I need Help

[bobbercrazy23]

I just got a walker dog a couple months ago and ive been hunting with her quite a bit, but when I take her out she's more worried about running around and roling around in cow shit than hunting, how do I get her mind off of running around roling in shit and not trying to hunt and get her to focus. She goes balistic on a caged coon but won't try to hunt when we go hunting. Any advice would be appreciated.

[meagain]

I have a couple questions:
How old is she? and how much time has she had out in the woods? Are you hunting her alone or with other dogs?

[pegleg]

The dogs age and experience has a lot to do with its behavior. But breeding and genetics are just as important. Some hound strains are weak on drive and trailing. With out more info its all a guess. But I would start with forgetting the caged coon bit that can ruin a hound that is weak on track and overly tree minded. If she showed interest with a caged critter good she did what most any dog would do. What you probably need is more time in the woods. Try heavily trafficked areas and different times early mornings often work wonders on getting a pup in on fresh scent. If its less then six months I wouldn't be concerned less then a year I'd be expecting the switch to flip. Over a year you need a experienced hound to run with to see if she will fire or not. In most cases a older hound can get them going some then its just hunting them often in good areas. If your wanting to run bobcat your putting a heavy load on a young hound and she probably won't be able to do a lot by herself. Maybe in the snow if your prepared to walk out every track till she's got it down. Good luck and good hunting

[bobbercrazy23]

[Powder River Walker]

Right or wrong, I started my hound pups with out an older lead dog. so my pups had showed me everything I think. Is what I did to get them wanting to hunt is I started by spot lighting coons out of the trees. It helped with two reasons one it showed the dogs that there are coons out there and also made them get excited for a gun shot because they knew that meant coon.
PRW

[bobbercrazy23]

That's another problem she's scared of guns if she sees you with a gun out she runs away, and i'm not really around anyone with an older more experienced dog to run that often and I want her to go byherself

[halfbreed]

powder thats how i started my last coon hound . she was a good un . i shot 3 coons out like that and no other training was needed just a natural . hunted her by herself from 9 months to two years before she ever saw another hound .

[david]

Bobber, do you have a good road that is a dead end or very lightly traveled? That dog needs to be wore down some. If you could road her about 5 miles or more before you get down to hunting, that will take some of that goofyness out of her. This is not road hunting, I am just talking about making her run full out as fast as she can for 5 miles or more. Teach her to come to the horn and teach her to handle while you are at it. With one dog, you can have her run beside your vehicle window while you hold her on a short leash, (if you have too much danger of traffic). She will love it and look forward to it, and it will do a lot for your relationship.

For hunting, If you dont have a shock collar, get one, and dont let her do distracting behaviors like the rolling.

The gun shy problem, is really your biggest problem. In my mind, I keep a list of a dogs problems, and give each problem a value rating. If the number gets too high, I will not fool with the dog. Life is too short and there are too many fine dogs that are available, eager to please, and teachable. A two year old that is extremely gun shy would add a very large number to her overall cull rating for me personally. Some dogs can be brought out of it, but it is troublesome on many levels and takes a tremedous amount of time and devotion to help a dog overcome it.

I agree with what was said about ruining a dog with caged coon,but... this is where gun training needs to happen. If she loves fighting coon, you need to be firing cb caps or shorts back a ways while she has adrenalin to the max doing what she loves most. It sure helps having another dog in on it too. She will stop when the gun goes off, but when she sees the other dog is unaffected, she may get right back into it. Eventually she may come to associating that sound with the most fun possible.

[huntfish8]

Two years old I would give it away to a good family or something if all it wants to do mess around and act like it 4 months old... I don't now how much u have hunted it but I would go get a pup from hunting lines and train it your self. I my self do have one hound that is gun shy unless he has a animal bayed up or treed then he acts like it doent even phaze him but any other time just shootin around the house he will hide and won't come out untell you are done.

[bobbercrazy23]

Got her brke of rolling in cow leftovers and she hunts really good her nose never leaves the ground when she leaves the tailgate but now we're playing this game of cat and mouse when it's time to go home she'll run right up to where you can just about grab the collar and then when you reach down to grab she's gone but a shock collar can fix that now I have to get the gun shy fixed but I'll try the cage coon and other dog while shooting and see if it works, thanks for everyone's advice

[Powder River Walker]

Hunt her in the woods spot lighting coon. find a coon and get her to come to you then leash her and shoot the coon out to her, pretty soon she will connect the two and not be scared of it.
PRW