Hoosier Outlaw
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jun 2010
Location: Marion, Indiana
Posts: 4280 |
Ive never seen a copy of Tom's book...but it sounds like we think along similar lines. I learned hard lessons early on about too much cage training and repeatetive treeing by sight when pups are at a young age. Most people if they train many dogs in their lifetime will eventually arrive at the same findings...if they can get past the fact that just because lots of people have done it ...and still do it...doesnt make it right.
Its just one of those things where, to get a clear picture of how effective one method is over the other...you have to compare the success of trainers using both methods side by side and see who turns out the higher percentage of dogs that go on to be the best in measured circumstances...such as competition hunts for instance.
Now all this is assuming that both only work with well bred pups to begin with of coarse.
I contend that a high percentage of pups that are started by people or in facilities that repeatedly work young dogs together in groups during the daylight, in the same small area day in and day out for a month or more are creating habits that the owner will not find desirable later. A dog learns something in as few as 3 or 4 times and it can become habit in as little as 6-8 times. This can be good things...or bad things...or several of both at the same time. I dont see using a cage coon a few times with a pup to flip its switch...when its ready as a big no no....if you do it right. To me that means first making sure the pup is old enough mentally and physically to start...min 6-8 mo for me. Then work with the pup on a cage coon in a natural setting...to me the best place is right where I caught it and without me ever walking up on it before I let that pup discover it on its own. If the pup barks at it or acts interested...encourage it to bark and then tie it back and turn the coon lose and let it see the coon run off. A coon caught in its own home woods will know right where to go when released and there is absolutely no reason to kill that coon ...let it go and if the pup trees it...which is doubtful the first few times...praise the pup and take it home to let it sink in a few days.
One can repeat this scenerio 2-5 times over 2-4 weeks and with most pups...this is all they will ever need.
If the pup is mature enough but not all that agressive towards the coon...you can use an older dog to show them what to do and maybe help get it barking at it...but only a time or two on a cage coon. You could also instead of turning it loose right away brag it a ways and pull it up a tree and try to encourage the pup to tree before lowering it down and then turning it loose.
But what you dont want to do in any of your actions is make the dog do something where it is just imitating the actions and behavior of other dogs without really knowing why.
I have seen many, many dogs started by cage training facilities over the years that would tree their heads off with another dog...but would not tree their own coon and many would not tree unless they could see the coon up in the tree later on in life. Many would not go hunting unless you cut another dog with them because they had been trained to the point it became a habit that they are cut with other dogs everytime and they learned to follow the pack and tree with whatever dog treed first and then they got a reward...either the coon shot out or praised by the trainer. Think about it...this dog can do nothing but follow the leader to a tree and then bark and get a reward...to the untrained eye this is often mistaken for success. The dog is labeled as started...running and treeing! But is it? If it cannot do this on its own in different woods on wild coons...is it really started, or just trained to me too on familier ground?
This is where many people get fooled. When a dog is "started" this way...it will be very difficult (not always impossible) for this dog to break this habit and re learn how to actually hunt up, strike, trail, and tree a coon by itself and its a cold hard fact that many never do. Then the trainer usually says something like hey...it was treeing when it left here so it must be your fault. Or well, they dont all make it, or well, im not a trainer...i just get em started and its up to you to do the rest.
Just think about how impressionable our kids are at a young age....they are quick to learn...and rarely forget things. Pups are the same.
Thats why its very, very important that in teaching your young dog what you want it to do...that you dont unwittingly teach it other things that you dont want it to do.
The safest way is to allow what natural ability is bred into the dog to come out naturally...with as little influence as possible. If you try to force it out...especially before the pup is ready ...you risk altering things that you will wish you hadnt down the road.
Do your homework, question practices and advice on important issues like training. Look at the cold hard facts and proven results and dont get misled bya fancy sales pitch from someone who stands to gain something from you.
I ask for nothing from anyone in this breed and when I give advice it is to help someone who may not know or is seeking a better way so i have nothing to gain in my views on this. What i learned set me back and cost me a lot in my early years and if I can save someone some of that trouble ...im happy to because it all helps this breed improve. Good luck everyone
__________________
Shane Maxey
Proud lifetime member of the NRA
Banshee Wildlife Products
Hoosier Outlaw / Moonlight Redbones
1994 American Redbone Coonhound Association Hunter of the Year
My first 3 redbones raised from pup's were:
Dual Gr.Ch. Outlaw Billy the Kid
Dual Gr.Ch.- PKC Ch. Outlaw Timber Girl
Dual Gr.Ch. Outlaw Scarlett Fever
(((( Current Favorites ))))
2013 AKC Ladies World Champion
Gr.Nt.Ch.- PKC Ch- AKC Ladies World Ch Ky Moonlight Breanna
Gr.Nt.Ch. - PKC Ch. Ky Moonlight Woody
Dual Grand Moonlight Deana
Dual Grand Ch.- PKC Ch. Moonlight AfterShock
Dual Grand Nighty Night Amber
Gr.Nt.Ch. Moonlight Big Time Britt
Gr.Nt.Ch Outlaw Billy Jean
Gr.Nt.Ch-PKC Ch.-2015 PKC Red Days Champ Outlaw Cherry Bomb
Gr.Nt.Ch Outlaw Breeze
Gr.Nt.Ch.Gr.Ch. All Grand Outlaw G-Man (over $20.000 won in PKC & CHKC) 2019 Southern Redbone Days Overall Champion
Gr.Nt.Ch. Moonlight Outlaw Mac
Gr.Nt.Ch. Classy Cali (Heavy Outlaw bred)
Gr.Nt.Ch. Moonlight Cat Scratch Fever
Gr.Nt.Ch. Moonlight Addiction
Gr.Nt.Ch. Moonlight Overdose
Gr.Nt.Ch. Moonlight Jinx
Gr.Nt.Ch. Moonlight Banshee
"Always outnumbered...Never outgunned!"
To enjoy lots of pics and videos of out redbones, find me on Facebook
as Shenandoah Maxey
Last edited by Hoosier Outlaw on 02-17-2016 at 06:55 PM
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