Teaching track driving speed ???

[muttman82]

I am new to hound hunting and I only have one pup right now but he is doing pretty good treed a few coons on his own already and keeps up with the older dogs pretty good, he is only 7 1/2 months old. My question to you more experienced houndsman is can a dog be taught to drive/move a track fast, or is it in his genes ? The reason i ask is because i want to catch varmints and from what i have read on here it seems to be a very important part of putting varmits in a tree. I am lucky and i get to hunt with someone who has 50 years of running hounds under his belt, he has some really nice dogs that tree game very regularly. His lead dog is a track burner ! My young little pup likes to follow him the most out of all of his dogs, of course he cant always stay with him. I'm wondering if some of that track driving speed will rub off on my dog ? Any input would be greatly appriciated

[Warner5]

keep doing what your doing. This houndsmen that has many years experience, follow his lead. You are a very lucky person to have his help. John.

[muttman82]

thanks warner 5 i plan on it ! i feel very lucky to have a mentor like i do, is it possible for my dog to pick up on his dogs ability ?

[TomJr]

I don't think its possible to teach track speed but it sure can't hurt that your pup is following a dog that you like. At least he will not be picking up bad habits... those seem to be picked up fast lol.

[Warner5]

Well, I cant really tell you that w/o seeing the dog on track for a season or so. Your question is a major 1 and is hard to answer from a key board. But yes, if your dog has the breeding for what you want to hunt and it has something between its ears it should quickly pick-up and run with your partners dogs. I have a feeling your hunting partner will let you know if this dog has potential or not before to long. Just keep at it and follow his lead. John.

[twist]

I personaly believe track speed is breed into a hound, running them with a older dog that can drive a track real well will bring it out in the younger dog faster in my opinion. Also with age and experiance brings it out in dogs also but if they dont have it genetically they just arent going to have it. Andy

[dwalton]

I think most of the fast track dogs it is breeding. They will learn to pack up and keep up if they are competitive dogs. I think a lot of dogs are easily taught to slow down on tracks by how they are hunted and with what they are hunted with. Almost the worst thing you can do to a young dog is to hunt it with a old pup trainer. It can be started with one but get it away as quick as you can with some fast track dogs or by it's self. Dewey

[al baldwin]

I too think track speed is a bred in trait. However in my experience young dogs hunted with those older slower dogs soon learn to advance the track & leave the older dog behind, if the track speed was bred in. Sometimes think it better to hunt a young dog with an old slow hound than one that leaves them way behind. Each circumstance can differ and if the young hound pulls ahead & gets treed have seen an old slow hound pull them from thier tree. Then would for sure stop hunting them with the older dog. Speed is not as always important as a hound that moves the track at a steady pace with fewer loses. And that pace must be a little faster pace than the varmint can continue to travel. Just my opinion. AL

[slowandeasy]

Al,

It is always nice when you share your wisdom with the young folks. Like both Al and Andy said, track speed is born in hounds. Some can get a little better, but for the most part, the ones that are really good, only needed the opportunity to show it. And like Al said, what you need to remember is that they will never learn anything with their nose tucked up somebody else's hind end. They need to get the opportunity to find a loss on their own. And this is where you as a handler and trainer come in. You have to have the knowledge to put dogs on the ground that help one another. In other words run dogs with equal speeds, as it is way more important to keep constant pressure on whatever you are chasing. Then to have chaos within your pack of dogs.

Take care, Willie

[mondomuttruner]

Willie..I like that term" Then to have chaos within your pack of dogs." I've seen this too often, well worth some discussion. I have several different breeds of dogs in my pack, I usually let 3 to 4 go on a track (2 if conditions are poor). With the help of the garmin over the years I can see which dogs work together as a unit and release certain dogs as appropriate. As said before, I think track speed is in the breed so unless your going to cull, sometimes you have to work with what you have. To me in cat hunting, speed is only as good as a dogs nose. Don't buy into this illusion that it take speed to catch cats or any other game for that matter, it's consistent pursuit without long drawn out looses. I really don't know if I have fast dogs or slow dogs compared to others around the country, frankly I don't care, they catch game and make me happy (most of the time) and in the end, that's why we do it, right!!

[muttman82]

Thanks to everyone for your input i really appreciate everyones help and willingness to share there knowledge !