Deer dog fox pen question

[ncplhunter]

I dont know much about deer hounds or really anything but rabbit beagles, but im wanting to learn. I do some deer hunting with dogs but only as a stander, ive asked some fellers but not really got a straight answer thought id ask on here. Why do deer houndsmen run their dogs in a fox pen? I know with my rabbit dogs anything other than a rabbit is trash and i shock them off. So why take a deer dog to run fox and coyote?

 

[wildcat3]

We run deer dogs and we also run in the fox pen but not with the same dogs. A dog that is use to running in a fox pen will hit a road when he is cast 9.5 times out of 10. I enjoy both deer hunting and pen running but if I had to use the same dogs I'd pick one or the other. Lot of heads up running in a pen compared to outside running also.

 

[nccatfisher]

I will NEVER put my dogs in a pen. Seen too many road runners because of it.

 

[whitty]

I don’t run in a pen much but I will a few times a year. It’s nice to be able to relax and listen to the dogs run and not have to worry about staying with them. I run enough on the outside to keep the pen faults away but I agree to much of it and you can start to get a lot of faults in a dog. To the question about breaking your rabbit dogs off of game I understand but to be honest if my dogs aren’t on a big buck I would rather them be on a coyote. I love an outside coyote race and would rather shoot them than a doe or small buck. That’s just me though and I know plenty that wouldn’t want there dogs doing what mine do. I enjoy my dogs and that’s what matters.

 

[shotgunner]

I don’t run in a pen much but I will a few times a year. It’s nice to be able to relax and listen to the dogs run and not have to worry about staying with them. I run enough on the outside to keep the pen faults away but I agree to much of it and you can start to get a lot of faults in a dog. To the question about breaking your rabbit dogs off of game I understand but to be honest if my dogs aren’t on a big buck I would rather them be on a coyote. I love an outside coyote race and would rather shoot them than a doe or small buck. That’s just me though and I know plenty that wouldn’t want there dogs doing what mine do. I enjoy my dogs and that’s what matters.

The last line says it all.

 

[DRS]

I have had dogs that could do both with no problems. Then I have had some that would forget they had to hunt if I took them to a pen. I don't care if they run a yote or fox. I just like to hear them run. Now, it has been close to 5 years since I have ran in a pen and I would rather not. Where I hunt is thick and has ditches that are full of water some small, some wide enough dogs have to swim them. Did I mention thick! So once we got the dogs to swim across and go into the thick stuff on their own, we didn't want to spoil them with pen running. I will break pups in a pen, it helps to get them going with the older dogs.

 

[nccatfisher]

I don’t run in a pen much but I will a few times a year. It’s nice to be able to relax and listen to the dogs run and not have to worry about staying with them. I run enough on the outside to keep the pen faults away but I agree to much of it and you can start to get a lot of faults in a dog. To the question about breaking your rabbit dogs off of game I understand but to be honest if my dogs aren’t on a big buck I would rather them be on a coyote. I love an outside coyote race and would rather shoot them than a doe or small buck. That’s just me though and I know plenty that wouldn’t want there dogs doing what mine do. I enjoy my dogs and that’s what matters.

Mine won't mess with a yote long, but quite frankly I would rather shoot one of them than a deer so if they get after one of them I am just as happy.

 

[JoeSam1975]

I am out of dogs now, but when I had some, I ran both the pen and on the outside. I had one pen I would run and it was about 900 acres. I judged in the pen frequently and earned free run time. The same dogs I deer hunted with, I ran in the pen. However, for every time they ran in the pen, they were run 4-5 times on the outside. I always broke my pups in a pen then would run them several times on the outside before they saw the pen again. I never had a problem with dogs running the roads in the deer woods. I have hunted with some that only ran pens in the off season, then wonder why their dogs were so crazy come deer season. I field trialed the same dogs I deer hunted and ran the deer trials and won my fair share, so if done right, it will not hurt the dogs....IMHO

 

[treestock]

I start mine in pens but just soon hear a fox or yote chase as I had a deer. Try to keep the older dogs out to keep them from getting lazy and not wanting to work on the outside. I run my two year and younger dogs in their all the time with no other dogs running at same time. Some get a little roady but I just adjust the way I drop them in the woods

 

[shotgunner]

All pens are not created equal. I used to run in a pen in SC that was as thick a bay as God ever created. A little road around the perimeter and that was it. I have had to crawl in a get dogs more than once that had "beat" their eyes shut during the night. No bad habit to pick up in there. Also if you are fortunate enough to be able to run a pen with only a few dogs they do not seem to pick those bad habits up as bad. Well, at least my dogs didn't. Coyotes have changed the game as well. Back when fox pens were really FOX pens I never had to worry about those bad habits. Maybe a little off topic but I sure miss Friday night red fox races.

 

[ellwoodjake]

It's more about the dogs than the game. Years ago, when I was selling coon hides, I tried to keep my dogs on just coons. Now, when I tree a 'possum, it sounds pretty damn good.