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Okay so,first off, my husband and I are really new to all this. I mean BRAND NEW!...we've got the dog...CHECK...trap...CHECK... We've been working with him on a training scent getting him to follow the trail (that leads to his favorite toy at this point) ..been doing REALLY well... Now we just need him to see the REAL thing to make that little light bulb glooow!

We have a good spot in some old Pecan orchards my in-laws own. LOADS of berry bushes.....Question is... what can we use to help get those little buggers in the cage? We've got it all set up..ready to go..just having a hard time finding something that they'll be wanting enough to get in it. We've tried; Dead fish(being its next to a full drainage ditch), Marshmallows...Peanut butter & honey..even went all out and got some of Grawes lure! We've had them checking out the cage, and even getting smart and reaching in and not tripping it..We fixed that problem by putting a small wooden box on the outside of the cage (buried with dirt) so they have to go IN to TRY to get it... Having a heck of a time folks, let me tell ya! I've done run outta ideas!! And Im sure my husband is getting a little discouraged...Poor guy

Any suggestions?...anything is appreciated!

Kelly & Jake

sounds like you guys are havin a time. I had the same problem last year, I tried all the same things you have. and heres what I did, first of all you must be certain the place you set your trap is a hot spot for coons, look for tracks digs ect. once you find that spot you should be able to find some scat, and what you find in that is what you will use for bait. Now that you have your bait and a spot selected, bait the trap (with whatever special treat you found) then once you set it, use something to prevent it from closing, prop a stick up on the door, whatever works. make it a routine do it every night for a week, then remove the stick, and this time when he walks in he aint gunna be walkin back out. this process makes it so the coon wont play any tricks trying to steal the bait.

Don't know the age of the dog you're trying to get started, but with the habitat you've got to hunt, I'm not sure you'd really have to start with a caged coon. If your dog's at least 6 months old I think I'd just take it for walks at night in the places where you're wanting to set traps. I only use caged coon to start a dog if I have to.

You can solve some problems by securing the bait inside the trap. This keeps them inside working at it. The best way I have found is to wrap a tuna can in 1/4 " wire mesh then punch 2 holes in the bottom of the can thread tie wire through the holes and tie the can in the very back of the trap. If your trap has 2 doors leave 1 closed so the coon has to climb over the trigger. I also like to leave a small piece of bait just inside the trap door. just to give them a taste. For bait I mix fish and dogfood. If an area has lots of coons I can catch one almost every night.

Like Bill said you got habitat, I would'nt waste my time with cage coons.

Well we got the dog at ten months...never been worked before...at all. The people who had him just kept him locked up all time, so we've basically started from the begining. Hes got a great nose, and the drive to want to find things! I just thought if he saw the REAL thing, it might make a little bit more sense to him on what hes smelling...but we'll give it a try, just turning him out and see what happens.

Your thinking on using a caged coon is good. If there are a good many coons around you should be able to trap one easily. Most any bait with an odor will do. Just be sure the coon cannot reach in and throw the trap from the outside.

Many ways to start a pup will work. However, I prefer to let one smell and bark at one in a cage a couple of times while encouraging and siccing him. He knows you want him to work it. I will the wait a day or two and make a drag with the caged coon out of the sight and knowledge of the pup and put the caged coon in a tree. Wait 5 minutes and turn the pup onto the track. Hopefully he will trail and tree. Do not be discouraged if he does not open if it is obvious he smells and is working the track. I then wait a couple of days and take the coon (or another one) to the woods and turn it loose without the pup knowing. Go get the pup immediately and turn him onto the track. To me it is important that the pup smell a coon immediately when first turned out. He will learn that is what is out there and be LOOKING FOR IT instead of just whatever comes along. He may run the track, but not tree.... don't give up....if he is tree bred he will soon learn. Good luck.

briarpatch

i have never had much luck trapping coons either. None of my mutts have ever seen a coon in a trap but i still got some pretty good coon dogs. THis is just my opinion but I believe a guy can over do the whole coon in a cage thing and the dog gets used to the cage and starts hunting cages not coons. Dont get me wrong it a great way to fire up a pup (3 to 4 months old) but nothing can compare to getting that dog out in the woods for some real time hunting/training. I would get him out there at night and pay close attention to him he probably knows more than u think.IF he become interested in a particular spot encourage him to follow or look up . encourage the things he does that are good. if u have a shock collar be careful not to over do it. keep your eyes and lights in the trees so if he over runs a treed coon u can bring him back. let us know how he does. there are alot of smart people on here who can and will help. good luck and always have fun out their.

