Registered: May 2016
Location: Palatka, FL
Posts: 5106

You know 45 years ago I just wanted a dog to bark up a tree so when my buddies dogs were treeing, so mine didn't look so stupid. 45 years later I am still doing it and still get totally involved when a young dog does good. Now today to me a young dog doing good is more than just barking up a tree.
Had a young guy with me last night and he has been paying close attention to my words of wisdom. lol We had a young dog get treed and done a real nice job. He said anymore it is not if they will tree because they are going to. Is is how many mistakes they make on the way to the tree. That about sums it up. The total balanced package.

I have a young dog that in my opinion I have trained at a slow pace. He comes from a running stock of hounds and at 6 months old was the best hunting and strike dog I have ever owned. He made me question is ability to strike vs babbling several times. See, I don't care what the competition or even your buddies say. I want to know the truth about what a hound is doing. "The Truth Will Set You Free". When he was 9 and 10 months of age I kind of stopped hunting him because the older dog would get treed with a coon and he still wanted to track. I DO NOT want to drag a pup to a tree to show it a coon the older dog has treed. I just don't train them that way. I want them on their own tree and I will show them that coon and give them all of those coons they want to seen. Just not at a tree with another dog, especially if the other dog treed it. Anyway about a month ago I started letting this dog out on 4 acres I have fenced and he started to track the squirrels around. You could see everyday the treeing interest pick up. I said enough of that and I put a bark collar on him and let him just run around get shocked when he would bark at them. Well two nights ago I said it was time to try him hunting by himself. He was 13 months old this week. I cut him loose and he didn't go far and treed his first coon. Didn't shoot it, just took him to the truck and carried him home. Last night I hunted him with a female I have. From turnout to tree is was a long ways and they ended up split tree 30 yards apart. Both had coon. Didn't shoot any out. Then I cut him by himself. He got in the woods, struck and worked the track about 300 yards towards a oak hammock. The track started to get worse and every coonhunter doesn't like that. Anyway he made a circle around the oak hammock trailing around it and came out the other side. He went about a hundred more yards and came treed. He had the coon. Didn't shoot that one out either. I couldn't be more pleased with this dog. He is a very hard going pup and my next challenge is playing my cards right because he is extremely driven and I don't want showing him a coon to upset what he is doing in anyway.
It is not about how many coon he will tree because that will be a bunch. It is about how many coon he can tree without making mistakes. I want that to be a bunch also. Anymore I don't train them to tree coon, because they will do that. I train them not to make mistakes and that is anything that will get you minus points.
I hate coon hunting because that is all I think about. lol
Fixing to pack my bags and spend 3 days away with my wife and the whole time I will be thinking about getting back Sunday night and getting to the woods with my pup.

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Last edited by Bruce m. Conkey on 05-26-2016 at 03:32 PM

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Registered: Mar 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 338

Guilty! My wife knows when I'm thinking about hunting, she says I get look on my face and its 1 of 2 things, dogs or guns lol

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Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Western NC
Posts: 1529

What!? Your super pup treed some solos and you didn't knock em out!? Are you sure you think you know what you're doing!? I mean how often you still hear how a young dog needs everyone he trees? Especially a heavy track dog?

Sheesh, just when I thought you was an expert...😉

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Registered: May 2016
Location: Palatka, FL
Posts: 5106

Adam I think this dog saw one caged coon when it was 4 months old. He liked it. He saw one cage coon being drug up a tree because I was trying to get him to look up at about 8 months old. He liked it. I did shoot one out when he was about 9 months old to another dog that treed, while he was tracking around the tree. He was more interested in tracking lol. This is like a chess game. Now he is looking up and doing his job pretty close to very good for a young dog. The next move is mine and that move is about how I reward him with a coon.
I want to to be at a time when showing him that coon will make him more solid on what he is doing. Not at a time when there is no improvement to be had or might take him over the edge in intensity. Probably the old cold track he works up and trees and needs some assurance that he picked the right tree. Don't think he needs the hot easy coon he trees. Don't want to get him too reved up and if he gets to treeing many trees without a coon in them, it won't be the coon getting the gun pointed at them. Then, I would have to live with that for many years thinking where I went wrong.
That is the beauty of working hounds. If my training methods work it will be the results of all the hounds in the past my methods didn't work on and the experience I gained form that.

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Last edited by Bruce m. Conkey on 05-26-2016 at 03:06 PM

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Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Western NC
Posts: 1529

Right on man.

