“Finished “ coon dog

Bluedogman

Six Pointer
One of my blue dogs is gonna have pups soon that being said we’ve been trying to have homes in line for them as soon as they are ready I had this one guy ask if I knew how to train a coon dog Me having five blues dogs I feel I some what know what’s going on ya know. So he asks me if I can train the pup for him. I told him if he took the pup home and worked on basic training (come,sit,stay. Ect) and bring him back at about 7 -8 months if help get a good start for the pup The guy proceeded to tell me that the dog should be finished by the time he’s a year old.... I know I’m talking to some guys here that’s trained a few dogs and know as well as I do there is no such thing and a year old finished hound.. so I tell the guy this and he totally disagrees with me (as expected) and tells me how I don’t know what I’m talking about But any way the guy won’t leave me alone after me telling him I can’t help him. And it got me thinking... in your opinion from start to finish how old of a dog would you consider to be a finished dog? I’m talking about a dog you’ve started at the right age and hunted a minimum of 3 weeks a month. And I know every one has a different opinion of what a finished dog is My definition of a finished dog is a dog that a cut loose and I know for a fact in a matter of time I’ll be walking to a tree with a coon in it. I look forward to y’all’s opinions and any advice to get rid of this guy too haha.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
You and I have had a couple conversations. Do yourself and the pup a favor. This coming from someone that has hunted, raised and trained pups for years. Mark this guy off the list as a prospective pup owner and move on.

If he knows all that about dogs why would he want you to train HIS pup in the first place? In my peak of raising pups I spent a considerable amount of time running all over the country going and getting pups from here that set in kennels for a year, or ones that were hunted a dozen times and given up on. Then I either had to try to undo the "training" they had or didn't have and start over or find them new prospective owners that would treat them right.

I can't tell you the countless hours I spent on the phone with people begging for pups telling me how they would do this and that and then leave a pup standing up. Many dogs don't start at a year other than basic obedience, others will be treeing well. Pups like children mature at different ages.
 

Bluedogman

Six Pointer
The guy is already off the list. He will not be getting one of mine. Granted I know every dog is different and I do t know all there is to training a dog but when the guy tells me I don’t know how to do what he wants and how he knows all about it. I won’t lie I had a few words with the guy before I told him I can’t help him Then he goes to begging me to sell one of my pups to him. It’s aggravating but there is people like that everywhere. The guy goes as far as finding my wife on face book and asking her for a pup.... yea that pissed me off. Sorry to rant brother
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
The guy is already off the list. He will not be getting one of mine. Granted I know every dog is different and I do t know all there is to training a dog but when the guy tells me I don’t know how to do what he wants and how he knows all about it. I won’t lie I had a few words with the guy before I told him I can’t help him Then he goes to begging me to sell one of my pups to him. It’s aggravating but there is people like that everywhere. The guy goes as far as finding my wife on face book and asking her for a pup.... yea that pissed me off. Sorry to rant brother
Yep, and if you stay in the dog business your hair most likely will be the color of mine in your 30s just like mine did. LMAO
 

dc bigdaddy

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
We started my 1st dog, a B&T puppy early. We had a mouthy no good for nothing dog in a month. Ended up getting rid of her. After that, we wouldn't carry a puppy before they were 9 or 10 months old. Actually, we ended up buying or trading for most of our tree dogs.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I start all of mine when THEY start. They tell me when they want to do something. I have had them treeing at 6 mos old and I have had them start at 16-18 mos old. Just depends on the strain or the dog. I live in the woods and take them for walks and get them used to navigating obstacles and ditches and creeks. I put them around game and when they become interested then I step it up and go from there. Up to then after the yard work and basic obedience is done and learning how to load it is just walks and rides and fun.

I have two littermates here right now, they will be running dogs. The male will be slower to start. He is content to just mess around and may venture off a hundred or so yards at 3 mos old. The female I will bet will be starting early. If a yote doesn't get her she may be starting in the next 6 weeks. She is already getting out 4-500 yards and getting into thickets and looking for stuff. She has no idea what she is looking for but she is looking. I will probably get a couple redbacks and give her something to chase in the next week or so.
 

Bluedogman

Six Pointer
Even young I’ll do like you walks in the woods and they will kinda let ya know when they are ready. But I try not to “lead “ a pup to a tree when hunting with other dogs from my experience doing that it creates a pack dog and makes things harder trying to get an independent dog
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Even young I’ll do like you walks in the woods and they will kinda let ya know when they are ready. But I try not to “lead “ a pup to a tree when hunting with other dogs from my experience doing that it creates a pack dog and makes things harder trying to get an independent dog
Yep, in the cur world we call them me-2 dogs. They are not looked on favorably. In fact most cur guys will not even think of starting a pup with an older dog for that reason.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
In the beagle world, we call these "cheerleaders" :LOL:
Yeah, in the bear dog world cheerleaders became biodegradable quick, as they usually would be up there in the way but not doing anything and sooner than later they would trip up a good dog that was pulling hair on a bayup and get them hurt.

