What age to start puppies in the woods running with older dogs?

[HOGMAN]

My puppy is a Plott hound. What time would you bring your puppy on a bear and lion hunt its first time. Thanks. Mine will be a hog dog. But bears and lions can kill and scare a dog too. So just wanting other opinions.


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[Kyle D7]

Last season I started 3 pup's on bear at 8 months old. I started them 1 at a time with the older dog's and once they were going I later could turn all three down and they would all make the race. It was a lot fun watching them grow and develop into good little dogs. I can't wait to see them hit the woods this spring. Hope that helps. Kyle

[david]

I have started them at all ages through the years for less dangerous game. But a man who made his living with hounds (John Wick) is very firm that they should not be hunted until a year old, and that was for coon hunting.

[HOGMAN]

This puppy is 7 months old. I guess it's part of being good at training dogs telling when it's right. My old houndsmen friends who helped me get where I am wait till at least a year. I think if dog ain't got too much puppy and knows what a hog is and what it will do to him. That's when he ought to be able to go I don't wanna push him to early though.


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[Goose]

Not saying which way is right or wrong but I bought the wick books and have learned ALOT and changed my mind on a lot of stuff as well, earliest I'll put mine in the woods is 10 months and that's only if the pup is mature for his age.

[dhostetler]

I guess I do it all wrong. My pups start going along hunting at around 3 months old and follow me to easy trees. Most of my pups will run truck to tree before they are 6 months old.

Attached is Rocket age 3 months and 13 days starting a lion track while i was collaring up. He stuck his nose in every track all the way to the top of the bank. He had followed me into around 6 trees before that so he had been exposed to cat scent.

[mark]

When im nutts deep in snow i will walk the trail too. Lmao!!!!!

[twist]

Now Mark that pup is clearly trailing lol! Andy

[HOGMAN]

Well I thank y'all for the replies. I won't probably really try her till 10 months in the woods. At least to be safe. That being said she's walking in woods with me now but not while hog hunting


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[pegleg]

I don't put them in hard hunting til they're older. But they sure do a lot prior to that. When they're first hunted everything else is long handled and used to. I've found most are willing long before they're really able to handle the hard hunts or bad customers. Both things I generally can't control. But I do a lot of puppy days to. Where I know before hand I absolutely won't let it get out of control. I don't leave them kenneled until they reach magic number. They work , learn , and grow into being ready.

[dhostetler]

Well you guys can call bullshit I don't care but I start my dogs at a very young age. So far I never had a bad results from it. This past weekend me and several others treed a tom. Rocket (4 months old) followed 2 other guys to the tree who got there before I did. They claimed he was treeing but when I got there he was just harassing the other dogs. One of the guys had a buddy with a tag and he shot it with some kind of assault rifle. Made a bad shot it bailed out. We tracked it 100 yards about that time Trigger my 9 month old English Bluetick chews through his leash and passes us with my 2 little pups going with him. I rushed back to the tree and turned more dogs loose but Trigger had it treed again in 300 yards by himself and I assume the Walker pups, they are to small for tracking collars. At the second tree the guy killed it and I took the pups to it and they bayed it as it was going through the death quivers. Trigger the English bluetick at 3.5 months old got away from me and packed into a walking/baying bear and followed it 500 yards before I pulled the dogs off.

[1bludawg]

I don't start my young pups on bobcat until 7 months old .I use to do it younger but usually had problems with the pups getting hung up and threw out .At 7 months they're full grown and just do better.I wouldn't have a problem with waiting until a year old as they would be even more mature BUT you need to be working with them as pegleg said . Teach them some basics like getting use to gunshots ,being hauled ,walking in the woods"etc".
Something else to think about . It doesn't really matter how early a pup starts,it's how they finish that counts !

[Cajun]

My pups get to run loose so by the time they are 4-5 months old they are running squirrels, rabbits, etc. They are using their nose everyday & learning how to get thru the woods. By the time they are 5-6 months old they have graduated to deer & I have to chain them up. I start running them in my 25 acre pen & by the time they are 7 months old, you can sure tell which ones have the nose to trail. I keep a running hog in there and nothing big enough to hurt them. I will start carrying them to the woods when they are 9 or 10 months old but will not put them on anything that will hurt them. I am going to pick their battles.Once they are 11 or 12 months old, all bets are off & they are running with the big dogs & by then, they know what the score is. Makes no sense to me to put immature pups on game like a big boar or a bear & get the snot beat out of them. That being said I know a lot of people that start their pups early on bear & they do fine. Everybody uses whatever way that has been successful for them.

[HOGMAN]

Cajun I live by a very notorious dog killing road or I would definitely do it the way you do. Don't wanna get these pups run over. I've been taking her riding on the rig in the truck lately. She's doing good. She's got riding down. Just needs to learn how to strike my old dogs ought to help her with that though. I don't have a pen. But when i catch a hog in the coming weeks that small enough for puppies I'll put it out and give it a 20 minute head start and turn out a pup and a old dog that was a good dog that is partially retired and help her with it. Then once she understands the concept I'll put her in the woods and see what happens normally my pups have been able to pass the test. I don't catch that many dog wreckers.


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[Cajun]

Hogman, I know not everybody has the benefit of letting pups run loose & roads are the biggest factors against it. I am very fortunate to live where I do & it puts me months ahead with my pups. Still the more you can fool with your pups at a early age, getting them to use their nose & simple obedience pays big dividends over the people who just leave their dog in the kennel until they are old enough to hunt & then take them to the woods & expect them to run with the big dogs.