We’ve all wondered if a young dog we had high hopes for is actually going to make it. I know I've personally lost plenty of sleep over it. We can't make a dog want to hunt, but what we can do is give that dog the best chance to tap into its primal instinct that it has been bred for. One key thing is to do your very best to get a pup out of strong bloodlines that hunt the type of game you want to hunt. This will give you the best chance of success in training a young hound. The following are a few tips that have helped me train young dogs with my limited experience.
First, let the dog be a puppy.
I’ve lost my patience on numerous occasions with pups that weren’t ready to stop being a puppy. This is a downfall on my part. Trying to force a dog to start hunting is like trying to fill up a water trough with no bottom. You are going to have a bad time. The best dog I own and maybe the best dog I’ll ever have the pleasure of hunting behind didn’t show a bit of interest in game until she was a couple months over a year old. That taught me a lesson in patience. I’ve had plenty of pups that are all game at 4-6 months old, a few late bloomers and plenty that didn’t ever make the cut. Oftentimes, the ones that start a little later end up being just as good or better than the ones that show so much promise at a young age. As a side note: this is a matter of preference and it all boils down with how much time the houndsman wants to spend waiting on a pup. In my experience however, giving a pup plenty of time to grow up can pay dividends in the long run.
Second, you have to be willing to get the pup in the woods as often as possible.
No dog is going to get better sitting in the kennel or in the dog box while your good dogs are running. I have seen plenty of races get stirred up by having too many young dogs but if you can spare a few gray hairs, they are going to learn a lot more in the woods than walking with you or in the truck.
Next, give young dogs a chance to lead.
You might catch a few less animals to begin with, but your dogs will become lead dogs much faster. It’s easy to want to turn out your best dogs first all of the time but if you’ll give a young dog a chance to lead a race you’ll be able to see if they might have what it takes. I have spent several days walking out tracks with younger dogs while my best dogs sat in the truck because I wanted to see if my young ones could figure it out. It’s not always rewarding in the short term, but you’ll find yourself with more capable dogs when it counts if you put the time in when it might not count as much if you catch the game or not.
Last, don’t punish the mistakes too harshly until the young dog knows for sure what game you want him after.
I’m sure this is controversial, but I don't worry about a young dog trashing too much until they have seen a fair amount of good game. Once they know the drill then you can get on them plenty hard and you won’t diminish any drive.
I hope that this article can help young houndsmen starting out. There are lots of things I wish I had known when starting out, and these few tips are some of them. We can’t control what a dog is going to do all of the time but we can do our very best to ensure we give them the tools and opportunities to succeed.
