picking a pup out

[clinton]

Ok guys i have a question i have a strike dog bmc i need to My strike dog cat, but My question is what do u look for in picking out a couple pupps u want to raise up myself and train? Do u look for the one that catches ur eye r  the one that leaves his mom first?

[Purebreedcolt]

Close ur eyes and just grab one now if wait a while 10 weeks or so then I like the one that does not cower to noises etc

[craig]

colt you beat me too that one.  ,  i keep the whole litter till they are 1 yr old and have been hunted alot. then you will know which one to keep.

[clinton]

Yea but thats alot of feed when u have a 2yr old boy and a girl due in 8 weeks, so i cant keep the whole litter

[craig]

yep  you need to buy diapers in stead of dog feed..

i would wait till the last minute to make my final selction (8 to 10 weeks), as soon as those pups will follow you start taking them on short walks around the house there will be one or 2 that will get out front and show more idependance.

[Reuben]

Most people say it is a crap shoot and I say no it is not. Picking good pups can work but does not necessarily mean you are picking the best one.

I usually do not pick the biggest nor the smallest.

I start testing the pups starting at about 7 weeks and continue until 10 months to a year of age. However, I am always watching and studying the pups from the time they are born and I handle them daily and make sure they know who I am from day one.

I first get them to like raw beef liver and stage winding situations once they are crazy about the liver. Then I hide the small pieces of liver where they can wind them and then I turn them loose and I always make note of who does what and how. I always use hunger to my advantage.

I set drags for them and see who trails. Starting at 8 weeks or younger

I do not keep hyper pups.

I like calm and laid back pups that pay attention to their surroundings. These pups might be laid back but when it's time to play they play hard but they get bored with this and go off exploring. These pups like being with you but the call to range out is stronger.

At 14 weeks I cull down to 4 or 5 pups if I am keeping 2.


At 12 weeks or so I take them to the woods and turn them loose and see who rolls out. A me too dog is a plus at this stage. Once I know who rolls out The next outing I leave that one at home and see who rolls out. I don't pay much attention to the pups so that they can focus on rolling out if they will. I make sure that they are fresh out the kennel when I do this test so I know the pups are eager and energetic.


At 4 months I try to find a shoat so they can bay it. Only short periods of baying not to burn them out and it keeps them wanting more.

at 6 months I cull down to 3 or 4 pups.

At 10 months or so I will have 3 at most.

At 1 year I will be down to 2 pups.

It all depends on the strain within a breed of dogs or the breed of dogs because not all strains or breeds develop at the same rate or age.

It is better if you can keep the whole litter and test them but usually not feasible for the average breeder due to funds or lack of space and or time.

Doing it this way usually produced  hard hunting dogs that could find a hog...winding, free casting, hunting ahead of the 4 wheeler or rigging out of a boat.

[clinton]

Well i have  3 pupps out of 7 That will fallow me as far as ill let them, and when i get home from work there the 3 out of the pen wondering around there never together. I think those r the ones im keeping but just wanted sum other advice

[REHABHOGHUNTER]

I LOOK FOR THE ONE THAT LEAVES THE MOM

[cward]

I have kept whole litters like Craig! One of my litters is oner a year old and my 2 least favorites out of 6 are the ones that did not get culled it is a crap shoot!

[clinton]

Hey thanks for the help guys

[boatrunner]

Reuben, you are thanking like I do,but I dont use liver,I will use a hog ear or nutts that we have from cut a boar.BMC the darker the eyes the better,leave thim out running around all day every day let thim bay anythang and ever thang, go into wood walking around 2 or 3 mon. old run and hide see if they can find you.

I am at the 4 mon. time peried, I have done about 5 drags with shoat and they are hamming.They are riding in the boat and four wheer.

[bulldogger]

Hey Boatrunner, have you had bad experiences with pups that had lighter eyes in a litter?  What if after keeping litter and doing what Reuben said that is the best performing dog.  Was just wondering if you had seen repeated issues or just a preference on certain traits because I have a friend whose best strike dog of the 4 from litter he kept  a couple years ago has lighter eyes than the others, they are more a dark yellow brown and others have typical dark eyes.

[Reuben]

Boatrunner, I throw a hog ear or a foot to the pups every now and then too.

