Geminite
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3063 |
I just got started last year. I bought a pup, the runt of the litter, and trained her myself. She was a tough cookie, but she was smart, had the desire to hunt, and a good nose. I think with those traits, you can do ANYTHING with the dog. She is now running and treeing her own coon at 18 months of age.
I now have two male pups that are littermate brothers and are 8 months old. They are very gamey, smart and have desire that would make anyone go "wow". The one male will strike in front of my old male (we use him for a pup trainer) and will tree with him. I had just started taking him by himself before the weather started getting bad to train pups in. His brother will also open on track and split treed, with the coon, the last time we had him out. We are waiting until spring to start them back up again. But I think they are gonna turn out to be good coon dogs. My first pup taught me sooo much and gave me a lot of experience. It also really helps to have a weathered coon dog that is good with pups. I did not have my old dog when I got my first pup and I know now that it would've saved me some headaches if I would've had him then. I also have a 9 month old female that is at the same stage as the males. All three pups are running and treeing with the old dogs, so I think we are a bit a head of the game. All these pups will be hunted alone this spring and that is when the good will stay and the bad will go. That is when I will find out which ones will make it, and which ones I think deserve to be worked with.
All that being said, I think if a dog has the brains, the nose, and the hunt drive, then they need a fair shot. A lot of guys that I have talked to and hunted with will either cull a dog or sell it if it is not treeing it's own coon by 10-12 months of age. I think a dog needs to be given enough time to mature, physically and mentally, before it is given up on. My pups kind of started themselves, except for the first female that I got. I didn't start her or do anything with coon until she was about 9 months old. I did take her on walks, etc during the day, but I didn't expose her to hunting or coon until she was a little older. If some hunters had a little more patience then they might save themselves a lot of trouble, time and money. Research the line of dogs you are considering of getting a pup out of, and then let it have time to mature. If it shows good traits and qualities, then it should be given a shot to succeed. That was kind of long winded.lol. but I guess I was just trying to say that all pups are different and some are slower or faster than others and they all need a shot.
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