Registered: Jan 2013
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Just wanting some feedback on what works best for people starting pups by them selfs. I have a pup that will be 7 months old the end of march. What are the best methods to getting one going alone? Thanks for any help.

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Patience.

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A feeder maybe by then kittens should be here

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Couple things I would do. The first is catch coon in a live trap that you release for the pup to give it a known good track to run. I would try to do this a couple times a month while hunting the pup in between sessions. I would for sure have myself at best a garmin tracking system or at least a bell and a flashing collar light. This will help you keep track of the pup and be able to praise it the moment something good happens like treeing. If you hunt when the leaves are off often you can see the coon sitting up before the pup finds it and you can be right there to encourage them if they say start checking the tree.

To me the real key is getting a pup to tree that first coon. After that I feel like it has a sense of what it is supposed to do. After that all you can really do is hunt it. Take it to places you feel it has a good chance of striking a track and hunt it for an hour. Sometimes that may be walking it along if it won't go hunting or maybe it will just bolt out of there an go. The most important thing is you are giving it a good opportunity and exposure. If you start it at a good time of year like spring and take it out 25 or 30 times for an hour at a pop that pup should be doing something. Some nights will totally stink, some nights you will be grinning ear to ear, but you have to put the dog in coon. Just like fishing, even a great fisherman can't catch what isn't there.

After the pup starts all you can do is hunt it and make corrections or praise the good. What it is capable of will come out from its genetics. Likely it won't make the dog you have dreamed of, but it may. If you don't do anything to mess it up too bad you can't blame yourself. So much of these dogs is pre-wired.

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Last edited by Ron Ashbaugh on 01-08-2013 at 05:16 PM

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1. Obedience train it.
Train to sit, stay, come, no, and heel. I also train a pup the command behind. It is easier walking out of a swamp with a dog behind you than beside you. I also train "up" and "in" for loading into a truck and dog box or for kennel.

2. Then take pup to the woods, creeks, and swamps in the daylight for walks to familiarize the pup. I also recommend introducing a pup to water and fences. I do this until the pup starts to actively hunt anything whether it is rabbits, squirrels, turkeys, or even deer. This is the time to start more serious training.

3. Little pups, I do play with them with a dried coon skin. I do not do any serious training or laying drags. Just a play time toy.

4. Serious training, release live trapped coon for young dog, but do not let the young dog see the coon or the live trap. Once the young dog runs and trees discontinue this exercise. After this you can hunt alone in areas that a easy coon can be treed. If you live in area with few coons, you can hunt with an old dog, but beware any faults the old dog has is likely to be copied by a young dog. Once a young dog trees a couple of times with old dog, single it out to hunt by itself. If the young dog struggles too much go back to old dog. Try to put the young dog in positive situations.

The above it just a general outline to follow. A trainer must learn to read their dog. The dog will often clearly let you know when it is time to advance.

Finally, read several good books about training such as Walk with Wick and Vicki Lamb's book Dynamic's of Hound Training Vol. 1.

F&T is a good vendor to purchase these books.

http://www.fntpost.com

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Going out on a limb by saying that 80 - 90%?? of young dogs are started by hanging caged coon in a tree, roll cages then hunted under the old dogs and shooting coon to the old dog and watching those pups tear into waisted meat.

Larry gave great advice. For those of us that dont have or take time for caged coons do all the above except trap coon. By using Larry steps a good young pup should have treed 20, 30 coon alone befor ever seeing what a dead coon is. This stage one has an exceptionally well started young dog or pup and should be hunted strickly alone,,unless you pleasure hunt with buddies only.

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If you live in a rural area, letting him run loose at night will help alot. Some dogs take longer than others to start. I had one that wouldn't even bark at a caged coon at 9 months old. He started at about 15the months old. I just kept taking him to the woods and he finally caught on. Good luck!

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invest in walk with wick books

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quote:

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Originally posted by Jr123
Just wanting some feedback on what works best for people starting pups by them selfs. I have a pup that will be 7 months old the end of march. What are the best methods to getting one going alone? Thanks for any help.

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Lee Currens Jr.
let it be a pup they will tell you when its time to go if its not
soon enough for you ??? it send it.i cant give 1 grit,heart. [/QUOTE

I dont understand this. Im trying but it doesnt register.

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I prefer to let a pup run loose for a couple of months, it will help them Greatly, once a pup start getting out and hunting just a little I will take them alone, just ease thru the woods and be Patient with them, once they start tracking and treeing, and doing it on their own it just gets easier every time out and they don't rely on another dog..........Tim

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Would you hunt a pair of pups about 8 months old together or alone?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Jr123
Would you hunt a pair of pups about 8 months old together or alone?

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Alone for sure. Pups together generally want to compete and you end up with long trash runs. I only work one pup a year because with working, most of us do not have the time to train two pups seperatly....not saying it cant be done. If you have plenty of time and can work them both alone on a regular basis and not end up leaving them in the kennel too much, then go ahead and train both.Thats just my opinion on training both rabbit and coonhounds...but if i want to train new deer dogs, i always train a few at a time cause it gives them more drive to run whatever they can find to run. Hope this helps and good luck.

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Registered: Jan 2007
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Get him in the woods as much as you can and let him do what comes natural, if he sees a rabbit cross the trail in front him he should want to chaise it, or any other games he sees, I don’t have a problem with letting a young hound chaise whatever he wants when he’s young, he’s got to learn to chaise game before he can tree anything ...... just let him do what comes natural !
you can break him of off game when the time comes

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I agree with ya ray. I have a lot of rabbits around the house and love it when i see a 6 month old chase a rabbit...the ones i had that never gave chase to a house cat or rabbit, never ended up chasing coons. When i see them run deer a few times(about 8 months old) ill slip a shock coller on them and then they come running back to me scared of the deer that just shocked them. Thats just what has worked for me. People that try and trash break before the hound is trailing coons usually never have a decent dog...just from the guys ive hunted with.

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Step 1. I have an old coon hide that is tanned, that I spray coon scent on. i connect to a fishing line. I place this hide behind a building near the kennel. I set it up so I'm hidden and pull this coon hide past the kennel just before dark. When they go nuts barking and trying to eat through the kennel to get it, then I know they are ready for
Step 2. Lay a drag out thru the pasture and hang this hide up in a tree (up high). When they work this drag and tree the hide, ready for step 3.
Step 3. Take them to the woods, walk out in the woods a hundred yards or so, turn them loose and I set down on a log. I don't walk hunt them much, let them get use to going alone. Once they are hunting out good, usually about the 15th time ready for step 4. Note: If pup can run loose on a farm, it reduces the amount of times you have to take them, to learn or get use hunting out.
Step 4. Turn loose a cage coon in the same woods they are use to. Wait 10 full minutes, go get pup and turn pup loose so they will eventually cross the track of the released coon. When they run and tree the cage coon, tie pup back, shoot coon out to them. Return to step 3.
Step 5. Lots more of step 3. Except I set at the truck.

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Bump

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This is a great time to use feeder buckets. Walk him to it the first couple times then after a while he will go on his own. I even used my deer camera to see when the coon were coming to try to get a hot scent

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quote:

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Originally posted by bridger80
This is a great time to use feeder buckets. Walk him to it the first couple times then after a while he will go on his own. I even used my deer camera to see when the coon were coming to try to get a hot scent

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i would use feeders if not then turn a coon loose at night then see what he does if nothin then just walk the woods a while to see if he can pick up on anything

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