How to start coon dogs on lions

[jbrown]

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO START COON DOGS ON LION AND BEARS

[twowalkers]

find a track and run it with your dogs. i dont belive in drags

[houndnem]

startin in the snow will help speed up the process. find a track and coax em on! help them if you have to. I used to go track for track with my dogs and keep em on the track. after a few trees they get the basic concept, trail, catch, tree. then you can advance them to harder conditions.

[jbrown]

thanks for info i think im going to try mike leonards way he tells on cat training first.

[houndnem]

Suit yourself, in the meanwhile I'll be treein cats with my 6 month old pups. good luck, I really hope it goes good for you.

[cat hntr]

I brought a walker dog from ohio to montana that had been running coon for a few years and ran him on lions .He was as good on lions as any of the other dogs we used.But I dont think it would be a bad idea to give them a little scent training but if they already run and tree they shouldnt need much most dogs naturally run cats so it shouldnt take them to long to catch on.

[George Streepy]

If the dogs are catching coons then they probably have the basics down. I don't think there is anything that compares to putting them on real game. Take the dogs out in the woods and put them down on a lion track. I rarely come across a dog that is so broke you can't coax them into running a track. Like others have suggested walk them out on the track till they can't take it anymore, they shouldn't have a problem. In my opinion sent training older dogs is a waste of time. My dogs won't even get excited over scent. It may help with firing up pups at a young age, but it sounds like your trying to get coon dogs to run lions, not pups.

I don't know why, but you can take my dogs that rig lions and bobcat, drive them over scent and they don't even care. My other problem with scent drags, it doesn't help the dogs to determine the direction the track is going. If you wet a drag or whatever, the scent is stronger at the start than the end. I have seen better track dogs trying to turn around and run the track backwards. If they have any experience, just talk them into running the track.

Just my opinion. Good luck, I hope your dogs do well on their new game.

[Yard Dog]

I am yet to see a good coon dog that would not run a cat. Have seen good cat dogs that did not like to run bear, would run them, just not with the drive they had for cats.

[AZDOGMAN]

George, When you do a drag, you run it bakwards for that reason. You start at the tree and make your drag then start your dogs at the point that you quit dragging.

[George Streepy]

AZDOGMAN, I get the idea, everybody wants to use scent drags. I don't like them very much for pups, and I would never use it for grown dogs. I am not a big fan of using a training method that doesn't reflect real track characteristics. The dogs would be smelling the person doing the drag. The scent would dissipate differently if you lay the track backwards. I could go on but you guys get the idea, I would rather use a real track.

This is just my opinion. But a scent drag is better than sitting at home doing nothing.

[ferjr]

i dont use any scent when doing drags, i only use a real hide, from a fresh killed bear that i keep in my freezer, you dont have to worry about the scent disapateing. my dogs do not even pay any attention to store bought scents, they do go crazy over a bear hide though. store bought scents are garbage in my opinion

[jbrown]

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU THAT POSTED I THINK I NEED TO FIND A FRESH TRACK AND WALK THEM DOWN IT . THE PROUBLEM IS WE DONT GET MUCH SNOW HERE IN SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO.

[jbrown]

IS THERE ANY WERE I CAN GET A FRESH BEAR HIDE TO MAKE A DRAG THANKS.

[ferjr]

IS THERE ANY WERE I CAN GET A FRESH BEAR HIDE TO MAKE A DRAG THANKS.

check with your local taxidermist, they usually throw away the back halfs when people do half bear mounts. i work at a tannery/ taxidermy shop so i usually have acsess to them.

[houndnem]

AZDOGMAN, I get the idea, everybody wants to use scent drags. I don't like them very much for pups, and I would never use it for grown dogs. I am not a big fan of using a training method that doesn't reflect real track characteristics. The dogs would be smelling the person doing the drag. The scent would dissipate differently if you lay the track backwards. I could go on but you guys get the idea, I would rather use a real track.

This is just my opinion. But a scent drag is better than sitting at home doing nothing.

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