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How much does a dog have to be hunted to be called, what you think, is "fine tuned"? I'm not just talking about physically "fine tuned", mainly I'm talking about a fine tuned nose on a hound. Do you believe this? I really believe for a hound to be able to work to his full potential, nose wise, he has to be hunted regularly. So much so, that I would compare it to a football player that had been playing all season and his team had made it to the NFL play off. Now...I think him and his teammates would be called "fine tuned" at this point. I'm not saying that they only reached the fine tuned stage at this point, I'm sure it was somewhere back down the line during the season but I'm sure at this time they're fine tuned physically and mentally.

I think a dog is the same way. Now you can take a dog that has been layed up and is physically out of shape and run him down the road everyday for two or three weeks and get him physically conditioned but I don't think his nose is fine tuned at this point. It takes hunting, with a dog using his nose all the time for a dog to get a fine tuned nose.

I have seen, when I have been hunting regularly and dogs were, what I call, fine tuned and have one of my older broke trailing gyps come in season. After laying her up, for close to three weeks, when thrown back in with the pack at first she wouldn't be able to open as cold as she did before coming in season. She wasn't as fine tuned as before coming in season. Lost some of her keenest of smell. I would guess after hunting her "regularly" for ten days to two weeks she will be as fine tuned again as before coming in season.

A few years ago, during deer season, I got a call one night on a crippled deer. They had busted a foreleg and needed a dog. I told them I'd be there at daylight next morning. The dogs trailed about 800 yards, jumped and run the buck about 400 yards and sit down to baying. I eased in and finished the buck off. They were 5 men following me as the dogs worked the trail on that buck that morning. When it was all over they committed about what a good trailing job the dogs had done. I answered saying that I was blessed to have gotten as many calls as I had. Been able to put the dogs on lots of trails and had them "fine tuned". They asked what I meant by fine tuned. And I explained what I thought a fine tuned dog was and what I thought it takes to get a dog to the fine tuned stage. It so happened the owner of the ranch was there that morning and heard my commit. He is a big bird dog hunter with lots of bird dogs. He turned and looked at some of the boys that were with me on that trail that morning and said that maybe that was the reason some of their top bird dogs acted like idiots at first, in the fall of the year, running through and busting up coveys like they had never smelled a bird in their life. Lost their keenness of smell.

So....after your dogs have been layed up in the kennels for a while and not being hunted. When first brought out, don't expect them cold trail as cold as they were before being layed up. Have to get them "fine tuned" for them to cold trail to the top of their performance.

I have to mention that I hunt a pack of hounds. I know lots on this forum only hunt one or two dogs. I know this "fine tune ness" would be harder to pick up on if you didn't have other dogs to compare to. Like my gyp in season. I know dogs in the pack that she would open colder on track than them. After coming out of season they would be out trailing her, until she got fine tuned again.

What are y'all's thoughts on a "fine tuned" hound? A dog working at the top of his ability. How often does he have to be hunted to stay "fine tuned"?

I totally agree with you on the fine tuned hound losing it's edge when lied up for much length of time. I honestly believe "most hunters" don't hunt hard enough because of cost or family matters to actually fine tune a hound to it's fullest potential. A fine tuned hound has to have a fine tuned handler as well. A handler that knows exactly what their hounds are doing while in the brush. I honestly believe more hounds are ruined by handlers than hounds that are actually made into decent dogs. I had a friend sell a very elite pack of bear dogs to a guy that didn't know what end a hound barked out of and within a year those dog's were a reflection of their handler. I personally believe a pack of hounds needs to be handled, hunted and exposed to game of choice (not harvested game) no less than 3 to 4 days a week ( even more if possible) for them to reach their full potential. I'm sure others will disagree and that's fine.

When I used to bear hunt and switch to varmints after the first few storms it would almost always take the dogs a few weeks to actually settle down and dial into a lesser scented varmint trail. But having said that there were always some (the few and far between) that would "seem to switch over" to cat or fox without a bobble, but after hunting with them for a little while you would notice that with some exposure they would really get dialed in and look a lot better.