[Peachcreek]

the last time i said "crap shoot" on this board you would have thought i insulted everyones momma. Man did i get scolded lol;D

to talk about my old uncle again... he always told me the ones that leave momma and stay away from the pack were gonna get gone in the woods.. he also always held them in his arms and rolled them over on their backs while holding them. if they squermed and tried to get turned over he said they would never handle right. but if they stayed on their back like it wasnt a big deal they would honor you and handle well. I thought he was a heartless ole fart cause he culled alot of pups that i really wanted. I use the on the back thing when i am buying a young pup as far as will they hunt i think there are alot of things that can change a dog as they grow so picking a puppy and exspecting a sure fire hunting dog as an adult to me is a crap shoot. just my 2 cents

[BarrNinja]

the last time i said "crap shoot" on this board you would have thought i insulted everyones momma. Man did i get scolded lol;D

to talk about my old uncle again... he always told me the ones that leave momma and stay away from the pack were gonna get gone in the woods.. he also always held them in his arms and rolled them over on their backs while holding them. if they squermed and tried to get turned over he said they would never handle right. but if they stayed on their back like it wasnt a big deal they would honor you and handle well. I thought he was a heartless ole fart cause he culled alot of pups that i really wanted. I use the on the back thing when i am buying a young pup as far as will they hunt i think there are alot of things that can change a dog as they grow so picking a puppy and exspecting a sure fire hunting dog as an adult to me is a crap shoot. just my 2 cents

For me it is a crap shoot so let them scold me a while! The best method I have come by is the " ini mini mini mo technique!" The best pups I have raised from litters I had to pick from were left overs and runts!!!
Raise them all if you can because that is the only sure fire way of picking the best ones............Rueben may be on to something also!
Good luck!

[tnhillbilly]

I have kept whole litters like Craig! One of my litters is oner a year old and my 2 least favorites out of 6 are the ones that did not get culled it is a crap shoot!

Thats what usually happens to me, always the ones i dont like, or the ones that get on my nerves the most, like dumping water buckets over, always finding ways to get out or get loose..........

[dan]

My best pick was made by accident.  I killed a deer and cleaned it a few hours before going to pick out a pup.  I got down on one knee 10-12 ft from all the pups, with momma in a pen 50 ft away.  I didn't call or make any motions.  Only, 2 pups out of 8 came to investigate.  One threw her head up (winding) and came confidently to me.  She ate a piece of fat that was stuck to my jeans.  Her skill and confidence was there at 8-9 weeks, and only got better with time. 

She was a natural hog dog, and blood trail dog.  Take your time and the pup/pups will stand out.  Cull and never look back trying to second guess yourself.  Since then I have picked more loosers than winners, or have gotten the left overs.  I have had some good dogs, but she set the bar for every dog since.  That dog shaped my opinion about "training" dogs.  We really just work with what is already there.  People take too much credit "training" hunting dogs.  Look for the basic skills and work with it.

I have a dog, that might be a better hunter than she was, but that was 20 years ago and nothing has come close until now.

Picking a pup is always a crap shoot.

[Reuben]

When I pick from my own back yard I have weeks to look at the pups and test. I pick for natural winding and trailing and calm pups. I do not like pups that only are interested in dominance.
The most agressive pup in the litter does not necessarily make him a brave hog dog. The timid pup can be as gritty as a bulldog on a hog.

It is good to train the pups and set up training excercises for them. But a hunting dog is born and not made. You can take a below average dog and make a below average but at the top end of below average, or, you can take an above average pup and with little training have a very good hog dog or give him lots of training and have an even better dog.

An extreme example I give to my friends is that a filthy rich man buys a well bred weiner dog and spends millions of dollars training with the best racing greyhound trainer in the world and then takes the weiner dog to the race track with the greyhounds and tries to compete with the coursing hounds....

Same thing with hog dogs, coon dogs or whatever... it is about selection. I reckon most of the time it is a crap shoot because we only have a few minutes to maybe an hour to choose a pup from a litter. We can improve our chances when buying a pup from a good line of hog dogs.

[boatrunner]

bulldogger, I am referring to straight BMC Black Mouth Curr with nothing add, Curr dogs that were for cows only, (no play time).And listening to the old timers ,when I was kid most of these men have died by now. I have more say about this but would rather talk then to type.PM me your phone #

[bulldogger]

Sent a PM.  Thanks.