suggestions for a Man shy walker pup

[Everlast]

Alright people I need some tips here.

I just got a 10 month old walker female. I already had her littermate (since he was 3 months old) that is doing dynamite and have been trying to get another one. Unfortunately, this little female is extremely man shy. She was raised in a big back yard running loose in that yard with 3-4 other hounds. But when you put her in a kennel, on a leash, or on a tie out, she gets bug eyed and skittish. I turned her loose once and it took the better part of a day in camp to catch her. I've been trying to handle her/pet her up allot every day at feeding time and then some.

Funny thing is, when she was loose for the better part of a day in camp, she would run and play with the other dogs, not spooky (except if I got close to try and catch her), and was fine.

I typically would not mess with a pup like this, but all of her littermates are outstanding. She just needs a handle put on her.

I just got about a 30' piece of rope and put a snap on it and will work with her on that this week to see how that does.

Any suggestions other than the obvious "cull her" replies I know I will get.

Appreciate any suggestions.

[twist]

This is just my opinion. If a hound is a little (stranger shy) is ok as this way not just anyone can grab your dog but if they are shy to the point the owner cant catch them they are not worth all the time you put into them as more than not it will be for a lost cause. Find another pup and put that time into them and you will more than likely be glad you did. Andy

[Everlast]

Thanks for the reply Twist.......I've only had her a couple weeks and she was never handled before by the guy who owned her. I'll have to see quick progress or I won't mess with it long.

[blackpaws]

when you do the check cord thing, bring some hot dogs with you and break them in to little chunks. every time you call her name pull on the cord until she comes to you and then give her a piece of the hot dog. dogs seem to learn faster when there is some food involved. a lot of praise when giving the hot dog will help too. i had a dog that was like this and an obeidence trainere told me to do this and it worked. it worked enough so that most people could catch her. she was a damn good dog and one that i sure didn't want to cull. another thing to do is tie her on a short chain(2ft) and just leave her for a while out of sight. do this quite a few times. this way the dog won't incorporate the restraint (bad) with the human(good). i am not a trainer by any means but have learned from some good trainers on the obedience parts with hounds and other dogs. i know hounds are suppose to run and be free but if you can't control them it gets frusterating. this is of course you don't want to cull the dog.

[Everlast]

What you said is exactly what I plan to do........thanks.

[pete richardson]

an old dog trader taught me this probaly 30 years ago- i used it with good results on some as wild as a coyote --


tie them up-- give them water only ----offer them food from your hand -- dont baby them too much-- dont pet them when they are bug eyed scared --

when they take food from your hand , then you can pet them

-never had one starve


when dog accepts food from your hand

then you can start the check cord thing


a length of heavy weedeater line with a snap on it,, is a great tool to train dogs that come close but cant quite get your hands on-

it doesnt tangle easily and you can step on it --

[Everlast]

Thanks............I'll use that too if needed.

[Dan Edwards]

deleted

[sawtooth]

I recently got a couple of litter mates and one was really shy, couldn't hardly catch him either. I just ignored it cause he wasn't shy to game. He has gotten over it with time and is the far better of the two. Good luck.

[Everlast]

That's encouraging news.............thanks.

[OleMoodyBlues]

Hello,
I agree with Pete Richardson,
The food method, will be to most complete and solid approach.
The drawback, is she may end up as a "One Man Dog", which isn't bad, especially if she becomes a "World Beater", also, I would be very selective, the stud, I would use, if ever you plan to breed her.
She can breed shyness in her pups and/or present a learned behavior to pups.

if the "empty stomach" method, works however she remains shy around others, being hard to handle/catch by a hunting partner/family, Cull her,,,,,my opinion, but she's your hound.

Wish you luck...

[scotty]

It has been my experience that there is only one cure for a shy dog. That is one thing I believe you can never fully cure a dog of. The hard reality is it is time to move on.

[oswald]

1 other thing to think about!!! when i first started hunting as a teen i got 2 or 3 dogs gave to me.first 2 were worthless.the 3rd was bug eyed shy dog as you have.this one was bred very well.lipper x yadkin tar blood,also had littermates doing great.only took me a few months to get rid of the man shy problem.took about 2 weeks to getting her to blow a treetop out on a treed coon,i got offered a lot of money for this dog but i would not sale since it was the 1st dog i had that would actually tree a coon.THEN I SHOT A COON!! everything was down hill from there.the dog would still tree coons but if she knew you were coming to the tree she would leave and go find another 1. that really sucked in those mtns walking to a tree ,dog runs off,shine tree -see coon and wait for dog to go 3 miles to tree another one.i felt my way thru the dark woods tip-toeing so she wouldnt see my light or hear me coming to the tree.yeah i caught a few coons with her but just wasnt worth the grief.i did develop good tackling skills though,and once she got the coon in her mouth she would carry it all the way to the truck without ever laying it down once.but come to think of it i dont miss her!!!!

[Everlast]

I agree with you. Allot of spooky dogs turn out to be gun shy. That's a concern of mine on this dog as well. But I don't shoot much game out to the dogs. Maybe a cat or fox or two per winter. So if it looks like it might bother her, I may just lead her away from the tree.................................If I keep her that is.

Funny thing is, when she is loose with the other dogs, she is not timid or spooky of anything. You can slam truck doors, yell at dogs, it doesn't seem to bother her. Only if she is on a leash or confined in a kennel. I think she hates to let me catch her because she knows she is going to be put in the kennel or on a leash/tie out.

I've been working on the dog the last few days with the long rope method she will now come to me with just a little continuous tugging on the rope. But she will not eat out of my hand yet. I'll turn her loose this weekend and see how she does. If I can't catch her, then she will get some survival training I guess.

[Dan Edwards]

Survival training, I love it!

I have had a bunch of em get that sort of training. After 5 or 6 days most of them wild eyed coyote sumbitches want to get to ya but soon as ya feed the sumbitches they usually go right back to what they were.