Now the new name for them, especially when someone is wanting to pass them on and sell them is "pack dog". When I see that word it makes me shudder.
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
In the beagle world, we call these "cheerleaders" :LOL:


I used rabbit hunt with some fellows, they'd turn loose 20 dogs with my three,,, mine and about 3 or 4 of theirs would hit the brush/briars to get one up

the others would stand around with us till one of the others would strike,,, then they'd all bail in and make it sound good,,

I asked them fellows "why you feed them me-too dogs",,,

they said "we like the noise"!!

they like it
I don't
I only feed those that can do it on their own
 

Woods and water

Ten Pointer
One of my blue dogs is gonna have pups soon that being said we’ve been trying to have homes in line for them as soon as they are ready I had this one guy ask if I knew how to train a coon dog Me having five blues dogs I feel I some what know what’s going on ya know. So he asks me if I can train the pup for him. I told him if he took the pup home and worked on basic training (come,sit,stay. Ect) and bring him back at about 7 -8 months if help get a good start for the pup The guy proceeded to tell me that the dog should be finished by the time he’s a year old.... I know I’m talking to some guys here that’s trained a few dogs and know as well as I do there is no such thing and a year old finished hound.. so I tell the guy this and he totally disagrees with me (as expected) and tells me how I don’t know what I’m talking about But any way the guy won’t leave me alone after me telling him I can’t help him. And it got me thinking... in your opinion from start to finish how old of a dog would you consider to be a finished dog? I’m talking about a dog you’ve started at the right age and hunted a minimum of 3 weeks a month. And I know every one has a different opinion of what a finished dog is My definition of a finished dog is a dog that a cut loose and I know for a fact in a matter of time I’ll be walking to a tree with a coon in it. I look forward to y’all’s opinions and any advice to get rid of this guy too haha.
Do those blue hounds you got have a bear hound background?
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I only feed those that can do it on their own
I just completely reconfigured my deer dogs. You can't believe how many "he/she" runs great with the pack dogs. I saw/looked at before I wound up with what I have.

I don't want to be in any position where any one or two monkeys stop the show. You never know when one will be in heat or hurt and shut your game down. Or say you have one dog caught up and someone cripples a deer up and hollering for help and you have to make the embarrassing call on the radio I don't have anything in the box to put on it.

I may not have many of anything but what I have I won't be ashamed to turn out with anybody. That is what I have always done with any kind of dog I have.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
My young experience is with beagles and rabbits. Never seen a dog hit it’s stride earlier than 2 years old. I’ve seen some that would pack and run, but they needed help from the pack. Seems to me that around 4 years is where they really peak and they tend to hold that level for a while. Eventually they get slower but that’s not a real concern.


Best beagle I ever had didn’t show any interest until 3 years old. We had a good bitch dog in a pack and he figured out what she was doing. That dog went from nothing to the best I’ve ever seen in a matter of about 2 weeks.

Seemed like everyone wanted to buy that dog. One day I came home and he was gone and the collar left hanging on the pen.

Had a couple more after that one but completely out of it now. I’m not locking a dog pen or setting a security camera.
 

Bluedogman

Six Pointer
Do those blue hounds you got have a bear hound background?
Yes. My older dog turbo has been a strike dog while hunting in the past and would still be had the crowd I was hunting with was better ya know. But he has turned out to be a good coon dog he will still get on a bear track every now and then.
 

ellwoodjake

Twelve Pointer
Yeah, in the bear dog world cheerleaders became biodegradable quick, as they usually would be up there in the way but not doing anything and sooner than later they would trip up a good dog that was pulling hair on a bayup and get them hurt.

Now the new name for them, especially when someone is wanting to pass them on and sell them is "pack dog". When I see that word it makes me shudder.
Good thing we don't have to worry about that with rabbits, ain't had one whuup my dogs yet. :ROFLMAO: Couple of years ago, one of mine had a possum bayed under a rosebush. He was really talking to it, but was keeping a safe distance. Before the others could get to him, my "bear hunter" buddy nudged him toward it with his boot, and he screamed like he was dying. He then told him, "If you ain't got enough grit to take ahold of it, just leave it alone, pussy!" :p
 

JONOV

Twelve Pointer
My definition of a finished dog is a dog that a cut loose and I know for a fact in a matter of time I’ll be walking to a tree with a coon in it. I look forward to y’all’s opinions and any advice to get rid of this guy too haha.
Experience is with pointing dogs, I'd say no matter how much training it takes a solid two hunting seasons for a dog to figure out how to handle wild birds, etc...

I've known dogs to be finished in the sense that they're passing a NAVHDA UT test or AKC Senior/Master stakes at one year old, and that certainly helps them, but it doesn't account for the learning curve of dealing with running pheasants, handling flighty pheasants, knowing that we are in fact hunting woodcock and to seek and point them...
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
Back in the late 90’s, my buddy I ran rabbit dogs with had a litter of 5 pups. By 4 mos old, 3 of those 5 were running and circling rabbits. Just those three. No help. By 6 months old you could pick any of the three and they’d put a grown dog to shame circling their own rabbit by themselves. They were naturally deer broke. Never even acted like they could smell one. I would easily have called any of those three pups finished at 1 year old. BUT.....those are extreme oddities. I’d never seen nothing like those pups ever before and my buddy who had them had been in it 40 years and he’d straight up tell you that he’d never have a pup like that again, much less three from the same litter. The other two puppies out of that litter wouldn’t ran a biscuit across a kitchen floor. If I live to be 100, I’ll remember watching those 3 4 mo old pups running a rabbit like grown dogs.
 

timber

Twelve Pointer
I think kinda hard to answer. Alot depends on what the owners definitiom of finished is. Have hunted against a walker in a coon hunt that want a year old and was a hell off a dog and hard to beat. The guy hunted him alot by himself and the dog was independent which helped him in the hunts. Have also hunted against some 4 or 5 year old that i wouldnt have owned that were suppose to be coon dogs. Only owned a few off color coon dogs always liked the walkers they seem to progress alot more at a younger age. I always looked for a dog to be well headed in the right direction by the time they are a year old regardless of the game i hunted or sombody else would own them.
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
Yes. My older dog turbo has been a strike dog while hunting in the past and would still be had the crowd I was hunting with was better ya know. But he has turned out to be a good coon dog he will still get on a bear track every now and then.
I can confirm...Turbo is the real deal! I love Ol Blue also...cuz just when you think he’s gonna just follow Turbo’s lead, he gets out there and strikes his own !
 
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