Continually Proving The Hound

[ALEX]

Most houndsmen will agree that when starting a young pup during its first few seasons on game, it is important to run them with other experienced dogs until they know what their job is. Then the next big step is to hunt that young hound alone until the owner can be entirely sure that the dog can do the job on its own consistently.

I am going to assume that after most houndsmen's young dog has proven its own abilities on solo hunts, that it will rarely be hunted completely and entirely on its own for the remainder of its hunting career from strike, trail, to tree. I would believe this to be truer in the context of big game hunting rather than coon hunting. Most fellas have more than one or two hounds and it is completely understandable that whenever they get the chance to hunt their hounds, that they will take most of their pack so each can get time in the field.

Who feels that after a young hound has proven its abilities to catch game on its own, that it may not be as important to continue singling out that dog every so often in the years following as a "refresher" of sorts to make sure they will still go it alone? Obviously a good hound is going to carry/contribute to a hunt and rise to the top of a pack regardless of whether it is alone or with other hounds. Does a hound come away with less valuable experience (the kind that brings out a dog's full potential) out of a hunt when running with a pack rather than by itself?

[Snow walker]

I believe most dogs hunted alone will become there very best and learn more as they go than if run with other dogs.

[dwalton]

Dogs need to be hunted alone at times. Dogs can learn more with others at times also. Dogs that are sticky learn to move a track, they learn to cold trail, they learn to tree, ect.. hunting with other dogs. It is up to the hunter to determined where a dog is lacking and what is the best way to get the best results. Different dogs need different approaches to get the best out of them. Their is no one fix for all. Dewey