Registered: Nov 2011
Location: north ala.
Posts: 902

Or do think it just depends on the dog. Not talking competition hunting just hunting night after night. Do you think a dog will burn out?

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Registered: Nov 2005
Location: Iowa
Posts: 2961

With these pups starting at younger age, it has become real easy to burn one out before they are 2 yrs. old. Seems like the better they are doing, the harder everyone wants to put them in woods & especially hunts. It depends on maturity of each pup to determine if it can take hunting 5-7 nights a week or if 3 or 4 would be a lot better & easier on pup.

Heck, some of these dogs (pups) have more time in the woods, even hunts, by the time they end their SS carrier than dogs used to ever hunt their whole lives 20-50 yrs. ago. Have seen several in my area that looked GREAT @ 2, but seem to have back slid in last 2 years & not looked near as good on casts anymore. If you got a good one coming on, give it time in the woods, but don't over do it, they need a little time to grow up & mature, too. JMO. Take care, Ron.

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: north ala.
Posts: 902

Was thinking along the lines of a grown trained dog maybe 4 or 5 yrs.old, can you hunt him till he burns out or does he love it as much as the handler?

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Registered: Nov 2005
Location: Iowa
Posts: 2961

But to me, NO, about older dog. Hunt it as much as possible, especially if it is already in good shape. It should tell you, if it is 'running out of gas' by not hunting (firing off), when it is turned loose. Extra care may be needed to keep in top condition, so if it starts to lose condition on body, feed it more or back off the hunting time per night. Take care, Ron.

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: north ala.
Posts: 902

That sounds reasonable to me and I have found that the best dogs love it and have a desire to please. Thanks for the response.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Washington, NC
Posts: 3301

Most people will never over hunt a dog, BUT most dogs do have a limit on how much they can hunt before their body can't take it. Watch your dog and most will tell you when they are ready to quit.

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Bill Harper
Washington, NC
252-944-5592

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Registered: Apr 2015
Location: church hill tn
Posts: 5632

We used to hunt from dark until daylight when we were on hunting trips and I have seen some pretty tired dogs after a week of hard hunting like that. Never seen them to tired to hunt when it got dark, can't say the same about myself. Lol..My hunting partner still hunts 6 nights a week for 3 to 4 hours a night ( age 81) , dogs just gets tougher the more you hunt, but a dog out of condition will wear down quicker, but they recover pretty fast. I don't think we can over hunt them, they will let you know when to much is to much. Dave

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Dave Richards Treeing Walkers Reg American Saddlebred and Registered Rocky Mt. Show Horses

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Registered: Oct 2019
Location:
Posts: 15

IMO it depends on the dog but typically yes. The worlds BEST athletes train at most 3-4 hrs a day, and not all that is high intensity training. I consider hunting a dog high intensity training.

You might have a hard time wearing one down hunting it on foot but factor in a four wheeler or a mule and you can make one not want to come out of the dog box.

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Registered: Jun 2007
Location: Menard,TX
Posts: 1158

I think a lot depends on the dog and how much physical drain you are putting on him/her. If just coon hunting across much of the typical coon country for a couple hours a day, maybe not. If you are lion hunting in rugged mountain country, you can hunt a dog with a lot of drive until he/she cannot go. I loaned a hound to a buddy in NM and he lion hunted him 21 days in a row. He was the only dog that was still going. When I picked him up, I barely recognized him as he was skin and bones. Not sure if he would have stopped hunting before he died or not but the cold wind was blowing through him and I am sure he was not far from getting pneumonia.
Adios,
Gary

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Freeport,TX
Posts: 1907

They aren’t machines so it is possible to hunt a dog too much...I cannot say I have done it much less have the hunting opportunity to even hunt often enough to over hunt my dogs...they can get sore from not being in shape and going all out on track and bay...but it is not the same as what the question is...

My thoughts are that a dog could get over hunted and given three or 4 days off you will probably see a top level performance above what you would normally see from said dog...

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Training dogs is not so much about quantity, it's more about timing, and the right situations...After that it's up to the dog....A hunting dog is born...

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Registered: Feb 2005
Location:
Posts: 1739

quote:

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Originally posted by 2ol2hunt
Or do think it just depends on the dog. Not talking competition hunting just hunting night after night. Do you think a dog will burn out?

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Registered: Jul 2004
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 2765

quote:

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Originally posted by Bill(Chew)
Most people will never over hunt a dog, BUT most dogs do have a limit on how much they can hunt before their body can't take it. Watch your dog and most will tell you when they are ready to quit.

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Friends don't let friends hunt blueticks

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Registered: Jun 2018
Location: Lafayette Georgia
Posts: 190

The more the better!😁

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GR.NT.CH WOODARDS ALLGRAND SPIDERMAN R.I.P
GR.NT.CH WOODARDS ALLGRAND BATMAN R.I.p
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Pr.Woodards Late Night Trix

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Registered: Feb 2010
Location: Fairmont WV
Posts: 357

A little off topic, but I had a super smart young gyp several years back that if you went to get her out of her kennel at dark she was ready to go, if I went to get her a half hour earlier in the daylight I had to drag out of her kennel. I had been running the hunts with her and the only thing I can think she associated the difference between competition and pleasure hunting.

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Wayne Musgrave

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Registered: Mar 2013
Location: Rover,Arkansas
Posts: 1130

Lol .
Yes yes yes . I'm without a 4 wheeler at the moment but have one getting rebuilt. I hunt dogs for other people and learned they back up if hunted too hard. I can push one way too hard on a four wheeler if they have the drive. It's better to hunt smart than hard especially with a young dog.

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YOU CAN'T POLISH A TURD !

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Registered: Jun 2014
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 3369

It's possible to hunt one too much, but not many people with a full time job can do it.

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Donald Bergeron

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Registered: Apr 2015
Location: church hill tn
Posts: 5632

I just wish that I was young enough and in good enough shape to say that I actually hunter one to hard or to much. I agree that someone who just hunts for pleasure and has a job can not overhunt a dog if the dogs in good health. We used to hunt 6 nights a week and once the dogs got into shape, we could not hunt them down. They were way tougher than any man I have ever seen, that's just my 2cents on this subject. Dave

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Dave Richards Treeing Walkers Reg American Saddlebred and Registered Rocky Mt. Show Horses

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Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Clarksville, AR
Posts: 1074

I've done it.
Nowdays when I'm hunting at all I do good to hunt a couple/three nights a week, but there were years in the late 90's and early 00's that I hunted in the neighborhood of 300 nights a year. In my youth and inexperience I equated quantity with quality, and ruined more than a couple young dogs hunting 20-30 nights in a row in extreme heat or in the dead of winter. I went a little nuts for a couple years, and would hunt alot in daylight, then load up and hunt till the wee hours and find a way to drag into school the next day. My folks suspected I had a drug problem due to the haggard appearance and significant weight loss. I was convinced that I could really make a dog by hunting harder than anyone anywhere.
Most wouldn't quit outright, but they would backslide and do stupid stuff, or get lazy. One stopped doing anything at all.

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: north ala.
Posts: 902

Some dogs just have more heart 💓 than others do and I don't believe you can hunt them down, but I also believe they're the exception not the norm.

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