Old dogs learning bad habits

[pup42]

Just curious what you guys' thoughts are on an older experienced dog forgetting what he was bred to do if not hunted in quite a while or not very often. I have an older hound that sat on a chain for about two years before I got him. I am not able to hunt as much as I think he needs to get hunted. So I'm curious if he will pick up bad habits as far as chasing off game and/or will he need some reminders of what I want him to run?

[scrubrunner]

Seen some deer hounds set up for a couple years, they seemed to pick up right where they left off. Have seen a couple that refused to hunt for somebody new but I'd say if it starts off trashy with ya it might have always been trashy.

[al baldwin]

Pup 42 in my experience laying up a true reliable hound will not cause them to start off game. If a older hound has been true to start game of choice, for me they have continued to do so after a long lay up. It could sure take some hunting time & conditioning to perform like they did before a lay off. It is sure not hard to get most any hound, no matter how broke they have been running off game if they are hunted with trash running dogs for an extended time & those trash runners are not corrected. Cat hunting & keeping trash free hounds can be a lonely life for a straight cat hunter. I am speaking from experience, I am now a has been. Good luck Al

[pup42]

Thanks for the helpful info guys. The dog is a game driven dog and doesn't let other dogs distract him when he's hunting. He's been on tons of bear and is a good rig dog. He lives to hunt. The previous owner which is a friend of mine hunted him a lot but didn't work to much on breaking him from deer and coyotes. He is a smart dog and I don't think it will take much to discourage him from those two off game animals.