Problem with two new dogs

unsavery · Post by **unsavery** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 10:08 pm

I am having problems with my two new dogs.

The first dog is a 17 month old male that I have had since he was 6 weeks old. I had him to a starting pen when he was 4 months old. The guy had him for a little over a week and while he was in the pen for the first couple of days the dog ran rabbits like crazy. So the guy takes him out for the next 3 or 4 days and runs him with one of his dogs. the first two times out my dog jumps and runs two rabbits on his own, then the next time out all he does is play. The guy put him back in the pen and all he would do is play with the other dogs. I have had him out hunting with me last year and for the last three days and he will not even follow the other dogs. He shows a little interest when the rabbit is killed and when the dogs jump and start running but will not go to them. I don't now if he stills need more time or what?

The second dog I purchased from a friend of the family this summer. He is about 2-3 yrs old. My brother-in-laws hunted with this dog before I got him and he ran the fire out of rabbits. Since I have had him he hasn't ran any rabbits or even tried to hunt. Yesterday he would not even get in the brush. The only thing he did yesterday was run two deer, but would come back after a couple minutes.

I don't know what to do with these two dogs. I am going to give them some more time but I am afraid that they are not going to get any better. Any help of suggestions would be appreciated.

And by the way I am new here and have been looking at this site for a while. I have found a lot of interesting things here. I am greatful that a site like this is around.

Steven

bill (flint river ) · Mon Nov 26, 2007 10:41 pm

the first hound is a cull. any thing over a year and isnt running is done. and i dont mean given it away.

how long have u had the second hound? some hounds are a 1 owner type. u may have to put alot of time getting him use to u, and u may need to go take him by him self and put him on a rabbit. again after a few attemps he needs to show some thing. if not refure to cull on hound 1

jld · Post by **jld** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:58 pm

bill (flint river ) wrote:the first hound is a cull. any thing over a year and isnt running is done. and i dont mean given it away.

how long have u had the second hound? some hounds are a 1 owner type. u may have to put alot of time getting him use to u, and u may need to go take him by him self and put him on a rabbit. again after a few attemps he needs to show some thing. if not refure to cull on hound 1

Gbeagle · Post by **Gbeagle** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:17 am

There is obviously something there and there is a reason as to why they aint performing. Take your time and figure it out.

bill (flint river ) · Post by **bill (flint river )** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 6:11 am

Gbeagle wrote:There is obviously something there and there is a reason as to why they aint performing. Take your time and figure it out.

DESIER.......u can not give it to a hound. either they have it or they dont.

but u can not expect a young hound to run with out alot of time in the woods. if u have not ran him since the end of last year season. u cant blame the hound. if time is the issue, buy a season hound and enjoy the time u have, and i dont consider a 2 year old to be season. how long has the 2 year old ben laid up since he last ran?

Greensprings Kennel · Post by **Greensprings Kennel** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 7:48 am

I would say if hound number 1 has had plenty of opportunity, solo and in a pack, and still shows no interest....it's a cull....!

Buckeye Bob · Post by **Buckeye Bob** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:37 am

I agree 100% with Bill.unsavery,since you asked for advice,mine is to cut your losses and move on.I don't like to get into these debates on a public forum but like Slick Willie said,"I feel your pain".The really tough ones are the ones that you have worked with since a pup.I have been in the identical situation you are in and it just doesn't work out.Culling does not have to be the "final solution" either but I have given dogs away that spent the rest of their life at the end of a short chain.

fulcount · Post by **fulcount** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:15 am

I would be interested in what was done with the dog from 4 months
to 17 months its not unheard of for a 4 month old to revert to
acting like a puppy every now and then that would have been the time to put a lot of running time on him SOLO
you cant expect a dog to be a dog if not given all the opportunity
you can after it starts
Where was he from 4 months til 17 months?
John O

Gbeagle · Post by **Gbeagle** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:13 pm

You spent your hard earned money on these dogs. Now unless you got money to just throw away I would do my darndest to figure out what is going on obviously the desire is there from what you have written. There are many reasons why dogs don't perform. Sounds more like they just need a bunch of time on the ground just running.

unsavery · Post by **unsavery** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 3:19 pm

Both dogs have been taken out at different times thru out the summer. The 17 month old dog has been out hunting every time I have went. I didn't want the dog to miss out on any time afield. I know that the 17 month old could take a bit more time because I have had dogs that have not started till after 2 yrs of age. I just don't understand why when the 17 month was 4 months he just didn't try to hunt after the training pen. The other dog is in question any way because he didn't hunt for the first year then last year hunted like crazy and then this year doesn't seem to want to hunt.

Steven

bill (flint river ) · Post by **bill (flint river )** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 3:40 pm

i not trying to be heart less, but u need to cut the cord on dog 1. he just dont have it.

and dog 2 have u used a shock collar on him????

beagle crazy · Post by **beagle crazy** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 3:56 pm

In my somewhat limited experience, I've found that some hounds MUST BE RUN EVERYDAY. Since I can't run everyday, I've found good homes for those hounds where they can run everday, and they've turned out just fine. Other hounds do well if they only get run a couple times a week.
You have to thoroughly evaluate just what kind of hound you've got, determine exactly what it needs, then decide if you can provide that or not. Personally I would give yours more time-A LOT MORE TIME.

(JMO)

Larry G · Post by **Larry G** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 4:06 pm

I'd put them both in a starting pen together for a couple of weeks. If they have seen plenty of rabbits and show no inclination to chase or trail it's time to find them a new (non hunting) home.

ANTHONY KERR · Post by **ANTHONY KERR** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 4:33 pm

I would kind of tend to agree with Flint River Bill on a dog should be running by a year old. I never try to start them until they are 6 to 8 months. They may get a dead rabbit on a string in the yard at 3 months. I had a female to fail last year, she just wanted to eat and play. I had a younger male that was contributing at 9 months old so I cut my losses and spent my valuable time on the male. At a year old the male got more running time and is developing into a fine young hound. No matter how much we want them all to be good rabbit dogs some just don't make it.

The point about the shock collar is a good one also. It will flat take some of the hunt out of more than a few dogs.

unsavery · Post by **unsavery** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:50 am

Well folks been awhile since I started this thread. I have had both dogs out several times over the last month ( not as much as I would like). Dog #2 has run a few rabbits but refuses to get the brush piles until a rabbit is jumped and then will go with the other dogs. I think when he was out walking around a brush pile and a rabbit one of the other dogs jump ran over him it got him to hunt a little, he trailed the rabbit till it holed up then went make to walking around but if the others bark then he goes to them. Dog #1 caught a rabbit that one of the hunters hit but didn't put down. The rabbit was ran at full speed even after being hit. It ran in front of him and he ran it down and caught it. But still doesn't show much interest.

Steven