The Dog won't make it!

[Varminator]

Al, I guess we are to hopeful that just a couple more trips out, might bring the pup on. Well my Dad used to say "if you show it Game for the first year, it will try to show you Game the rest of it's life".
With all this said, it still doesn't mean "the Dog will make it" !!

[Unreal_tk]

By a year old if I started it myself. I better see what I want.

[al baldwin]

Al, I guess we are to hopeful that just a couple more trips out, might bring the pup on. Well my Dad used to say "if you show it Game for the first year, it will try to show you Game the rest of it's life".
With all this said, it still doesn't mean "the Dog will make it" !!

Very true Brad. I have never kept one until it was two, if it was not at least going on races and showing some progress. As you say there is a time when the bulb comes on in most, not all, and when that happens it/s like night to day. Don/t blame anyone for culling when they decide. However, have seen some of the better ones that started a little late. I hear there is a really nice female cat hound today that at about 14 months would not go to a pack if they ran a cat within several yards of her. I use that example to show it can be tough to know when to give up on one. Over time I have been giving a few that took off about the time I got them and made nice dogs, also having given up on a few about the time the light was ready to glow and someone else reaped the harvest. . Al

[scrubrunner]

After reading on here about the stuggles of young hunters trying to start out I'm beginning to beleive that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth when it comes to running hounds. All of the males on my fathers side of the family were houndsmen. On my 16th birthday my dad bought me 4 foxhounds, 3 of which were as good as a fellow could want. Fox hunting here was a community sport, every fri and sat nite there would be 4 to 8 hunters from 30 to 80 years old at the 4 corners ready to cast hounds at midnite. Those old men would let a young fellow know right quick if his hound was messing up and some of them would also tell you when you had a winner. I sat there for a many a hour listening to a foxrace and getting schooled by them older hunters. It was very competitive and every body at the restaurant and feed store knew what went on in the fox race last nite. I guess that's one reason I will cull one quick if it has a fault that could hurt the race. I don't really expose mine to real running till they are 10 to 12 months old, befor that they can hurt themselves in a hard race with older dogs. I might take 3 or 4 pups to a puppy pen and turn them out by themselves befor that age but that's really for me rather than the pups. It's just a lot of fun to me to watch the pups try to run and do it on their own the first few times. Naturals

[southern fox]

scrub the mama to the gyp u got from me wouldn't run a lick till she was abt 14 months old, don't know how many times I hauled her to the puppy pen trying to get her to run and wouldn't, I gave up on her shut her up and didn't try for a coupla months , and then decided I would try her one more time told her this was her last trip! she tied in and ran it like she was a 2 year old, carried her to the woods that night watched and listened to her trail a bobcat down the road and turned it out and picked it up ahead of the old dog !! she had never smelled a bobcat till then, jumped it and ran it that night and made a few pick ups on a lose she turned into a really fine hound, patience is a must with hounds some start quick and turn around and go backwards, and some keep going forwards and get better keep feeding one bobcat and fox, and time will tell

[scrubrunner]

I agree southernfox I can think back to one or two I've done like that, if I know the breeding is there im patient with em as long as their not doing something that could mess the race up. Their not hurting a thing when their just not going. The jyp has been in heat since I talked to you last, hope she is out by next week when my running opens.

[muck]

I have a younger dog that on a cold track he will fall out like he looses intrest. Then on a hot screamer he seems to stay right there but on a tree he wonders like he is scared. Do i keep hunting him on hope he comes out of it

[Varminator]

How old is the dog? It may grow into it" the more game it's on. Some dogs trail better than others, how cold nose are the dog(s) that you are training it with?

The Tree part may be deeper! Lets hope it's a young dog that doesn't know where the cat went. You did say it was doing good on the jump.. If not, gun shy comes to mind, or another dog not letting it close to the Tree??

Are you getting to the Tree fast? Start watching their eyes!!

[oconee]

If any eight month old pup contributes much to my races, I would have to evaluate my older dogs a little harder I believe. I fully expect an eight month old to fail when dropped with good experienced dogs. Cull him, I think not. As long as a pup is giving good effort and his failures are not effecting the other dogs around him then he will have plenty of time to gain experience. Quitters and idiots don't get many chances.