Posted by james darty (170.49.43.1) on May 25, 2001 at 18:03:41:
In Reply to: coon/hunting. posted by nicky on July 12, 2000 at 10:12:08:
my advice is to start with a puppy out of a quality line of coon dogs. spend the first 2 months earning the dogs trust and just playing with him. i always teach my puppies to sit, walk on a leash, load up in the dog box, and to come before i ever start actually training the dog to hunt. it is nice to find someone who already has a good dog(and i mean a good dog that will not run trash and will not fight) and hunt your dog with it for a while. if you don't know anybody with quality dogs by all means don't ruin your puppy by hunting him with bad dogs. start him off on squirells. there is really more than i can tell you at one time because every dog is different. there is a good book "walk with wick" that will really help you a lot. if you have any specific questions please email me and i will do anything i can to help you. my dad has been coon hunting for years and is one of the best dog handlers that i have ever seen. i was raised training and hunting dogs and the main thing that i have learned is that not every dog is a coon dog, they are just like athletes, some great and some terrible, but if you really take care of the dog and make him your best friend he will try and that is what your looking for. if you need step by step help i will be available to maybe help with your questions.