novicane65
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Dec 2013
Location: Nichols Ny
Posts: 1565 |
Imho
You can have a natural that won't win a hunt. You can have a "man made" dog that will win a pile. But the chances of the MM winning consistently for more than a few years is unlikely. The more natural the pup is the better chance of it turning out to be a decent dog. The type of "natural" that most are talking about is the ones that need very little training to be top hounds at any level in the coonhound world. I've never seen a pup that was a complete natural for my standards or anyone else that I hunt with. I've seen really good young dogs, decent young dogs and culls win hunts. But what I like in a hound a bunch don't. And I'll see certain traits no one else picks up on for a while, I don't raise pups and don't want to. The thing about the "natural" dogs is there's so many ruined by inexperienced trainers to know exactly how many are really produced. And yes there's way more MM than the other. But most MM dogs have a bunch of natural talent to begin with. You cannot teach drive, heart, and grit. You can refine those traits but you cannot make a dog hunt that wasn't born with drive enough to go. You can't teach one how to take corrections, or hunt when they're hurt or not feeling good. And I've never been able to teach one or seen one that would stay treed with the devil that didn't want to. I want natural ability enough to tree a coon to start with, after that ill refine what I don't like or want the young dog to do differently. Which is where the "natural" in many eyes doesn't need any type of refinement. But and a big but, just because the dog was a true natural for you doesn't mean he's a true natural for me. And if I was going to bet on 1 being a natural for me, I wouldn't put any $ on it. I don't think it would ever happen. I want a top hound in every category, not just one category.
And Tar, that line of hounds you need to that started having blanks, a common trait for them around that age to go through a spell of hardly ever having the eyes. And then like a light switch it'll flip and go back to treeing coons. You had to hunt it out of the slump. Most dogs have slumps but that line has a 2 year period where all's you do is take it for exercise basically from everything I've seen out of them.
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Eric DePue
Hill Country Kennels Itty-Bitty
PKC CH Wax's Late Night Boom
And
Partners on a few common trashy young dogs
Gone but not forgotten
GrNtCh, PKC Ch Hillbilly Bildo
Pr Broken Oaks Wild Blue Gypsy
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