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well, I have come to the conclusion that one of my dogs just doesnt have any interest in hunting/trailing or anything. He is a Black and tan. When the time comes for training, all my other dogs are workable. When I pull out the roll cage they all go for it, and he just walks away. I have tried Mountain lion/ bear and bobcat scent. He shows no interest in any of them. he is only 11 months old, but I have younger ones that are doing very well. Also,his sister from the same litter is doing well. So, the question is, Am I jumping the gun on thinking of getting rid of him, or is he really never gonna show more interest? Should I keep him a while longer or just X him out now? It wouldnt be so bad, but he is the instigator when it comes to barking. He barks constantly when there is not a collar on him. Then, all the others get going. Any suggestions?

I'm by no means an expert. I had a hound that didn't do much till he was almost 2 turned out to be my lead dog. I'd be concerned at this point but i wouldn't give up on him yet. I'd give him a break for a month and try again. josh

I had two pups from the same litter. one was running at 6 months and the other showed no interest till 8 months but when the light switch came on it was something to see. Being 11 months now its just a matter of if you want to hold on to it and keep putting money down its throat or put your time into another dog. But if you got the time and a little extra cash don't be afraid to hang on to him for a bit longer. I aint no expert so don't take my statement to the bank.

I've seen hounds that never show interest in caged animals or drags but do awesome on live game after they have seen a few lions or bears!!

I would be concern if I was just hunting caged animals. Since I only hunt bobcats I would read him/her as having the best chance at making a great dog. The dog is to young to cull at what you have seen. The only way you can tell what he is going to make is to hunt him on the game you want to catch. What a pup does on a cage for me has no value as to how he will hunt. Give him a chance, he may make it or not. For me people that work pups on cages are doing it for themselves. Dewey

dwalton wrote: For me people that work pups on cages are doing it for themselves. Dewey

What do you mean? Is there a better way to start dogs from scratch? I dont have the luxury of running my pups with finished dogs. Any advice on getting him going a different way would be appreciated.

Working young dogs on cage animals gives them the scent they need but it also gets them hipper. It can get them treeing also, but it is not giving them hunting skills. Drags with scent can help. Most dogs that I have had on real game will have nothing to do with drags or scent or a caged animal. It does not smell like the real thing. Hunting with someone is the best way to get started. There is a lot to hunting that one needs to learn before he can teach a young dog. Putting a young dog on game that you have seen or have called in works well. Snow hunting works but you don't have much on that down there. That being said the first two years I hunted I did not know of another hound man. I walked a lot of creeks looking for coons. Once I saw and caught one my two dogs started doing ok. Walk with Wicks is a good book to read. Teach your dogs to come and handle them do a lot of walking in good coon areas. Good luck Dewey

I place IMENSE VALUE on how a dog/pup reacts on caught game!!!!! A caged animal is caught game. I've had my experiences with the rare specimens that wouldn't have anything to do with a caged animal but done fine with actually hunting. RARE!!!! I start all my pups with older dogs on wild game in the woods but you can bet your A--- they've seen the desired game before they go to the woods. AND IT WASN'T FOR ME!!!!!!!!

Give him some time and don't try to force him into it. Some dogs take longer to mature, and sometimes those are the dogs that you will read about later on. I would just let him hangout with you and the other dogs while you train them and let him figure it out on his own. Sometimes completely ignoring a dog that doesn't want to be taught is just enough ammo for that dog to turn around and join the party. Or maybe the dog is a cull, I like to think any dog is trainable when they are young its the older ones that don't hunt that are culls because of their owners lack of training or attention. Good luck and keep trying he is young.

My Cheyenne,now retired,wouldn't have anything to do with a caged animal.She made one fine cat dog.Most of the houndmen i've known have worked their young dogs on caged critters.It's a good way to start them just don't over do it.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I guess I will keep him a while longer and try to put him on uncaged game and see what happens. Hopefully he turns around and works out. He is a really good looking dog. I am gonna have to buy Walk with Wicks.

Obe Cory's book" The Locating Treedog" has great training tips and advice in it.

To me, there's a difference between caged game and trainers. I'm no expert, but maybe turn loose a caged critter in front of him and see what he does. Could be the thing that pulls his trigger. Or let a critter go and walk him into the track while its still smoking hot.

My dogs almost 2 and just stopped screwin off in the woods and will actually hunt. I wouldn't get rid of him yet unless you just have to

Letting a coon out of the cage is what has worked for me in the past. As far as getting a dog to follow a drag with scent and keep interested I found by using some sort of treat the dog likes, works well.. Just toss a treat on the drag line spaced about 3 ft. apart to the end. After a few runs then reduce the number of treats put down and by the time you finish there should be just one treat at the end of the drag.. Then go hunting..