Registered: Jan 2007
Location: Al
Posts: 3070

I have a 5 month old Walker pup, i have not had this pup in the woods yet becaue it is turkey season and i cant hunt right now and also i wanted to make sure he was ready to take to the woods , and not be scared to death of every thing that moves.
thats not really the issue, i was wondering how to go about starting this pup, you see he is going to be a bit slower than id like and im not used to hunting a dog that cant keep up with another hound, now i know at 5 months old there isent any pup going to be a speed driver but , i am saying this pup mostlikly wont ever be a fast hound, what would be yawls opinion on starting this pup, should i trade him for somthing that would suit me better or should i just try to work this pup alone and let him do his own thing. yawl give me your 2 cents i can take it

I belive this pup will make a nice young hound in his own way, he probable will have a good nose and be a hard tree dog,but that will only be proven in time im sure .

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Registered: Feb 2007
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 667

I can't tell you what you should do with your pup.I'll share a little of what we do with ours and maybe it will help you with your decision.
My son and I bought 2 littermate sisters at weaning age.Brought them home, my 2 grand children age 2 and 4 fell in love with them,like most children do.The back yard is chain link 100'x125',the puppies had free roam of that,along with playing with the children,being socialised to the fullest.

After a month in the back yard the pups were moved to a 2 acre pen that ajoins the back yard. They have free roam,nice dog houses,auto feeders and fresh water.We put bark collars on them the first couple days because naturally they would want back in the yard to play with the children or come in the house etc.

These pups were also taken on trips to the woods in the daytime when we were driving the ranger.They would explore everything like puppies do and it helped them to become woods wise.

Between the 4th and 5th month of age, these two pups were treeing squirrels in their new pen.It's a wooded area with lots of den trees and several squirrels.When these pups were 5 1/2 months old they were shown a coon in a roll cage, they both went absolutely nuts over the cage coon.We put the coon in a tree and let the pups tree on it for 10 minutes,then put the pups in the dog kennel (6'x10'). That has been their new home since that time.

The pups are now 7 1/2 months old. Tuesday 4-1, we brought the pups to the woods and showed them their 2nd cage coon,turned the coon loose so the pups could see it run off. One of the pups barked as soon as it smelled coon scent, the other was hunting the coon by sight but shortly found out it was going to have to use it's nose if it wanted to find the coon.

Luckily the coon only ran about 150 yards and went up a small oak tree.Both pups tracked then treed the coon.We allowed them to tree for 20 minutes or so then leashed them,put them in the dog box and came home.(No,we didn't shoot the coon out to them)

We'll do the turn loose coon routine a few more times until we feel they're ready to hunt real-time.

Hope the input helps you with your decision. James

Last edited by James200 on 04-03-2008 at 06:28 PM

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Registered: Jan 2007
Location: Al
Posts: 3070

Thanks, well i havent had this pup in the woods and he has free run in my yard at home behind a chain link fence, he is with my older dog, that runs loose as well, im just concerned hes not going to have the pee and vinegar i like in a hound and will be a long time getting to no where soon type of hound, i guess thats ok for some but im not that patient anyway, i think ill get me a drag and fool with him some and get him intested in senting, and then just take him a few times erly in the evening before dark , i think he will be fairly game minded , iv just never trained a a slow dog, mine have all come from fast track hounds.
The main thing is i just dont want to ruin this pup and make a mouthy babler out of him because he cant keep up !

Sounds like you have it down as fare as getting yours started

keepum in the woods

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Registered: Feb 2007
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 667

Yes, starting a pup is the easy part as long as it has the right type of grey matter between the ears.It's a big plus if a pup is gamey and out-going. You're right @ knowing early on if a pup will suit your preference.

We enjoy messing with pups then getting them to a point where someone else can finish them into a coondog.Once in a while that special pup will come along that a guy will keep till it dies of old age.

Good luck to you and your pup.