Well we built a pretty good box around the trap we have..and put it out lastnight with the door held open with some wire....I rubbed some Grawes coon bait by the door, and put some in the back of the box where we have a small can of cat food open...We had some luck..little Coon footprints covered with berry juice was all over the top of it...so they KNOW its there, and seem to be interested in it (even if its just a dinner table). So we took the wire off tonight, threw some fresh berries inside the main trap with a can of cat food at the very back where they cant get it (the box has an extra 6inches to put stuff out of reach)...so we'll see how it goes.

About the dog..NO idea on his breeding..the people we got him from, got him from a local guy who runs hounds, but Im not sure for what. He's got an obvious change in motion when he smells something that might be interesting, from his normal "lets go this way..dee-dee-dee".. I've learned a lot of his mannerisms just by putting things in the grass, and watching him change course when he smells it, observing his body language....but like I said, hes a year old now...seems to have the WANT to find things.. doesn't open on the tree hardly (got him to a few times), but will get on wood ...he REALLY prefers jumping above all others ...My husband and I agree even if he doesn't quite turn out the way we want him too...we atleast tried. This is our first Coonhound, and we're kinda doing it all by ourselves (help from Redwood Coonhounds and a gentlemen who works with my husband), but I dont think we're doing too bad. We have beaglers, so we know about Hound mentality. So we'll see...keep ya posted on what happens tomorrow morning when I go check the trap!

Thanks for all the input gentlemen..its GREATLY appreciated...

How bad are the foxtails out there? I figured it would be overgrown too bad.

Should have given us a call, we've gone out every weekend sicne the last event and caught just about every time out.

Figures by the time you want to go, archery season is gonna open, and you can't go for 6 weeks. LOL

If you can trap something you need to see how he acts around other dogs and the tree. If he acts okay, you need to take him out with ours during season. I would like to see him a little more interested in the tree before turning him loose with the others.

Well I hate buggin ya all the time about coming down just for our sake because we're like leading the blind LOL. I know you have your own dogs to tend too, and hate asking of someone whom I know has their hands full. I just dont want to be a burden. But....We kinda miss you guys! LOL!

The cowboy mowed all the stickers down, and all the rows are maybe 2inch tall all the way around the orchard, even the ditch. So its all really nice looking. So whenever you want to come down, we can see how he does with other dogs..again... Hes been really good about other dogs so far, so Im sure with a little encouragement he'll be ok. Let them run around, now that there isn't any danger of stickers..just a dead cow in one of the orchards seems to be the only hazard.

I will call ya later on and tell ya how we did. I just hate buggin ya Assandra, knowing your getting your dogs ready for bear. And now with the whole Joker thing, dont like putting more things on other peoples plates.

Should have told me it was mowed down. I can come down and go one of these nights.

If you catch something that would be better. I still think yours has to learn to focus when around other dogs. That can take a while, especially if hes not worked around new dogs a lot.

Joker is doing better, not 100%, but had been doing a lot harder hunting. I dont think going down there would hurt him. But both my females are coming in heat. At least they are getting it done before season. No better time to have two stanky females and a sick male. So now I'm just waiting on Gamble. Joker's on a roll now, next year will be Gambles' turn.

I agree. Mack has a lot to learn when it comes to WORKING with other dogs, rather than freakin out when everyones barking, and he just doesnt get it. I think he has some potential, even if its just getting him over that hump, and just having him as "back up"...He'll be Kelly's buddy and just watch LOL! "Im here for you guys, got your back!"

Im glad Jokers doing better, hopefully we found out what the deal is? Gamble is a cutie, good looking..LOOOOVE his markings.

Anyhow...CALL ME...called you yesterday, sure your busy.. whenever you get a minute..make plans..maybe do another attempted Cinema day.

I will call ya. I was thinking about maybe one night this week/end. Friday or Saturday night.

Still not sure what the deal was with Joker. He's just a freak of nature, but somehow I've always known that.

Yeah, another movie date. This time we'll ge there on time. I don't even know whats playin. But seeing how we've got 6 weeks until season, with nothing to do but wait. I'm sure we could manage something.

I called you.

See everyone had the right idea. Don't really need a trap, to get him goin.

Had fun last night. If the girls don't come in, we can go again next weekend. Even so, we could hunt him and Joker so they can get into some trouble. But I think you could go out there and road him, and he would eventually catch on by himself.

I think he's got a LOT of work. But I seen improvement in just one night.