Obedence

[al baldwin]

I have been thinking, can hunting hounds be over obedience trained to a point that it can hinder their performance in the woods? I used to spend a lot of time on obedience training, at times I felt it might hinder the dogs performance in the woods. Thanks Al

[dhostetler]

Yes I think you can. It is important not to break there spirit in my opinion. When I go to field trials I always like to see how dogs respond to the owner. Some appear to have very little discipline and bark non stop. Others cringe when the owner looks at them. I believe the right balance is somewhere in between.

[mark]

Al i think a lot of things can be done to dogs in excess that hampers their hunting ability. I think that dogs are born with a hunting spirit and if that is broken by whatever means it will affect their hunting drive. The point in which that will be broken will vary from dog to dog. I believe in spending a lot of time with dogs when they are young and that includes letting them in the house quite a bit and hauling them in the cab of the pickup with me among other things. I learned to be very careful with that now after having a young dog a few years back that would leave out on tracks but would always end up quitting at any little bobble and come looking for me. It eventually out grew it but it missed some races in a real critical time in its life. Making a dog come on command and trash breaking needs to be done with some thought behind it so you dont break its spirit IMO

[merlo_105]

I agree with everyone about the dog's spirit thing. I have one here who was broke a little hard a little early. She doesn't road anymore use to be a maniac she doesn't start tracks very often now almost like she's just super lazy but she still trails and runs a track fine. Sometimes I think she aint as good as she was but then other times I think she's better then she was. As for to much obedience Naww don't believe that one. All my dogs will sit shake roll over all are in the house. I don't have to tell them to get up on the truck, one honk and there coming out. Everyone minds real well. I have had a few old hunters ride with me and compliment how the dogs were and they never seen anything like it. They catch there share of game way more then they don't so over obedience hurting there hunt nooo, Trainer handler hurting them by not letting them hunt yeah.

[merlo_105]

Mark, Like what you mentioned about the young dog getting out there and coming back to check in. Was probably caused by you letting him run around all the time and constantly calling him to you. You being Dad keeping him out of trouble. Obviously some dogs take it differently. You probably raised plenty of dogs the way you did that one but whatever reason he responded differently.

[merlo_105]

Also MAYBE if a young dog uses his brain more learning tricks and so on he could learn faster in the woods? IDK But I think if a young dog would use its head more rather relying on bred in qualities you could get to a better dog faster also IDK. Make since in my head I'm retarded and Can't type out what I want

[oneguy828]

I think mental stimulation in a young dog is great. I raise all of mine in the house and it seems somewhere around 6-7 months or so when they begin to fire a little and want to hunt that they would rather move to outside with the "big" dogs. I am very light on my dogs and want them to learn by using the very least amount of reprimand I can while getting the desired training outcome as many others have stated on here.. The type of dog you have well determine the steps you take in doing that,as I have seen many different mental makeups not only within the same strain but same litter. It seems as if its a dog to dog basis on howyou ultimately train but generally its similar. I don't think you can go wrong socializing them and making them accustom to many different environments. A few things I have seen hurt dogs when they are young is having a heavy handed and/or finger. It can create a dog that doesn't hunt hard freecasting, roading and rigging. Do believe that's why rig dogs are hard to come by for some, training style tends to knock it out as oppose to bring it out. Jmo I have to live with my dogs 365 days a year not just when I am hunting so them being a nice dog as far as trainability, personality have a lot of weight in how much I like them.

[oneguy828]

I do want to add though once a boundary has been set and a dog KNOWS I am not afraid to bring the foot down. Good timing and good opportunies seem to be the key in early stages of a young dogs life.

[dwalton]

I don't like a pup raised in the house some will become over attach to you. As far as over trained you can't do enough as long as it is training not abuse. If a dog reacts to commands out of fear that is not training. Training can be done in a positive manner where the dog is a willing partner having fun. Why would you want it any other way? I have seen people that could train a dog without little effort and it is a pleasure to be around there dogs. Tim Pittman is one of them. Dewey

[twist]

I've believe if one whispers the command to them it helps! Andy

[oneguy828]

How many have you had get over attached Dewey?

[Trueblue]

Absolutely no doubt in my mind that dogs can be ruined by overhandling at the wrong times. Seen it too many times to believe otherwise. I have seen others ruin good dogs this way and I have ruined some myself. Had to learn the hard way. Some dogs are easy to ruin, the smart ones, and others are harder, the dumb ones. What ruins one dog may not ruin the next. All dogs are individuals and have to be handled accordingly. Guaranteed the majority of dogs have failed to reach their full potential due to a poor handling. I believe that creating a close bond with a dog when he is young will make him want to hunt for you and not for himself but I never want to handle him to the extent that I have gotten in his head where he is always worried about whether he is pleasing or displeasing me. I don't like it when dogs start over thinking things, it usually causes a lack of confidence. I like obedience training, correcting, disciplining dogs as minimally as I can to get the desired result. That being said, almost all my best dogs have been house dogs which I have never seen hamper their desire to leave me and go hunt as long as they were properly introduced and trained to hunt at the proper time. Just my 2 cents. To each his own.

[dhostetler]

Trueblue, I agree 100% with you. One thing I don't do is the house thing except young pups and on extra ordinary occasions.

[Trueblue]

[mark]

Trueblue summed up what i was trying to say pretty well. I just cant type my thoughts as well as some. Im a little dyslexic and a bunch retarded.