Young bluetick question

[Calkins]

I have a well bred 8 month old Upson bred bluetick that was born in oct. my hunting buddy also has a 9 month old pup that he is training. Last night we took the two pups and a 2 year old very inexperienced bluetick out on a caged coon. The two year old did a great job following the drag and treeing but the pups just used this opportunity to run and play for the most part. Did some occasional barking at the cage. We decided it would get their interest a little more to release the coon and let them tree it. Long story short, the coon turned around in the pups and the fight was on. The coon climbed on my pups head and bit him good on the cheek for a few seconds. I waited to see if he would defend himself but realized that the time wasn't going to come so I got the coon off and he avoided the coon for the rest of the fight. The coon was one tough sob and still very alive so we decided to put it back in the cage for some more experienced dogs. After back in the cage he bayed the cage more then ever but once released again he avoided it and wouldn't touch it even after it was dead. Today he is very skittish and acts afraid towards me. So my question is, will he snap out of this or should I be worried that he might stay afraid?

[easttntrapper]

I have a dog now that is afraid of a coon. he will run and tree them but if it comes out alive he wont kill it. he just stands backs and barks. similar thing happened to him as a pup. i wont show the pup another coon for a month or two. give him time to mentally mature. also i find it easier to work only one pup at a time to cut the playing out. i aint no expert but this is what i have experienced

[daymoney]

I very rarely turn a coon loose from a cage that the dogs can see. I don't really care if my dogs will fight a coon, but I do care that they will trail one. I generally just turn the coon loose, wait 5 min and then turn the dog out to see if it will trail. Usually don't even let em see the coon in the cage at all. I'm also not a fan of hunting young dogs together or with older dogs. I hunt everynight and give my young dog plenty of opportunity to use his god given ability. Good dogs only need a ride to the woods and hunting them a lot with other dogs just makes it more likely that you will end up with a dog dependent on other dogs.
I like a good honest independent dog.

Your dog had one bad experience, it may take several good experiences for him to come back around. I would be willing to bet that he will, but if he doesn't end up being a coon fighter you will probably save some money in vet bills. I wouldn't care as long as he will trail and tree.

[Gary Roberson]

The pup may have had a bad experience but if he is Upson bred, they are generally pretty gritty and he will come back around. I agree that it is not important for me to have all of my dogs be able to kill a coon by themselves. If having kill dogs was the most important trait that I wanted in a hound, I would hunt Pit Bulls.
I do want them to run to catch on the ground and fight the predator they are running to stop the critter or make it climb. Don't pressure the pup, let him go at his own pace. I would hunt him with the older dogs that might give him a little confidence. Probably would not hunt with the other pup for a while as pups sometimes play to much.
Adios,
Gary