how do u pick your pups???

pistol · Post by **pistol** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:34 pm

Ive been reading alot about guys buying and trying to train pups on this sight cause i myself am trying to train a couple new pups. Sounds like everybody has there own ways but some guys have me confused. Some guys prefer to pick pups that WON'T bark or even show interest in a drag or caged animal and that makes me wonder why?? To me in my experience in my hounds is that those types of dogs are way harder to get going and seem alot more timid at the tree like there scared. A dog that fires at caged animals or attempts to run drags seem to be way more curious at a tree and seem to try and figure out whats going on and when they do put 2 and 2 together there way ahead of the other pup thats still got its tail between its legs not showing any interest. Maybe im missing something but to me if im out doin a Mike Leonard trying day and theres a pup doin it over and over again as im making it harder and harder and is trying to rip the trainer out of the cage at the end and the other pup is out trailing butterflys and running when it sees the critter than its a no brainer on which one to keep. But guys still prefer that pup?? Just my thoughts!

Fitz · Post by **Fitz** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:06 am

I like to use pieces of hot dogs. I like to let them all out then toss a couple pieces to them. Then I'll toss a piece up wind a couple feet or a few yards and the one that finds it first on a regular basis is the one I pick.

dwalton · Post by **dwalton** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 3:08 am

I have hunted dogs for 47 years and have tried everything under the sun to train a pup. It all will work or not. The only way to tree game training a dog is to hunt it. The goods ones will make it in spite of what we do. A lot of bad habits can be learned from us trying to train they on drags or roll cages. If done right some good can be taught with them. The very top dogs that I have ever owned would not run drags or work a roll cage. They would of been culled by a lot of people because the dogs did not do what we thought they should. Each to there own but realize that most of what we do training a pup is what we think works. Think of it from the dogs view. Bottom line is what they do in the woods and how much game they tree. Dewey

cobalt · Post by **cobalt** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 5:37 pm

I think for a beginning hunter, having a dog that is easier to train will be more productive. Maybe the best dogs on the planet are a bit more standoffish when they're pups, maybe not, but as a novice, catching any target animal with your first dogs you don't need the best, but rather the easiest to train. I am running 4 dogs that are all real close to 24 months. That is all I'm running and they all catch game on their own and one even struck a bobcat in july and caught it and all were trained under controlled conditions (drags, set ups, etc.) and all the dogs took to this early training without hesitation.
All dogs are different in how they grow up and after many years of training dogs (successfully), a person will understand the more technical aspects of training and be able to tackle dogs that have lighter personalities.
To put it simply, if I have a lab pup who won't retrieve a tennis ball and doesn't like water at 6 mo. old and I have another pup that does retrieve and swim, I think it would be easier to make a duck dog out of the latter.
The thing about early starting outgoing pups is that they are suseptable to being ruined from over-training or bad training due to inexperience. Once a pups shows you they are capable of doing a task, move on. Once you start hunting them and they show "try", hunting them is what will make them hunting dogs.
There is no perfect recipe for training dogs. Dogs should be trained as individuals and adjustments should be made in training methods as necessary for each dog.