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8 month old B&T training help

I’m a first time owner of a coonhound. I have an eight month old B&T (Tracker). Owned him since he was 7 weeks old. Showed him two caged coons this summer, first one when he was two months old and the second when he was four months old. He went nuts each time. I turned them loose in front of him and he treed them in the yard (the coons ran up the nearest tree so not much of a chase). I also worked with him around a dozen times this past summer with drags (partially thawed coon carcass). He consistently found the “treed” drags a hundred yards or more through the woods. He was always fast but would circle back and find the scent if he over ran it. I thought “this training a coon hound is easy” and had thoughts of great coon hunts in the fall.

I showed him his third caged coon in October, when he was 6 months old. I walked it passed him while he was in his pen. I thought he was going to chew through the fence. I let the coon loose out of site of Tracker. The coon ran down a draw in the woods out of site (my yard joins govt forest). I then let Tracker out of the pen. He ran straight to the cage, barking the whole time stayed on the trail for a few yards, over ran it, circled back, over ran it again then straight lined through the woods the opposite direction of the coon, barking and looking up in trees as he ran nearly a 1/2 mile. I finally caught him at a gravel road. He looked up at me “like did you see that boss wasn’t that great!” I just attached the lead to him and walked him back to the house.

My first thought was no more caged coons, it over excites him. Since owning Tracker, I have walked him daily 2 miles a day on a lead. We walk down the gravel road through the forest and down logging roads. We see lots of deer and he is interested but never opens up on them, even when we cross their trail after they cross the road in front of us. A couple of weeks after the last caged coon fiasco, I caught another coon, but this time let it out on my driveway, 1/8 mile from Tracker’s pen. I put the cage back in my truck, pulled up to the house, grabbed the lead and took Tracker for a walk like I do everyday after work. He had no idea I and let loose a coon. When we walked past the site where I let loose the coon, he went berserk, opened up and started trailing it, dragging me through the woods. After a hundred yards or so I got the feeling he wasn’t actually on the trail, just running and barking, with a nose full of coon scent.

I then purchased a Garmin 300 and training collar and worked with him on “coming” on a 100 foot lead. He obeyed quite well, after the first few training sessions, no tone or shock was needed for him to obey.

My son came home for deer season and we decided to take Tracker on his first coon hunt at the age of 7 months, the night before opening day of deer season which was also the opening day of coon season in Missouri. We walked Tracker down a logging road and turned him loose. He was hesitant to hunt for about five minutes then started venturing out a 100 yards from us as we walked down the trail and up a high line right of way. He hunted hard for about 30 minutes, hunting the direction we walked, not getting over 200 yards from us. Then 30 minutes in the hunt he opened up near a site where people sometimes dump trash and deer carcasses. He barked a few times, lost the trail, then opened up again, then commenced to running at full speed, barking, covering 3/4 mile through dense bottomland forest full of beaver dams in less than 5 minutes. When he was nearing railroad tracks and a major river, I started shocking him and finally stopped him with a 4 on the garmin. Took my son and I 30 minutes to reach him and he was waiting on us.

We decided to give Tracker (8 months old) another try last week while my son was home for Christmas. Tracker showed no hesitation this time when we took him off the lead about 7 pm. He hunted hard, but in his own direction, with us trying to stay within a couple hundred yards of him. About 15 minutes in the hunt he opened up again and straight lined it 3/4 of a mile in 3 minutes, up and over step Ozark ridges, dropping down in a timbered creek bottom. As he neared the edge of the 1000 acre block of govt ground I was again forced to shock him, (he showed no reaction to the tone) to stop him from entering a hazardous area (railroad tracks and major river). I had to crank it up to a 5 on the garmin to stop him. Took us 45 minutes to weave our way through the flooded timber, beaver dams and steep ridges to reach him. Again he was waiting on us. When we got back to the house, boots full of water, the garmin showed Tracker covering over 6 miles in less than 2 hours, over half that time on the lead as we walked him back home.

How do I get Tracker to settle down and actually trail a coon scent? He loses his mind when he hits a hot coon scent and seems to think if he runs hard enough and fast enough he will get the coon. I realize I need to reinforce the tone command for “come.” But getting him to actual work a scent instead of running wild, I’m out of ideas except to wait a month and try it again. But I’m afraid he’s is going to get hurt or lost given his tendency to straight line at a dead run whenever he gets a scent of coon.