It's a thinking game, each hound can be so different and respond differently.

You would be surprised how nearly identical the situation you describe with your pup is compared to one I'm hunting now as well. Track, track, track. But man oh man she likes to have that coon and trees solid now. I too gave her about the 3rd or 4th one she treed, but it seemed to take the edge off so it's been a long time since she tasted one and now she trees even more intense than ever. And independent as heck. Good luck. Thanks for sharing.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Central Michigan
Posts: 6544

Howdy Bruce,

Glad to hear your young dog is doing well. First of all let's get the disclaimer out of the way, all dogs are different and what works or doesn't depends on the dog.

I had a female several years ago that I liked. I pretty much had the same thought. I would reward her on tuff tracks and trees. She really pulled a couple of coons out of the hat her first real winter hunting so I rewarded her. The thing is I noticed she started to gamble on trees.

After that, I actually started mixing it up on what kind of tracks & trees she received rewards for. Have many fond memories of her today.

Oh, and on the weekend thing, it could be worse.

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Larry Atherton

Aim small miss small

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: North GA
Posts: 14388

I'll take this wipeout pup off your hands

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Michael Ghorley

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Registered: Jul 2007
Location:
Posts: 3075

It's not how many coon you give them it giving them the rite coon at the rite time !!!! I hope I am dead and gone before coon hunting goes away due to lack of land or any of the other reasons it is lnot as popular as it use to be !! But on the other hand I can see it now conkeys hound and hunting REHAB!!!! Would propqbly. Be rough the first couple months if it didn't kill us !! Lol glad your pup is doing good Bruce !!

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Dog House
Posts: 4112

Bruce this is interesting. Keep us posted on the pup.
I myself have always rather took a whuppin than not give a pup the first couple they tree alone and do it right.
I really enjoy reading other folks training methods and thoughts on the subject. thanks,
marv

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Registered: May 2016
Location: Palatka, FL
Posts: 5106

Elvis I look at training as situational. Perhaps actually fitting my logic more than what really should be done. I got a report on a brother to him and this pup has treed about 15 coon by himself. Then he went back to trailing more than treeing. Like I told a good friend. you just do your best with the young ones and have fun doing it. The cream will come to the top and over ride a lot of bad training. Kind of like a triple crown race horse. They come out of the starting gate and don't look back. Yes decisions on how hard to train comes into play but you do it one way and it works and if you did it another it might of worked also. We both know the genetics these dog have mean a lot. I just feel the genetics have improved to a level you have to decrease some of the things you did years ago. I haven't patted on a tree in years to get a dog excited at the tree. Heck I am almost scared to lean against one. Lol

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Registered: Jul 2004
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 2768

Lmao. True story !

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Friends don't let friends hunt blueticks

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Registered: Jan 2004
Location: Northwest Georgia
Posts: 1630

Bruce, I am with you on that, no tree petting, no patting the tree and no stinking coon squaller unless you already see eye's.
My rules if you are going to hunt some of my pups, and my dogs are considered track dogs also.

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Striving to breed balanced Treeing Walkers.

"Life is short boys, Hunt an intelligent hound"

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Registered: Jul 2003
Location: mississippi
Posts: 345

Don't get the no squalling until you see coon eyes part. I want encourage one to tree till I see eyes,,,,,and then not alot of encouragement. But down here in these huge oaks and cypress you will not see a majority of them unless you do hit a squaller. And then your lucky if they do look.

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James Winston Young, Baldwyn,Mississippi

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Registered: Jan 2004
Location: Northwest Georgia
Posts: 1630

I am just a stickler for accuracy and when training a young dog there are two paths he can take, 1) show me a coon (praise) and 2) slick tree - scolding,punishment.
An older dog that has a very good track record for having a coon, not that big of deal.(squaller)

Just see so many young fellas walk right in and start squalling, getting the pup in a treeing frenzy and there is nothing there!
You are reinforcing to him that it is OK, that nothing is there.
Either find the coon, then reinforce,or just pull him off and go on. Just my take on training a young hound

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Striving to breed balanced Treeing Walkers.

"Life is short boys, Hunt an intelligent hound"

Born in sin, convicted by the Word, saved by Grace.

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Registered: Jan 2015
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 191

Let me rephrase, I dont encourage the dog on the tree until I see the coon. shoulda read it more closely.

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