BigGameHoundsmen.com

i have a walker female that is a hell of a little dog. last bear season she made every race and has made every lion this year. she even is a hell of a strike dog, but if its not a long race she will tree then back track a little ways then go back and tree and continue doing this she is very hiper dog and just wont stick to a tree . last week i cought a lion and she was doing that crap and i snuck in and hid in the brush and every time she tride leaving i would shock her with the collor..... after about tree times she sat on her ass at the base of the tree and tree her guts out. yesterday i cought another lion, very short race and she did that back tracking shit again, but my collor was dead so i couldnt work on her that time. i was interested to hear of some other ideas to try? and im not above just culling her but she dose so well in all the other departments and is getting better with age. this is only a serious problem because i have some young pups that are not hunting yet but i dont want them to learn this habit. the rest of my other dogs all stay and dont pay no attention to her. so please inlighten me!!!

Depending on how old the dog is, how much game it has seen, will tell you if this is just a temporary set back.
Maybe she is track minded right now.
With tighter tree dogs around though she should come around faster I'd hope depending on all of the above.
Hiding and shocking her is a good idea so she doesnt associate it with you.
Maybe try ignoring her completely or tying her up away from the tree so she feels like shes missing out and praising the other dogs so she can hear you. Make her want to be there and if that doesnt work then...

she is allmost two been on aprox 12 bear and 8-10 lions and a couple coon ... the bears she seems to do better on but they also leave more scent on the tree and the races are longer to burn off a little of that extra energy. and if she can see it in the tree she trees at over 100 barks a min. and just sets at the base of the tree.

thanks for the help

I hate when this happens but heres somthing that has worked for me.Try, when you get to the tree, leash her where she can see the other hounds treeing. Some times its a focus problem let the critter jump in view then turn her loose again. Or if she will bay a caged coon pull it up and down in front of her. Have you run drags with her? It seems like sometimes running drags will also cause this problem. That's why I only train with live game. Thats my .02 about this problem and I hope it helps you out. ERIC

Walkerdogs advice may help with some dogs but I don't think it would help in your case.You already stated that the dog will bark 100 barks a minute if she can see the game, so the cage in the tree would possibly make the situation worse by teaching her to tree only when she can see it.I also believe that letting game out for her to re-run would also have a negative effect on her in regards to treeing.That would encourage her to look for tracks leaving the tree.The dog has not been to that many trees so I don't think I would cull her yet.Just keep hunting her and tie her at the tree when you get there.Tie her where she can get on the wood.Praise her alot when she is on the wood treeing.Is it possible that she has had ANY negative experiences at the tree in the past that may be making her nervous now ?

TRUE BLUE HAS IT ABOUT RIGHT. I'D HITCH THE DOG AT THE TREE AND PRAISE HER UP. DO NOT LET HER OFF THE LEASE. WHEN THE SITUATION IS RIGHT LET THE GAME GO UP AND DOWN THE TREE WHERE SHE CAN SEE. WHEN THE SITUATION IS RIGHT IF THE GAME GETS OUT OF THE TREE TURN HER LOOSE WITH THE REST OF THE DOGS. HOPFULLY THEY WILL TREE IT AGAIN AND HOPEFULLY SHE WILL BE ON THE TREE. IT MIGHT TAKE A COUPLE OF APPLICATIONS. I WOULD WANT TO SEE SOME SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT AS I WAS GOING ALONG. IF SHE WANDERS FROM THE TREE AFTER THAT AND HAS HAD SOME FUR ALL THE ADVICE IN THE WORLD PROBABLY IS NOT GOING TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM. I'D GIVE HER THIS HUNTING SEASON TO COME INTO IT. AFTER THAT YOU ARE WASTEING YOUR TIME.

im used to hunting running dog crosses this can be a commen problem the shock collar is your best tool for the situation then when she gets back to the tree tie her up. dogs are creatures of habit period. 20 plus peices of game is not alot for a two year old i would put a pile of game and more time on her and be consitant with the collar and leash and she will come around

I really hate to give you the reasons why this dog should be culled first order of business.
But here goes.

Some dogs just have been more interested in running scent tracks as apposed to being stay put tree dogs.

This can be caused from several things, I will list a few mistakes young hunters make training pups.
Run to many drags.
Fighting cage cat or coon to much.
Letting a pup tree to long at the tree when young.
Jumping game out of trees way to many times.
Running to many different types of game.
Or maybe all of the above.

Young pups if bred right will make tight treeing dog if given the chance.

These are a few of the mistakes I have made in the last 30 years.
Trying to get a good broke dog, before getting a solid tree dog.

