Training a coondog pup/ tifton ga

poole93

Senior Member
Headed to pick up an English puppy in about two weeks, figured be ready to start training around November, I’ve always had dogs that were already hunting when I get them so needing advice on how to start, at what point of training to put him in woods, trash breaking him, also looking for someone around tifton with a nice finished dog to hunt with and run the pup with but if I can’t find anyone, how do I go about training by himself, thanks for any input
 

NCMTNHunter

Senior Member
I will start by answering a few of your questions directly...

1. Start taking it to the woods as soon as you can but keep in mind the dogs size and age. I even like to take puppies to the woods just to let them smell stuff and trip over things.

2. Trash breaking. Everyone has a different opinion on this. I never try to break a hound from running anything until they tree a few coons on their own and get a few shot out to them. Until that point the dog really doesn't know what critter he is supposed to be after and any attempt at breaking could break them from hunting all together. Once they are rewarded by getting some hair in their mouth some dogs will quit running anything else naturally. If not then a little discouragement from off game is all it takes.

The following is a copy and paste of a comment I left on a similar post while back. Hope it helps...

The first thing to consider is the the fact that hunting with dogs and more so hunting with hounds is not a hobby that can be picked up and put down when you feel like spending time on it. It is a lifestyle. When you take ownership of a hound you owe it to the dog to put it in woods. I always felt like a minimum of three nights a week year round is what it took to do your dog and you justice. My grandfather had two sayings about coon hunting that he would use a lot. The first wasn't really advice but more an honest truth. He would always say that coon hunting is the most work and least pay of anything a man can do with his life. His other saying could possibly be the best advice I've ever heard about raising coon dogs. All you need to make make a good coon dog is a good pup and a ton of boot leather. What this means is that you don't train a dog to hunt. It is in them. They will do it on there own. What you have to do is give them plenty of practice. You can't leave a hound in the kennel all year and try to hunt a few Saturday nights in the fall.

What you can train a coon dog to do (and most don't) is be obedient. Spend 10 or 15 minutes a day with your pup teaching them to lead, come, load up, and staying in the box until told. Really working on this the first year will make the next 10 years a whole lot better.

I have never really seen that using drags with pups helped to turn them into a better dog down the road. I think it just give the owner something to do until the pup gets big enough to hunt. Letting them see a caged coon (if it's legal in Georgia) can help to get them turn on. I am a fan of starting pups on feeder buckets. Notice I said STARTING pups in buckets. After they nail a coon or two off of feeders never let them see a feeder again. Just put the dog in the woods every night you can and watch the dog get better with age. There is nothing like it. Good luck with your pup.
 

Hillbilly stalker

Senior Member
Take him to the woods. A lot can be learned before turning him loose with the big dogs. Crossing creeks, fences, how to find his way back. One of the most important things is to tone break the pup, or whistle break for a recall. When he gets a little bigger I would walk him around a few feeders and let him get his nose full of coon scent. By the time he is 6-8 months old, put him on night shift. He will be getting some legs under him by then and be able to run with the big dogs. Remember if you run him with somebody else's dog, he will most likely pick up any bad habits as well. You gotta be ready to deal with that too. A hound that is tone broke is worth at least $500 more to me. You will be glad you did. Good luck and let us know how he is doing.
 

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