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Registered: Jan 2007
Location: Al
Posts: 3070

Well iv worked with a lot of pups through the years , this one seems to catch on pretty quick to some things, i took him for his first ride on the pickup yesterday afternoon, i didnt put him in the box i figured he would do better in the open air so i just leassed him up on the back and eased along down the road and through the woods letting him enjoy the scenory
he dindnt know so much about all that untill the cool breaze started hitting him in the face then he kinda got to liking it i think
I may try to teach this pup to road hunt, iv never had a hound that would do that and be strait , im just weighing my options with this one.
summer is fast aproching its gona get misserable hot her

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Registered: Jan 2007
Location: Al
Posts: 3070

Took my pup in the woods Saturday afternoon about dusk dark, we had a lot of rain that morning, about 4 1/2 inches at my house.
I took Louie & the pup and we went down behind the house just slipping around not trying to do much just get used to the woods.
Luie didnt want to vinture out to much though, he is not a road dog so as long as we walked in the road he didnt get to fare from me, the pup stayed pretty close but had his nose to the ground most of the time and never seemed to get nurvouse about anything along the way so i was pleased with what i saw so far
The rain had filled a lot of the ruts in some cut over so the pup got to get his feet wet also, he even fell in the water one time , i figured that would be good for him in the future just so hed know hes not gona drown in every spot of water he comes to lol
anyway just letting yawl know im pleased so far

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I'm still trying to figure out how you are able to determine a pup will be a slow one when he is only 5 months old and never been to the woods.

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Registered: Jan 2007
Location: Al
Posts: 3070

Well, it all starts with the feet and legs

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Registered: Apr 2008
Location: NW, FL
Posts: 32

I would probably get rid of him. Seems like he really doesn't strike your fancy to start with. It will be hard for him to overcome your preset notions of him. I am not saying that to be a smart butt. That is how I am with dogs. If there is something about them that does not suite me then it is hard for me to ever give them a fair shake.

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Registered: Jan 2007
Location: Al
Posts: 3070

I hear you, well like Jim said he is only 5 months old and he hasent filled out quit yet so we will see. ill give him a while longer.
he really dosent have to act like a gray hound i just dont want him to be on the tail end of every thing . if he like some one said has the gray between the ears he can overcome alot with just plain coon sence

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Registered: Jan 2007
Location: Al
Posts: 3070

Well, I got home yesterday afternoon and desided id take the dogs out for a walk in the woods it was a little warm but it was overcast and a little windy so i figured it would be ok.
We walked down an old two trail road behind my house about a 1/4 mile or so and i wanted to get in to the creek swamp with my pup so he could get aqainted with running water.
well he did fine ,he came up to the creek bank and not knowing how to negotiate the banks and how to cross he just lumberd off in the water and then had to deside how to get out in tipical pup style Old Louie made his way over and from there the pup just trotted off behind him, they stayed gone probubly fifteen or tweenty Minits and i hear Louie open , the pup never said a word the whole time they where gone , after about its seemed like another fifteen minits or so, Louie opend up the branch aways so i eased up to get even with them and i could see him and the pup together . the pup was right with him as he was trailing and the pup never said a word out of place just followed like he was supose to. Louie finely treed on the creek bank and i had to cross the creek to get to him, the pup saw me and came to me and i petted him for doing so good on his second time in the woods .
Louie had treed in a small but Hollow tree right on the bank of a little slue off the creek and i couldent find nothing so i told him lets go and the pup and Louie followed me back to the house

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Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Indiana
Posts: 6168

I don't know who Luie is, but it sounds like your fears of the pup not being able to "keep up" are unfounded.

Sounds like he's keeping up just fine, at five months old, and on his second trip to the woods..... All the while learning to navigate all of the obstacles that come into his life for the first time.....

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Registered: Jan 2007
Location: Al
Posts: 3070

Louie is a white paperd Kemmer Cur ,he is about 7 years old
just right to start a pup with he hunts medium to wide and checks back within 5 to 15 minits if not after somthing.
as far as keeping up, the pup is doing really well so far just milling around and trailing. when the real test comes is when he gets his nose full of sent and has to trail and bark

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Registered: Apr 2008
Location: Meadville, PA
Posts: 21

I would stick with that pup. I had a pup that was the runt of the litter but he eventually turned out to be a really big dog. Really fast too. He just took King of the Show and came close in the hunt in our local hunt last weekend. Just give him time and see what he turns out to be like.

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