Once a dogs gets in the habit of leaving the tree for what ever reason.
Maybe to greet you coming in.
Maybe coming to find you or looking for you.
Maybe running the track backward.

I can always come up with several good reasons to give the dog another chance.
I have a 3 strike rule you leave the tree 3 times, like it is going to be a habit.
I will not stand for a dog running the back track.
Dead Dog, Period.

I owned a Cameron dog a few years back that used to do just like your dog.Sometimes he would also leave the tree and come find me while I was on my way into the tree and when we got there he would only tree half assed.He did that his first bear season(about 25 trees) and half of his second season(about 25 more trees).I thought I might have to cull him but one day his tree switch went off in his head and he blew the top out from then on.Give her more time.

True Blue;
Glad the dog made it. It is hard to cull a dog that you spent so much time with.

What happens most of the time, the bears slides down the tree just as soon as that dog gets out of sight.

Pulls your pups off the tree, when a dog is looking for a track?
He is not barking, you always wonder if he will have something in the tree when you get there.

Good Luck with them big "Blues"

Maddoglures wrote: What happens most of the time, the bears slides down the tree just as soon as that dog gets out of sight.

Pulls your pups off the tree, when a dog is looking for a track?
He is not barking, you always wonder if he will have something in the tree when you get there.

Good Luck with them big "Blues"

I never had that problem as I always hunted him with at least 3 or 4 other solid tree dogs.Thanks for the well wishes with the "big blues".They seem to work pretty good for me.They treed 58 bears this year and 71 last year and it didn't require any luck.

thanks for all the help every one. This young dog is out of my own line of dogs and is a fluke that she dont tree solid all of the other dogs out of this line are very good dogs and i have had a 100 % turn out with my crosses over the last 5 years..... till this one......??? maby a bad cross.....??? this is just a dog that may not turn out but i will continue to hunt her for a little wile longer she rilly is a heck of a little dog in all other catigories, just that loose tree problem. but i think i may have to high of exspectations for her this soon? she will get a couple more months then she will go if she dont get her act together. and none of my dogs are ran on drags at all. they are all hunted on big game and maby a coon on the river if i see it when im lion hunting.

Well may be a little late, but I had a problem like this 10 years ago. My one bluetick just had way too much energy to burn and wanted to run track all the time, ecspecially on lion. So every morning before I hunted him I would kick him out and road him for 5 miles and run the stupid out of him. When I kicked loose on a track he was more inclined to hold the tree when he got there. I did this with him for three years until he finally got it. After that you could gaurentee he would stay at the tree and not pull off. I firmly believe wrong training can add to this but dogs are like people in the way that not one is the same. There are dogs out there that just have too much energy and drive and love the chase. Does'nt mean they won't tree, just overly hyper is all. If a person's willing to put the time into them they can make a hell of a hound or they could cost you a pile of food, time and effort and not make her at all. It's tuff when you've already invested two seasons into the dog on what to do. But not all dogs can run multiple game like pros. If she likes the bears and holds the tree maybe she's telling you what she is meant for. Use her strickly for bears or if you are letting her go send her to someone who will run her on bear alone. She is young and may surprise you yet.

Just my thought is all, good luck.

walkerdog wrote:I hate when this happens but heres somthing that has worked for me.Try, when you get to the tree, leash her where she can see the other hounds treeing. Some times its a focus problem let the critter jump in view then turn her loose again. Or if she will bay a caged coon pull it up and down in front of her. Have you run drags with her? It seems like sometimes running drags will also cause this problem. That's why I only train with live game. Thats my .02 about this problem and I hope it helps you out. ERIC

That is a very good post and great advise. the only thing I will add is the more game you shoot out for her the more she's gona understand the importance for staying at the tree. I do it with a bunch of coons in the summer time and uasually by winter they are good locators and stay put tree dogs. good luck, she sounds like a goodn' to to me.

Trueblue wrote:Walkerdogs advice may help with some dogs but I don't think it would help in your case.You already stated that the dog will bark 100 barks a minute if she can see the game, so the cage in the tree would possibly make the situation worse by teaching her to tree only when she can see it.I also believe that letting game out for her to re-run would also have a negative effect on her in regards to treeing.That would encourage her to look for tracks leaving the tree.The dog has not been to that many trees so I don't think I would cull her yet.Just keep hunting her and tie her at the tree when you get there.Tie her where she can get on the wood.Praise her alot when she is on the wood treeing.Is it possible that she has had ANY negative experiences at the tree in the past that may be making her nervous now ?

+1 also very good advise.