Registered: Aug 2015
Location: Vilonia Ar
Posts: 105

Those of you that start your pups alone what do u do when the pup just sits there and looks at you iv walked them on hot tracks in the past to get them going only to make the habit of not goin huntin alone worse i currently have a almost 7 month old female that beat me in a staring contest 3 times in a row lastnight

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Philippians 2:9-11

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Central,Kansas
Posts: 422

Patience. Turn the pup loose in an area coons frequent, then sit in the truck for a couple hours. Depending on the pup, but after a dozen nights, or so they are usually all about ranging out, and checking things out.

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Still looking for a bluetick to take to the world hunt.

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Registered: Nov 2011
Location: Freeport,TX
Posts: 1991

Roger is right…and like you said, you are training the pup to hunt alongside you…

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Training dogs is not so much about quantity, it's more about timing, and the right situations...After that it's up to the dog....A hunting dog is born...

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Registered: Oct 2024
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 45

Have you tried a couple turn out coons? Also, some dogs start later than others. When I have one that doesn’t want to get out exploring I like to take them out in the daytime in woods with lots of squirrels & walk em till they start showing interest. Once they start actively working their nose & going off on their own say 50-100 yards then I start taking them closer to dark & staying till after dark. Put feeder buckets out or strap old tires to trees in the area filled with corn & over ripe muscadines, coons love em! You can also take the pup out with you on your wheeler so you can get em running & excited and also so you can take off a ways so they are on their own. Biggest thing is patience when working young dogs, but once you get their confidence built in the dark it won’t be long before they strike out on their own. I’ve seen some late starters not turn on till well over 14-16 months. Anyway, these things have worked well for me & I hope they help

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Registered: Aug 2015
Location: Vilonia Ar
Posts: 105

Yes sir I haven’t had any problems getting them to tree it’s gettin them to hunt hard from the truck has been my problem

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Philippians 2:9-11

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Registered: Sep 2009
Location: Monticello, Wi
Posts: 779

I Prefer to always start my own and train them. There are very few hunters that can take a weaning pup to a completed coonhound.

Take Rogers and Reubens advice.

My biggest challenge is making the tough decision: THAT THE HOUND JUST ISN'T GOING TO MAKE LEVEL OF ABILITY THAT I DEMAND.

I VIEW IT AS A FAILURE ON MY PART!

WHEN THE REALITY IS GENETICS. Even the best parents produce individuals with limited IQ.

Dogs lacking hunt are often taken for walks too much as puppies and trained to hunt close! It becomes a habit!

As ever,
Ken Risley

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Registered: Aug 2015
Location: Vilonia Ar
Posts: 105

At what age do yall start dumpin your pups alone and expect them to go get somethin goin

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Philippians 2:9-11

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Registered: Sep 2009
Location: Monticello, Wi
Posts: 779

5 or 6 months
A top dog has confidence and that only comes from hunting them alone before they have much experience. A smart pup learns just as much from failure as success and maybe more. It is often the owner that needs the coon shot out more than the dog.
Ken Risley

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Registered: Oct 2024
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 45

I start taking them to the woods as early as possible, the confidence comes from early exposure to various environments and situations. In other words proper socialization. A young hounds naturally gonna stick close at first in a new environment, but as they grow accustomed & more curious they will begin to range further and further from you. Some people seem to misunderstand the meaning of taking a hound for a walk in the woods & when done properly you are most definitely not training them to hunt close! I have trained hounds this way for years & I don’t have a single one that I’ve raised from a pup that are what you would call close hunting hounds. I’ve got one right now that will never make a great comp dog, but trees her own & is never under foot. She may not blow out the country but she goes out & hunts. She’s just an old school Bluetick, very open on track & a slow mover. My other female will get a mile deep before you know it, treed her first wild coon at just under 6 months & was never hunted with another dog until she was 10 months old. I’ve got another that we got when she was 18months old, will run deer for miles in daylight but wasn’t exposed to night hunting properly as a pup. It took months to build her confidence in the night, but she’s showing improvement each time she goes out. I had to actually road hunt her on 4 wheeler to get her on her own at night. In conclusion, each dog or breed is different & you train the dog on the end of your leash. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, don’t be afraid to try new techniques even when others say “that’s not how you do it!”. Most of them haven’t even tried it that way & are dead set that their way is the only way that works. The key is patience & being observant to your dog. Genetics is important & your hound may never make a comp dog but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy many nights of pleasure hunting. Some of the best coonhounds I’ve ever seen or owned wouldn’t fly in comps. On the same note, I’ve seen top notch comp dogs with titles & money won on them that would show you as many opossum in a night as they do coon.

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Registered: May 2022
Location: PNW
Posts: 3

check out george lamberts (mountain music mules) youtube video of how he trains his bear hounds. same concept for coon.

To summarize, you start by using food since they're always motivated by food. Put in a bucket with water overnight until it turns to mush. Then go to the woods or your back yard and use a mop to create a scent trail on the ground. Do it along a fence line to help guide the pups. Leave some food at the end of the track for reward. once they figure that out, start putting some game scent in the bucket of water/food, and over time you decrease the amount of food. Until it's just watered down scent. Then you can introduce a live coon. The goal is to get them to use their noses early on. If they figure that concept out, then when you turn them loose in the woods on their own they should already be motivated to follow a track if there is one.

if they still stay at your feet then turn your lights off and stand still, don't make any noise. They should eventually wander around. If not then you can try trapping coon or spotlighting a river for one and put the dog on a controlled track. Sometimes you have to unlock their prey drive before they're motivated to find a coon on their own, roll cage or shooting a coon out alive can help with that. If none of that works, it's a real possibility that the dog may not have it in them.

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