EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

 The old timers (to me) would say that the best way to train a puppy is inside thier momma. Many old hunters ran thier bitches right up to a couple days before they were due. How many believe this wives tale to hold some truth? If my dog is from a good line of tree-dog stock, but not a lot of bottom, would the pups turn out any different if the bitch, especially while pregnant,  was strictly hunted on running game? Or a running dog hunted solely on tree game? How much can we influence the nature of the offspring?

I am a believer...if the mama hunts the pups can hear at a certain time in the gestation period...I also believe that because they are connected thru the unbiblical cord and feed off of the mama dog then there are chemical reactions that excite the mom and these somehow transmit to the pups...everything is about chemical reactions so why not with the pups...the pups will have the mental imprint and will react when they are old enough to chase and bay game.
so having said that, the pups will be more gamey...JMO

Well if I ran coon dogs or rabbit dogs I would run a bitch while pregnant.  I refuse to do it while hog hunting because it takes one shot and it's a done deal, just a hard hit to the belly will do it.  Plus when I breed it's for a purpose so I try and baby the gyp as much as possible. To answer your question though, I think it plays some part in helping the pups progress. I'm sure it's about the same as when a mom reads and communicates with the baby inside of her.  I know there is studies showing the effects on it.

I believe it... but it's dang hard to do when you got a good gyp you been lookin' forward to gettin' pups out of...

BA

I agree...hunting coon, squirrel, or rabbit is one thing and hog hunting is another...a pregnant gyp gets pretty slow in the last 2 weeks of pregnancy and could get hurt because of it...not to mention overheating in a long race.

I believe in the past 3 posts.

so why not work her outside the pen for some stimulation? pros and cons?

x2...inside the pen works too... IMO

 These were mostly cat hunters I was referring to. But what about if I coon hunted and raised kemmers and decided to keep one of the female pups out of a litter and ran her only on coyotes? Would her offspring have more range and bottom? What about if I were to do that again with one of the females out of that litter? Would the 2nd generation pups turn out exactly the same if would have just coon hunted each female?

I doubt anyone has actually tested the theory to that extent.  It would take some real time to actually see if it worked.  It's all good in theory and makes good sense but actually doing it and seeing it happen is something else.