I have done it with every dog I have ever raised. When I feel that they are ready for their day of Reckoning, its time for a solo hunt or two.
I try to put them in some decent sign and see what they are willing to do to put a hog at the end of it on their own. In my opinion, it’s one of the best ways to properly evaluate the “hunt/drive” in a started young dog.
They don’t actually have to find a hog for me at first as long as they are showing me what I expect to see out of dog, “But”, when I have them in decent sign and they are showing me what I want to see, I usually get to see a hog or two.