Dogs going bad after age 3

[mybeagles]

I have seen a rediculous amount of dogs turn into complete fools that were awful good dogs from 1 to 3 years old. Do you think thats a result of breeding, manner in which they are run, or something else.......

Just curious what others have seen and what do feel the causes are?

[klrconcrete]

Dave, One of my best running buddies has a male that at under a year old looked like a complete natural, he had it all foot, nose, brains! This winter at 2 and a half he looks completely foolish- if conditions are favorable he can run a hare but when things are a little tougher you would struggle to make a kill in front of him. I attribute some of this to lack of time on the ground and to much pack time with zero solo work.

[Jane]

Too much pressure to early of an age.

[william lyons]

I agree with Jane if you run them too hard too early they might blow up.but it is hard to leave that dog home if its doing that good...

[Chance]

I also think you can ruin a young dog by packing it up , before its ready. I never pack my young dogs with my older established hounds. The entire off season is devoted to solo time only, and packing does not begin until the hunting season begins. when hunting season starts I am well aware whos ready to join the pack because of all the solo time. Solo time in my opinion is the most important thing you can do with your hounds to sharpen the skills and instincts they were born with. I am just a rabbit hunter and this is just my opinion and there are always exceptions to any rule but this has always worked for me. Solo them young and old and the pack will run like a well trained unit each one contributing there own strengths and skills to the run.

[Emery]

It's called adolescence! LOL Just like teenagers, they loose their minds. Dogs are no different.

[Jane]

I agree with Jane if you run them too hard too early they might blow up.but it is hard to leave that dog home if its doing that good...

Very true... I have a 14 month old bitch that I feel is ready, she got a 4th at 10.5 months old in her first field trial but it took a tremendous amount out of her, more that I ever realized and it was due to pressure. She's 15" LP and it was a class of 19. I decided maybe I will only put her in our 2 trials here this summer and she's going to the IBHF as well. I don't want to ruin a good hound that I have a tremendous amount of time on. I would rather have a great hound out of her. She's tremendous speed but with that incredible line control. I watch as they run EVERY time they run. She ran a rabbit down the side of a hill following it step by step like she was in an obstacle course, I couldn't believe what I was watching! And at tremendous speed.... I'm a newbie but I was impressed as heck. I'd rather her have that quality everytime she's out then to ruin her with pressure and get sloppy, that's no fun to watch.

Same goes for my Branko male, he's going great, stays with pack speed, doesn't care to be in front but handles it very well when he is. He is only a year in Feb, I'll hold off on him, I'd rather have a hound of quality with longevity, as he's a very expensive hound.. cost me big $$. But worth every penny if I can do him justice and go about it the right way.

Both are gunned over on a regular basis so they should be all around good hounds, whether they make FC or not? who knows but they have no reason not to be decent with the amount of time I spend on training in the open and in a running pen. Key is to let them gradually get used to the pressure through time.

[Tim L]

I believe it has a lot to do with what kind of hounds you are running these young dogs with. You hounds are very impressionable just like young adults. I am careful what I hunt my young dogs (1 1/2 or younger) with.

[Jane]

I would run the pups alone when they were starting out, solo time in a pup pen, then out in the open after they started on a rabbit and run them together and ran that way most of the time, they didn't seem to pick up anything that was wrong because they had nothing to go on but instinct.

They would run with some older hounds once in a while but not too often as they would not be able to keep up for any length of time at a young age. Now they still don't run with older hounds very often, I do agree with what you said Tim.

[Beagle Huntsman]

Depends on the hound and the bloodline. I never solo, and all of my puppies start with the pack at 7-12 months old. Most of them make good solid hounds for the rest of their lives. By the time they are 4 or 5, they are really in their prime. I believe solo work is very over-rated. Lots of running, pack or solo, is the real answer to having good hounds.

[NorWester]

I'm in agreement along the lines with what Beagle Huntsman wrote and will add that if your 15 mth old could possibly be ruined from "the pressure" coming from running with the pack, then I have some serious questions as to what kind of pack your running that would cause THAT kind of pressure.

[klrconcrete]

Without the solo time do you ever really know the hounds individual skill level sure he may look like an allstar within the pack but pull everything else and circle that rabbit or hare to the gun!!

[allniter]

I HAD a young dog that would run the front with about anything you put him with -and looked good ----but he couldn't run one 200 yards by him self --and he would hunt for another rabbit soon as the rabbit made a turn and he didn't find the track --look like he would give up on that track --he never was in a strating pen either --never did figure him out

[SMITTY1233]

To much pack pressure, which allows them to feed off other dogs in the pack or learn to cut corners and get to the front etc. It's just like you heard on here the other day, "the best dog I owned is when I only owned one" reason, a lot of time on the ground bythemselves. They have to do it and do it alone or it won't get done.... I think dogs need to be soloed until age two....

One thing I have seen with younger dogs when there packed to much is in the check they pick there head up and look for the other dogs to see what there doing.... If there isn't another dog out there they often dig in and work hard themselves. The more there packed the lazier they seem to get about the finer details of being a clean hound....

[gus]

I think it is from breeding dogs that are over competitive and who have to have the front at all costs. If a dog loves a track more than being in front he is going to run as fast as his nose can carry him. Usually by age three, if given enough field time, he is at his peak. However, we may not like his peak or what his genes have dictated.