Starting Pen

[cburchett77]

I have just built a starting pen. It is just about 3/4 of an acre. I put my 6 month old in it yesterday for the first time and he started running.(what a sight to see) My question is, how long do I run him in it before i will mess him up. I heard if you run one in a pen too long it will hurt their hunt, and make them come out after a while on a wild race.

Thanks,
Clyde

[S.R.Patch]

A starting pen won't hurt their hunt or make the come out of a race, that is within the hound. What happens is, the area becomes tracked over with scent and old tracks causing confusion, next thing the pup becomes "pen wise" and starts to cut corners on the chase knowing where the fence boundaries are and where best to intercept the rabbit on it's circle.
Once the puppy knows the rabbit and where to look and is taking a track and trailing it with some consistency, it's time to get them out in the wild. Each puppy is different, some will hunt scenting the rabbit, others will bust the brush, only jumping and re-jumping the rabbit. The pen is mainly to get them exposure to rabbit and light a fire under their desire to hunt for and catch the game, real work is honed and finished out in the wild.
If it looks like your puppy is forming bad habits or getting a little crazy in the pen, take him to the wild where he has to apply some method. If all he wants to do is puppy play, then enjoy your walks together and let him mature some more.
Best of luck and remain patient...

[ANTHONY KERR]

My buddy and I started our own in a 3 acre pen last fall. They were running pretty good with an older dog on the 2nd day. We left them in by themselves 3 more days after that. Neither dog had any problems after that. Like Patch said you are wetting their appetite. I brought mine home and ran him in the wild with 1 or 2 dogs for a while. He graduated to the pack and at a year old he is packing and pulling with the best of them. I am now trying to run him another male the same age at least three days per week. Some days I mix in a older honest dog to see where they are. I think the critical time for young dogs is between 1 and 2 years old. They will show you what is to come even if it is only bits at a time. A few more days in the pen probably won't hurt when they are just starting.

[recone5]

As mentioned earlier, when a dog starts to form bad habits, like too much site chasing, cutting corners, etc., its time for the wild. We have two starter pens at the club. One doesn't have the greatest cover which allows more site chases. Great for pups to get started, not good for older pups. The other pen has alot of cover and really forces the dog to use his noes and his general hound skills. Whatever you do, you shouldn't just throw them in there and let them run by themselves for a long time because you may not notice the bad habits. I slowly weened my pup off the pen; when he started to play the pen game as i call it, i would only let him in there for a one chase, then we would hit the brush. Now at 5 1/2 months i don't need the pens no more.