Puppy taking old lines help!!!!!

[Skid]

I have a nine month old puppy that is doing a good job. When he gets into a check and hits the old line he is taking it. Is there anything that I can do to stop this. Should I keep running him and hopefully he will figure it out any information would be helpful. Thanks

[Red Briar Kennels]

If I'm reading your post correctly, I'm assuming that your pup is backtracking? If that is the case, then yes this can be a problem. Often times if the hound is "new" to running rabbits, it just might be an experience problem or lack there of. Meaning that he is simply running a track and barking wherever he is picking up the scent. Sometimes the dog will work itself out of this phase. He will eventually figure out that he is "going the wrong way" and turn around with time. The other senerio is that you have a progressive backtracker on your hands which can be a whole other ballgame. In cases like that, we begin to simply call the dog off the track in attempt to turn the dog around and track the rabbit in the correct direction. Sometimes this works, many times it does not. Next, you can try a shock collar to persuade him into stopping the chase and getting him turned around. Either way, this can often times take several times. I usually start with the least evasive manuvers and work up from that. The big thing to point out at this time is this. Make sure YOU know where the rabbit went. I know that where I live right now it is very thick and green. It's really tough to see what is going on 100% of the time. The hounds have often times made a liar out of me, so make absolutely sure you know what your hound is doing. The other thing is realistically look at how much time your hound has had in the field and be fair about your assessment. If he is consistantly circling rabbits, in my opinion you very well could have a potential problem. But if he isn't able to circle a rabbit due to inexperience, then give him a little time. That's not saying that you shouldn't necessarily verbally correct him or "help" him out a little. But give him a chance to figure out the game himself. I might be in the minority here, but when it comes to training with correction,....sometimes less is more so to speak. Good luck with your hound!