I believe you are 100% correct, I also hunt with a pack of anywhere from 8 to 14 I believe a dogs nose is like a piano if it don't get played it will go out of tune ! I believe what u say abt running one down the road everyday on a 4 wheeler might get his body in shape but I believe a hounds nose matches his body, to fast and cant make the turn over runs it , so I think put his nose up a cats hind end or a fox and both will come together ! and a dog that's been shut up for a month has got soft, body and nose wont take long though and it will be back up, I have seen some it didn't matter at first until they start getting a few hours into a grey fox and then it would show, I try to hunt 2 to 3 nights a week , right now when its so hot abt all ones going to get is trotted down the road, but I still have to go so they will stay in half decent shape ! a person will find out right now how broke his dogs are ! hot , dry and game don't want to move ! hound wont make sitting up he has to be used one way or another to make a dog, has to be taught to handle and he will be aggrevating if he is not used, I believe 3 night of running a week foor at least 15 hrs will for sure fine tune a hounds nose body and mouth ! a hounds mouth will also change I believe the more running he gets

A dog(s) has to be hunted regularly to be in shape both physically and mentally but remember if that ability isn't in their blood all the hunting and training in the world can't bring it out.If you want to have good hounds,hunting them has to be your full time hobby in my opinion.I guess i'm just a weekend warrior but i hunt every chance i get,weekends,holidays,vacation time,sick days "etc ". I use to hunt before and after work but i don't have the energy for that anymore .My point is you have to keep them in the woods to have them firing on all cylinders.Because i'm a weekend hunter i only keep dogs that are above average to tops in the woods.This is because i want to catch as much game as possible with my limited time hunting .You can tree a lot of game with average dogs if you have lots of time to hunt but you won't do so good with those same dogs if your time is limited! So i agree with the guys hunt hard and often to keep your dogs at the top of their game.I work my dogs all summer in the hot,dry weather so when the rainy season starts they think they're in heaven .

Thanks boys for the replies. I really believe like CRA, that there is a lot of hunters that don't get to hunt enough to know what a fine tuned hound is. Thinking about it really makes me count my blessings. Being able to hunt like I do and having a understanding wife.

During the 1980's deer hunting here wasn't as big of a deal as It is now so you could cat hunt year round. I was single and lived right in the middle of good cat hunting country. Of a seven day week and being able to hunt morning and evening which gives you 14 chances to hunt a week I bet I would average from 8 to 12 hunts a week. Back then I could take a rank dog someone else had given up on and I could get them under control for two reasons my older dogs didn't have any nonsense in them, they would tell on that rank dog right off if he did anything wrong and the second thing was that rank dog just thought he was tuff. He had never been hunted under the hunting pressure I was getting ready to put on him.

I'm like Southern Fox right now in the middle of the summer it sure gets hot here. So I mainly hunt the early morning hours this time of the year. Thinking back over this past week starting Monday up till this morning(Sunday) I have hunted every morning this week. Dogs and I will give it a rest today and I'll go to church and count my blessings.

But I think like CRA and Southern fox, that you can keep a dog fine tuned by hunting them 3 to 4 times a week. Just my opinion. Good hunting to all!

There was a time when I HUNTED 3 TO 4 TIMES A WEEK, must also realize some may hunt that often, but, don/t have the cat population to run a critter each time out. I can/t say I noticed my cold nosed dog lost ability to smell as cold tracks after a layoff, however believe all dogs preform at a higher lever when hunted often. Watching the film of the Texas hunt made me realize there is vast difference in hunt style and number of bobcat available than hunting where I hunted. It can depend on the dogs one hunts as to how much hunting required to keep them performing well. Sure would like to have an area like was shown in that film to hunt in at this time in my life. About the time dogs get tuned in here, it is time to lay them up, if you are hunting legal, now days in Oregon. Al

I to use to hunt 4 days a week and i could be in good cat country in a 30 minute drive from home .Times have sure changed but we have to play the hand we're dealt.Work sure interferes with a guys fun .

I have a pack of deer dogs that I can only run Nov thru Jan so they are layed up for 9 months. I don't notice much difference in their cold trailing ability but their mind and body surely has to get fine tuned every year when the season opens. Between myself and my 3 sons they don't get very many off days during those 3 months and after they toughen up physically they are fine tuned mentally also. They will run the pads off pretty quick but if you keep running them they'll run em back on. My fox/cat running is screwed up too, I can run Nov thru Apr then again July and Aug. so even they are layed up 2 months at a time twice a year. About the time they get tuned up they get layed up.

I agree with Rob as I can see it in my potlickers and I only hunt 4-5 dogs at a time. I hunt a lot of younger dogs and enjoy training and messing with them. What I see in the youngsters is if I set them in the kennels for several days is they act like the bird dogs that has been on the shelf for several months. Too much energy and wanting to run something and not too picky.
Adios,
Gary

I see it with mine, in fact it takes me a good couple of weeks to really get them hammering the scent like they were at the tail end of last season. I start early Fall, and instead of heading out in the morning, Ive started going often in the late afternoon. Early morning starts are good, but once that sun gets up, and the dew lifts, the scenting gets poorer quickly. But later on, the reverse happens. the dogs need to try harder to unravel that old track, but their efforts pay off as the sun sets, the scenting conditions improve.