Sully315

I have a 1 year old Hound/Lab mix who I adopted a couple months ago. I was thinking of getting him into coon hunting because he has treed squirrels and cats in my neighborhood. He will sit there and howl until I physically pick him up and carry him away.

I am new to this so I don't know what I'm doing but I think it be a good for him. Can someone tell me if hes too old to learn or if him being a mix would hinder him in anyway?

MudderChuck

The only real difference between a pure breed and a mix is you kind of know what traits and talents to expect from a pure breed.

Some of the best dogs I've ever had were mixes. Instead of trying to mold and train the dog to my expectations. I watch carefully, spot their talents and proclivities, I tailor my hunts to them.

A few tips for a happy hunt, train your dog to the basics, sit on your left (or non gun side). Train them to lay down and stay, I mean really stay so you can walk away from them, return some time later and find them in the same spot. Train them to recall, that means come when you call, always. If you can call your dog off a Deer it is well trained, even some of the best screw that up on occasion.

I use a two tone whistle that is really loud. One side of the whistle is like a Policeman whistle, for my dogs it means stop, lay down in place and stay. The other side is a solid tone and means return to master and heal. Other than that I pretty much let them work to their strengths.

Dogs with a really strong prey drive can take off on you, whatever they are chasing may run for miles, not good for many reasons. They may not be able to find their way back. They may find their way back, but hours later. They may run across a highway or interstate.

The first thing I usually do with a new dog is watch them and figure out if they are nose dominant, eye dominate or even sound dominant. Then I watch how they work. Some dogs like to check out every nook and cranny, good for flushing game. Some stick their nose right to the ground and follow scents. Some tend to range large. It is important to teach the ones that like to range to circle back frequently and to not range in a straight line, herding breeds tend to do this naturally.

I had one mix that was outstanding, I'm not sure what her linage was. I could teach that dog to do anything. By nature she was a runner and could run forever. Basically a sight hunter. She had some herding blood in her and was super smart. She'd roam and herd game right back to me. She looked just like a black mouth cur, the resemblance was just to strong to be an accident, just a lucky mix of some sort.

If your dog is nose dominant teach it to work on a long leash. I put one of my dogs now on a long leash and it will follow a blood trail forever. a Plummer Terrier of all things, nose dominant. A really nice talent, always somebody who lost a Deer or something and needs someone to call for help. A good way to get a lot of hunting invites. My last nose dominant dog (now in dog heaven) was famous, I'd get calls all the time, even the local Police would call.

The better you bond with your dog the better for both of you. Try to work as a team.

Many hounds will sing when they pick up a hot scent or are in pursuit. I have two that do that now. This trait makes it a whole lot easier to follow them through the forest or thickets. Funny how genetics plays out, I have one that mostly only barks to flush, one that barks when on a hot scent or in the chase and one of their daughters who does both.