Registered: Dec 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 2027

A lot of pups start like your describing, from what I hear a lot of grown finished dogs are like that to. As far as not ranging. If it were me, I would worry more about the slicking issue. Once he learns not to slick, which is kinda hard to teach while the leaves are on. I then would work on the ranging. Unless your in thin coon, I wouldn't worry about it all that much. He should improve little by little by time.
He most likely will never be more then a medium hunter, but I myself included and I know a lot of other guys don't really care to hunt a dog that never comes back. Makes for a lot of long nights, if the coon aren't moving. Besides where I live, if a dog goes more then a half mile, he is running past coon, and most likely will end up getting run over at some point.
How far a dog ranges is personal preference thing imo.

Drive and Energy Levels are closely related imo. Some dogs when there not feeling a 100% either related to poor nutrition or worms, or lymes, may look a lot worse then what they are capable of.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location:
Posts: 1586

Dogs either have it or they don't... Go ahead and "thrash" him.. Teach him to range out further to hide from you is all you'll do....

There's a couple things you can try that may make a little bit of a difference but he is mature... If he's not a hunting dog now, he's not gonna be a hunting dog ever...

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Registered: Dec 2012
Location: Reedsburg, WI
Posts: 86

Thanks for interest yet. After hunting him regurally again he's getting out better. Let him out in open fields having to get to the woods or corn to find coon has maybe helped too. But he is looking better than when I first posted.

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