time on a dog

[gun runner]

I was wondering if a guy can only run his dogs once a week and maybe more if have the time.I guess my question is what age will the dog be his best they can be or reach his full abilties from starting from a pup.Or will that dog alway be behind the 8 ball to a dog that gets ran 3 or 4 times a week.

[mybeagles]

Always behind.....

[bwe007]

you will know what you have with 100 hours of track time not hunting time.

[gun runner]

he is geeting better ever time out no question,all i can hope for is that he gets all that good blood into him form his family.He got the drive hunt speed and nose so far that i like,he still has a long way to go.Just looking to get a ideal of how long will it take to see his best with limted time on ground,but give him as much as i can.

[bodetis]

i believe pups and just started dogs need to be ran ran ran but broke dogs dont .of course the people who trial will say every day if possible, gun hunters know a broke dog doesnt need to be run everyday a week , but do need to be ran, usally once a week during off season for me. i believe you need two full seaons of rabbit killed over them to be a broke dog, as usually they are8 to ten months old when season comes and there are few if any i would consider broke then but add another season then ya talkin. a dog doesnt for get how to run a rabbit but wont be near as conditioned as one that trials, but never had a problem with our hounds hitten the ground and going all day, my buddy doesnt run his at all during the hot summer, but will put them back down month before season and they run like they always have. every one is different though!

[littlewoody]

Run them until there broke . A young man goes after all the girls when he gets married he's broke !

[mn_beagleboy]

This is the first time I raised puppy n my 2 acre pen. Hours r countless, I will be able to tell u n two months.

[EDS]

I've ran my dog once or twice a week since I starting training her, usually once. Being a man with a young family at home it is hard to get out more than that. I will admit she was a little slow to pack up and most guys will tell you if your dog aint what you want at 9 months to a year to move on, but if I would have done that I would be missing out on a hell of a dog. She was running a rabbit by herself at 8 or nine months but would'nt pack up until she was about fourteen months old. now she is nineteen months old and is a hell of a dog. She has placed in two out of three trials and is a good gun dog as well, I would put her on the ground with any dog. I believe if you put the time that you can in them they will turn out, but if you dont give it time you might miss out on a good one.

[mn_beagleboy]

My litter of pups that was raised n the starting pen r doing better than any other pups I raised. They will move from starting pen to running pen soon. I guess they will be at their best at 1.5 to 2 years old. Start early n run two to there times a week is enough. More time = better result.

Sao

[pilotknob]

Alot of oldtimers would run them for at least 30 days straight if they could in the wild after they were started.They called it Locking them in.

[lebro]

if you dont have the time send them for a month of running with someone who conditions dogs. the dog should amaze you when you get it back.

[MaineDogs]

if you dont have the time send them for a month of running with someone who conditions dogs. the dog should amaze you when you get it back.

or be blown up when he gets back. i sold a solid started pup 11months old, they gunned him 3 days a week for the month of march and was turning into an above average pup. may or June rolled around and they sent him to a pen with faster dogs for a month. pup came back a babbling fool; a full gun season later the pup still is 5 steps behind what he was at 6 m old.

I was wondering if a guy can only run his dogs once a week and maybe more if have the time.I guess my question is what age will the dog be his best they can be or reach his full abilties from starting from a pup.Or will that dog alway be behind the 8 ball to a dog that gets ran 3 or 4 times a week.

To get the most out of a pup/ dog, once hes started, getting 2,3,4 days a week of PRODUCTIVE running into him is the best way to get all you can out of them. The more ground time at a younger age the better. An older dog will progress slower but with steady track time he will still get much better. You will never see the dogs full potential with one day a week of track time. Being young and just getting my family established building my own house, working 50 hr a week, raising a kid, etc. My pup will never be what his full potential is but he’s still going to be a nice gun dog with time. Even the dogs i raise as pups that have tons of hours as pups aren’t what they could be if I was able to run them multiple days a week. Run them as much as possible and don’t expect the world from them unless you can run much more.
I have a friend who cant get out much more then me, he will pay a fair dollar for a solid running dog, lay it up for months, run it once a week or so for a month and get all frustrated because its half the dog it was when he payed for it. These said dogs get run 3 days a week and run real well because of it but wont get to that point unil run up.

[gun runner]

Thanks for all the info,I guess there not much a man can do when you have a family and 55 hour job a week.Trust me i would run the dog snot out of him if i had the time.I just have to wait and see what he becomes down the road.