when to solo ???

[hcaplinger]

i have a ten month old pup that i recently started about a week ago.started him in the wild.i have had him out three times since.my question is,when should i begin soloing him?or should i just run him with another dog for now because it is very dry?any advice would be apreciatve.thanks in advance hoss.

[mybeagles]

The sooner the better. When you solo in tough scenting, you learn the most about your dog. Nose, hunt, desire, etc.....Its very possible for a pup to be just going along for the ride with older dogs and this doesnt do anything for their confidence and independance. Give his some solo time and find out what your dog is made of, IMO, its the most exciting time of all the stages of progression.

[mark goodfellow]

Depending on your time situation, I would try to solo the dog as much as possible, at least until the dog is able to circle his or her own rabbit. It also depends on what you are bracing the pup up with. If you have a fast or even medium speed dog that can flat out run a rabbit, then your pup, in my opinion, won't learn how to run a rabbit. If you have a older or slower dog that your pup can get there licks on then go ahead and run them together. But in the end running a young dog solo is the best thing for that dog.

[S.R.Patch]

Imho, I hate to set a young just started hound up for failure. I'd give him the help in the rough times and wait for better odds for the solo flight...
If he's searching well and you have a good population of rabbit, it wouldn't hurt to let him have a go at tring to figure one out...

[MasonsBeagles]

I usually dont do it for a while until the pup really knows whats going on. During this time you can evaluate them to see what traits they have instinctively and see if they are worth putting the time into.

[xdawg2]

I like to get them started by site chasing... once they can scent i start turning them out in hot areas and once they break down i drop a slower bitch down with them until they learn enough to start working a track into a complete cirlce... personally i really start soloing between 1-2 years of age... basically i solo to finish a hound... by this time they've figured out most of it and solo time is generally productive. Also, i've seen some young hounds who only know solo have problems packing up with other dogs.

jmo...
Jack

[hcaplinger]

thanks for all the info guys,much apreciated.this is my first hound that i have started myself.i have ran him with a couple different dogs and he did seem to run much better with the slower ones.i think this pup is going to make a fine hound.his third time out while running he got a jump infront of my best dog.i also seen him straightin him out on the line.the older hound came into a check and the pup blew right on past with the track.thanks hoss