goes from wet and cold to dry and hot over night you need a dog a little more on the ground than most would like and one that is accurate or your not going to see many coons it takes time for a young dog to learn the tricks of the trade here but a coondog here will tree coons anywhere I like one that every time you take it you see improvement.

Why would you want a dog that's slow to start or reproduces slow starting pups? What's the reasoning behind that? Is a pup that starts running and treeing their own coons at 18 months worth more or more pleasurable to hunt than a pup that's treeing coon at 6-9 months old? Wouldn't that be like pull in the v-8 out of your truck and sticking a Briggs in it? Breed for more natural smarter more train able pups isn't that the goal?

I like them to start young 6-8 months old but I don't expect them to be a finished dog at a young age. For my area it takes a long time to train a dog.

Rob I don't think he is talking about starting early and treeing coons early I think he is talking about the finished product if they ain't a pretty good dog by time they a 2 yrs old here they are gone.

One of the best i was ever in the woods with did nothing until he was 2 years old. My buddy would have killed him but he was a present from his wife. One night he just went the other way from the dogs and treed a coon. After that he treed coon all the time. One thing, didn't reproduce, but then maybe never bred to the right kind of females. The problem with late starting dogs is that you also can have 2 years in one that never makes it. But I also wonder if there might be a connection with starting early and just being average later. Have seen several that started strong but never made much but also some that started early and never looked back. Just way too much we don't know about breeding coon dogs.

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Tom Wood

That's what I mean too adios!!sucker. Just depends on what you can put up with I guess.

Well the ones on my country that start running track first and treeing second
Have always made better dogs !, and more accuarte ! You have to trail them before you the them but when I'm talking late I'm talking 13-14 months old before they start treeing but they start running anything that will run from them at 4-5 months old and like there ties to it

I agree that something has changed. I was out of coon hunting for 20 years. Was used to pups that would run a track and maybe tree a little. Got back in and now have had pups that tree before they ever run a track. Maybe that is good but it does seem a real track dog is a little harder to find.

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Tom Wood

Preacher Tom I have experienced the exact opposite!lol

Rob Thompson, I believe I saw where you won a pretty big hunt in Oklahoma. Congratulations

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Tom Wood

Rob Thompson, I believe I saw where you won a pretty big hunt in Oklahoma. Congratulations

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Tom Wood

quote:

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Originally posted by Preacher Tom
Rob Thompson, I believe I saw where you won a pretty big hunt in Oklahoma. Congratulations

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Rob that's the problem with getting old, I can't remember the details. Anyway it's pretty good to win an RQE.

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Tom Wood

quote:

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Originally posted by Preacher Tom
Rob that's the problem with getting old, I can't remember the details. Anyway it's pretty good to win an RQE.

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I'm not specifically saying that starting late of maturing late is a good thing. That's not what I mean. I mean that through years and years of culling out that type is there also collateral damage also ? Are we losing good genes because of this ?

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For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John3:16

We very well could be losing out on some genes. There's many possibilities that could go in this theory. We could be pushing for more maturing dogs but in actuality be getting ones that never fully mature. What I mean is are we trying to push for a dog the matures faster but getting ones that never really do? Look at some of the big pup winners. Where do they disappear to after they hit 4? Do those pups never really come into their prime. Do they kind of fizzle out at 4? Do some of these dogs just not really make the grade when hunted with the big boys? There's a bunch of them that get sold to pleasure hunters or guys that never hit the hunts hard.