how to build confidence in young dog

[midwest coonhunter]

I have a young walker who is almost a year old now and he absloutly will not go hunting by himself. I drive around with him looking for coons and he will run a hot track whever it takes him with no problem he nearly went 300yds in the timber once. He can run and tree his own cage coon. He's kind of a quiet track dog but will flat burn a tree down but I think jus putting him on hot tracks is not a good idea so I took him to the woods the other night and he wouldn't leave my sight so I walked in with him he sniffed all around nose down the whole time but wouldn't go! We walked the old log roads for 45min and went back to the truck. I kno he can run a track. I just don't think he has his confidence built up yet. He will go with my old dog all night long wherever he goes lil cooper is right with him at the tree waitn. Guys have told me to take him to the woods and give him a swift kick in the ass or take him to the woods and get in my truck and let him be. Anyone else have any ideas?

[montananative]

Problem you have is when you start a young dog on alot of caged coons, hunt them with older dogs, then the dog is not forced to figured anything out by themselves. They turn into a pack dog. I would take the dog out by itself. It may take alot of time, alot of slow nights but if you want the dog to hunt alone, he needs to figure it out on his own. If he has been on coons, its only a matter of time before you walk him right across a track and he will run it.

How many caged coons have you shown him?

[midwest coonhunter]

I've shown him 4 cage coons. I've let him tree 2 by sight and I gave the other 2 a few min. Head start and he has treed them all I took him with my old dog lastnight and he seemed to be running his old track. The old dog went on and treed a coon but the pup stayed in the little patch of timber then came back. Dumped them again and the old dog treed again amd the pup went with him that time like he usually does. So what do you think he needs to do?

[montananative]

[midwest coonhunter]

Sorry bout that I ment his OWN track when I dumped them the pup was the first to strike but I herd nothing from the old dog so it may have been trash but he didn't give up on it he always follows the old dog but he stayed back working his own after opening up a few more times he gave up and came back drove to the old dog and he had the meet to bad the pup didn't go. You're right my old walker is almost 11 now he won't be around much longer. I've done like u said taking the pup only a few nights a week but it doesn't seem to do any good he just won't go unless its a hot track, maybe the damage is done.

[M Evertsen]

Sounds to me like you showed him too much out of a cage (I know only 4 coons). I had a dog like that. He would not even hunt with another dog. If I was walking a ridge or something for lions, and other dogs would strike a track, he would walk in my foot steps and look at me. He was given too much game from a cage, and was expecting me to have it. (Where's the cat dad?). I think that he is expecting that out of you too - he thinks you are going to give him the coon. Hunt him hard, with and without the older dog, and don't let him see any more coons in a cage, he already knows what they are.

Marcial

[techno]

I will never show a dog a coon in a cage. I will turn loose coons I live trap. I never show the dog the coon nor the trap. I put the trap up and far away before turning the dog out. I also do drags when they are pups. I will try to get them to understand that coons are what we need to be looking for.

I walk hunted mine ALOT. Half of the time he will get gone and hunt and the other half he will just piss around near me. I walk hunted him because I did not have a tracking collar nor did I know the land very well. Where I live now I know the land very well and have a Garmin. The next pup will not get walk hunted.

[walkerpups]

what about just starting young pups on a cage i have 2 two month old walker i was goin to show them a few caged coon just to bark at and build their confidence any advice?