Starting a 7 month old pup

[Wildcat3]

Whats the best route to take with a 7 month old pup. I've heard various things from show her caged coon, turn one loose in front of her to hunting her with finished dogs. Just looking for some other input and ideas. Thanks in advance.

[Sask_matty]

Show her a caged coon, and make sure you have an older dog on the cage first to get her fired up about it. Pour some water on the coon so it leaves more scent behind. Don't show her the coon in the cage more than a few times otherwise she won't be learning anything more and will likely do more harm than good. After you have shown her the caged coon and she is really fired up about coons, then take her hunting with an older dog. If she isn't excited by a caged coon, then put it away and leave her for another month and then try it again.
I put a bell on my older dog when teaching a pup so that if they get lost they can always find the older dog. The first few coons that i shoot out to them I leash them back on a tree and I let them see the older dog chew on the coon. All you really want to make sure is that the first experiences that the dog has with coons are really fun for them. If they get bitten by a coon the first time they see one, especially when they are under a year old, I think that it will set them back, if not turn them off of coons. Its never happened to me with a coonhound, but it has happened with a regular farm dog (lab X heinz 57).