Advice appreciated

David

Don't want to hurt your feelings--

But the worst thing I see in your story is--"first time owner of a coonhound" with a "training collar" in your hand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everytime you think of shocking him, slam your fingers in a door in fact you should unscrew the prongs out of the collar.

He's a pup, let him learn from his mistakes. He gets lost, let him learn to find you. He over runs a track, let him learn to figure it out. He runs a deer, hope he does a darn good job of it. He's a pup and really doesn't know what or how to do his job just yet. Look at it like you start a new job, you have no idea how to do it and everytime you make a mistake, the boss lights you up. You are either going to quite or just put your time in because you are afraid.

He sounds like he has the want too, just hunt him and if he has any gray matter between his ears he'll figure it out.

__________________
OLD TIMER

I live in the Ozark hills of se mo also. I understand your terrain except we have a small swift river. I agree with old timer about not shocking, I don't even own a shocking collar. The risk of harm is there, but let him do what a pup does until his heart is content. He sounds like he has lots of promise. Do you know anyone that may have hogs, so you could keep him on a lead and see how he acts around them? Around here all our river bottom ground is owned by government and full of wild hogs. If he goes crazy over the domestic hogs cut a switch and work his nose over good. Go home and repeat the next day. Otherwise just keep hunting him!

I agree with OLD TIMER.
Never shock a dog unless you KNOW FOR A FACT they are messing up. Even then, only shock just enough to get their attention. I would not show him any more drags or caged coons. He proved to you the first time he saw one that he was interested.
8 months old is still a baby. Most folks these days don’t have any patience. They think if a dog ain’t doing it all right on their own by a year old they ain’t gonna make it. Don’t buy in to that! Just about all of the best dogs I’ve ever had were going on 2 years old before they really “clicked”.

If your dog was mine, I would turn a caged coon loose again (very important not to let him see the coon or the cage). Turn loose in a field somewhere and watch the coon closely. Most of the time they will climb the first tree they come to. Wait about 15 minutes and turn the dog loose. If he trees the coon, shoot it out to him. If he don’t, let him go and let him figure it out! He might surprise you with another coon 800 yards away, or he might have to spend the night in the woods. He has proven to you that he knows what “come” means. If you tone him and he don’t come, don’t go get him, make him come to you!

Drafts

I’ll try the release a coon in a field that you suggested. I’m not expecting him to have it all figured out, but once he crossed the river, he was within a couple of miles of subdivisions and an extremely busy four lane highway. He gave no indication he was tiring out after running 3/4 of a mile in a straight line in less than five minutes. I felt I had no choice but to stop him.


Mocoondogs

The river he was within 100 yards before I stopped him was Black River near Poplar Bluff.

The conservation area we are hunting shows no sign of feral hogs. It’s an area that I live next too and I’m very familiar with it. Also I fed out four hogs this summer and Tracker “helped” me feed them several times. He barked at them but lost interest pretty quick. I really don’t believe he was trailing anything when he went on those long runs. He is full of energy and loves the woods, I just wish he would stay contained for more than 15 minutes in a 1000 acre tract, lots of coons in the area if he would just settle down.

If shocking him to stop him from getting in real trouble is not a good option, according to the three response so far, I may need to give him a couple months to mature before taking him out at night again.

Just my opinion only

I don't think a couple of months will change him either way good or bad. And if he is running fast and hard and barking all the way he is most likely chasing something most likely a deer. If he isn't chasing something that's a whole different problem to deal with! But I agree with the others and leave the shocker at home until you get it figured out. Work on the "come" command and get that settled first and then work on the other stuff. If he's got any brains it should not take very long to master "come ". If he can't figure that out you're probably wasting your time anyway. But that's just my thoughts on it no harm intended.

I agree that is a tough situation!
I would recommend working with him some more in the yard or in a big field somewhere on coming back to you with the tone button. Only use the shock for re-enforcement to get his attention if he is ignoring the tone or you whistling and calling him. Most dogs go through a “teenager” phase. Not all do it at the same age, but sounds like he may be there. Almost like they want to test you and see if you are really going to back up what you say or seeing how much they can get away with. Much like a horse or mule will test you to see who is in charge.

I prefer to start all my puppies alone, and normally only hunt one dog at the time. But I will say sometimes having an older BROKE dog to hunt a pup with a couple of times really helps them. Dont over do it, or you will probably end up with a “me too” dog.

Sounds like Tracker has plenty of go and obviously you spend lots of time with him. Chances are you will end up with a nice coon dog before it is all said and done!