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I just got 2 bluetick pups and was wondering how early all of you start to work them on short trails around the yard. They are 2 female littermates 6 weeks old. Out of dogs on both sides that are used to hunt cats here in az. I'm brand new to hound hunting and could sure use some good info. Anybody have a training video or book they would recommend? Thx

I start at 6 weeks old by laying hot dog drags for them

I start putting mine on coons and barn lions at 8 weeks. laugh if you want but I take all the ones that will bark wag pull hair etc and by the time they are 6 mo. they will catch their own lion or it's down the road they go.

I am sorry but I have to laugh a little bit. Are we talking 6 months with out help on bare ground?

My advices and take it for what it is worth, about two wooden nickles.

Do simple things with a pup don’t make it to hard and don’t put them in a stressful situation to early. Everything with young animals starts with small steps, knowing their name, no, come, load, lead, what have you. Mike Leonard has one of the best training aids you can follow for young hounds look it up on this site it will help if you don’t have seasoned hounds to train with.


sourdough

I would try mike leonard like sourdough said I have been doing it with my pup for the first time to see how it works out. I'm getting ready to put her on some sent.

Thanks for the info guys. I worked the pups both today (separately) on the hot dog drags. Thats a lot of fun to see a 6 week old pup have the natural ability to follow up and find it.

sourdough wrote:I am sorry but I have to laugh a little bit. Are we talking 6 months with out help on bare ground?

Six months on bare ground or snow by themselves would be a great feat in itself. Unless the cougar was jumped out of a tree or something like that. What breed and blood are your running houndnem? Maybe you have an early starting line?

sourdough wrote:Do simple things with a pup don’t make it to hard and don’t put them in a stressful situation to early.

That is how I do things as well. I like my pups to start as early as possible and the earlier the better... but I don't really sweat it if they take a little extra time before things begin to click. Some excellent dogs have started quickly and some have started later.

Idaho, I'm not talking jump the lion and see if they catch it. I'm saying turn out on the track in the snow and run till it's treed. I do have an early starting line. almost everybody down here that takes one of these pups,will be puttin them out of the box ahead of much older dogs. I'm not saying they are born and just come out at 6 weeks old, get weined, and start treeing lions. But with my training schedule and some luck that we put them on ten or so trees before they're 6 mo. it will amaze you! There is a guy on here that goes by hound creek. he has bought a few of them from me. He bought one at 6 months old right under a lion tree. he saw him trail and tree the lion. he also saw a litter mate to that dog climb in the tree and try to rip the lion out all by herself!!there are some pics on the forum photo galary. I hope that you don't mistake me for being one of these big big ego hounders that just thinks he is the only one with good dogs, and braggs too much. but these pups will blow your mind. As for what that other dude said about working them in slow. that is probably the best way to do it. but it aint my way! I have probably culled dogs that would have been champs, but I am spoiled with early starters and don't have the patience to wait and find out. I'm not saying these pups will smoke your old broke dogs on dry ground, but they will trail dirt. they are still trashy at that age, but they out grow that. Why wait till a dog is 3 or 4 to turn on when these one can be catchin game their first year. I have a list of people that will verify the pups they have got from me and the age they start catchin.

I assume by your signature that you have Blueticks. What blood are you running?

No Idea?both of my dogs I started with had a little bluetic, walker, b&t, and redbone all mixed together. my male breeder is a mostly black bluetic lookin dog, my female is white walker lookin dog with spots and ticks. she usually throws 12 pups. 3 straight bluetic lookin dogs and two pure white with ticks and the rest white bluetic lookin dogs. My original dog was a from the drake line in the st george area and my female came from some people in coalville ut. I crossed them first, then a pup out of them crossed with a papered english and that pup back to my female. so he's breedin his grama I guess. I just locked them up for the fourth batch last week they should be born the first part of july. let me know if you want one. I money back garranty all dogs I sell. normally instead of wanting their money back, they just want more of the pups.about a dozen guys that run down here all have one of their top dogs that came from these pups!

houndnem wrote:I start putting mine on coons and barn lions at 8 weeks. laugh if you want but I take all the ones that will bark wag pull hair etc and by the time they are 6 mo. they will catch their own lion or it's down the road they go.

a coon would walk up and down an 8 week old pup. do You mean show them coons or Let them chase ? because i dont picture many 8 week old pups doing anything with a coon except bark maybe

hey just a lil thing that has worked for me i will gt a stuffed animal soke it in sent tie it to my fishing pole and cast it that way my sent is not on the trail so they have to find the sent in stead of me good luck

Mybe I don't know much, but i start my pups on barn lions and coons also, I start them young 8-10 weeks, and the one that don't show interest get a bullet. and no at that age their not killin coons their barking at them in a cage and then trailing it, with the help of an older dog, This has worked for me. I belive starting them youn helps you choose the pups that will be faster starting dogs. I had a 2 year old dog that my brothers boy loved and he was not up to parr his littermates were cating their own cats, but we kept taking him cause we couldent kill him, and he got cought in a cave with a lion got his tail kicked and has been bad ass ever since, not saying this is the only way to start pups just think it helps you pick the better pups.

Yes these dogs will bite and pull hair on a coon out of the cage and yes they will trail the coon when it runs away. I also use one older dog to show them what to do and make sure they don't get mopped up too bad. as for the hot dog drags, I wondered if you start them on hotdogs when they're young when they get old will they catch the oscar meyer weiner mascott??????? I have always tried drags, and other traditional methods. but My theory after my many years of doing it is, if you want them to run game, start them out on game. I've never ruined a dog yet. even if they get mucked out eventually if they are ever gona make a hound they will start showing intrest again. Which brings me back to my original statement."why wait 3 or 4 years for a dog to come on when they can be catchin their own game in the first year. I started my dogs without the help of any other trained dogs. I walked them down lion tracks until they treed it therself. I also had a buddy that got into it with pups at the same time as me. we didn't run together much, but we trained them together. By the end of our first year, we were puttin up numbers of cats that put alot of the good guys around here to shame. If you dobt my credibility, look at my pics on the photo galary.I would post some video of this, but stretchin barn lions is a felony now in my state. also afraid the antis would use it as ammo against us.