Message #3215

[Mike]

Here's the way i'm doing my young dogs now after talking to some old timers. Introduce them to a hog in a pen to get them baying at say 4, 5  or 6 months old. Just do this a few times to show them what a hog is, don't force it on them and make it fun. When they bay thr hog, praise them and let them know they're doing good.

Then when they're a year old, take them to the woods. Run them with experienced dogs only... no other puppies. They need to know what they are out there for... not to play with other young ones.

Now, this may not be the right way and a lot of people don't want to wait a year. I'm doing this now with two dogs and they are coming along real well... a 100% better than they would at 6 months old. A little age on them makes a big difference when you start them in the woods.