culling dogs

To know what to expect (and when) from a pup, you really have to know what you're working with. I'll have a little more patience with a pup born from a line of dogs known to start a little late than I would others. That being said, I don't have a lot of patience with any of them and they usually don't get a whole bunch of chances to keep my attention.

The problem I see most often isn't necessarily the dogs fault....especially with young people who are new to dogs and simply don't know better. I'll be the first to admit a small puppy is real hard to keep hands off of, but I'm a *FIRM* believer that you'll make a 1000% better dog if you don't handle them a lot before you start hunting them. My pups aren't typically skittish, but before they're a year old I seldom put a hand on them either. When I first start hauling them to the woods, they can be a little wild...sometimes hard to catch, but I RARELY have trouble with a pup that won't leave out and run through the woods. Reason being is because they're not hanging around looking for my affection or my lead.

You get those kind of pups hunting and going the way you like, then can come the time to work the handle on them. Besides, you spend a lot of time working handle on a dog that doesn't make the grade and that's just more time wasted.