starting dogs

[CentralTex 254]

Whats the best way you start your dogs?
 I usually just throw them in a bay pen.
 What other methods are there?

[SCHitemHard]

drags, work with older dogs

bay pens shouldnt be the first choice IMO

[CentralTex 254]

Im new to hog huntn was coon huntin for a while and we would do drags but wouldnt it make the dogs to sluggish

[BIG BEN]

 Take em to the woods, we usually tie a rope with a stick to a shoat and let the pups bay for awhile then let the pig loose. Hopefully the stick will get stuck in the brush and the pups find him.

[CentralTex 254]

ok i got one about 75 lbs right now and a strike dog that will help so ill try it.

[SCHitemHard]

best to wet the pig down, and let the pups watch it run into the woods so they know where to look

[DWEST]

haven't started many, but it always seems best to let them hunt with a good finished dogs if possible

[GET.LOW.CURS]

run them with dogs that know what they're doin and try to always put them on hogs(scout your area, bait spots if you need to)... dry runs lead to trashin... i don't use a bay pen much at all

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

Get em baying..HARD... not just bark a few sniff a lil. ... Slobbering and biting wire baying, straight hating a hog fighting you to get back at em baying. If they don't do this .... not much use goin to step# 2. Imo

Take pups walking in woods to test natural hunting ability without help from older dogs (watch the ones using their nose)

Drags with older dog

Drags without older dog ( should be able to find no questions in or out of water when complete)

Go to big woods with older dogs and hunt their butts off until they are independent. Then hunt as lead dog.

And CULL the sandbaggers along the way.  

My training program. Some like it some don't.  

[CentralTex 254]

Thanks for all the help guys especialy yellow black mouth i cant wait to get these new pups of mine started never realized how helpful people were on here thanks

[Bedias92]

A yellow wat age do u take ur pups to the woods with ur older dogs

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

A yellow wat age do u take ur pups to the woods with ur older dogs

7 months old. 

[Bar W]

And if you didn't have access to an older dog what would u do different?

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

And if you didn't have access to an older dog what would u do different?

Exact same Mark but supplement the tip from get.low.curs above and attempt to maximize your initial exposure with young dogs in the woods. The first year in the woods is crucial to shape and mold what's to come. They need to be on the ground everytime you go and hunt their butts off. Older finished dogs can stand periodic layoffs and still come right back to business.  Younger ones are to susceptible to falling into bad habits or creating their own through lack of attention until they mature mentally.

If you have friends or hunting partners that have dogs that are to your standards you can drop the pups behind theirs. But don't get mad if they prefer to hunt only their own by themselves. Its usually a sign of somebody that knows what they are doing and runs interference on possible training sidetracking from outside influences.

[rdjustham]

Get em baying..HARD... not just bark a few sniff a lil. ... Slobbering and biting wire baying, straight hating a hog fighting you to get back at em baying. If they don't do this .... not much use goin to step# 2. Imo

Take pups walking in woods to test natural hunting ability without help from older dogs (watch the ones using their nose)

Drags with older dog

Drags without older dog ( should be able to find no questions in or out of water when complete)

Go to big woods with older dogs and hunt their butts off until they are independent. Then hunt as lead dog.

And CULL the sandbaggers along the way.  

My training program. Some like it some don't.  

Good adviec there.  Got a gyp that was half started that way, then divorce and work got in the way, so now instead of a strike dog shes a solid help dog 

[buddylee]

I start exposing my dogs to hogs at around 6 weeks to get them used to the smell and sounds of hogs. Keep a small hog in a small pen. Every few weeks I walk them around the pen. When they get around 3 or 4 months old I'll bring an older dog to bay the hog and get the pups fired up. When  they act like they want the hog bad enough and I feel they are old enough to handle it, I'll put them in the pen with a small easy hog. After they can handle the hog and build up confidence one on one, I put them in a 3 acre wooded pen.  After they "find" the hog in the 3 acre pen they are ready to go hunting. 99% of the dogs I do this with look like really well started woods dogs their first time in the woods.

[Reuben]

I start exposing my dogs to hogs at around 6 weeks to get them used to the smell and sounds of hogs. Keep a small hog in a small pen. Every few weeks I walk them around the pen. When they get around 3 or 4 months old I'll bring an older dog to bay the hog and get the pups fired up. When  they act like they want the hog bad enough and I feel they are old enough to handle it, I'll put them in the pen with a small easy hog. After they can handle the hog and build up confidence one on one, I put them in a 3 acre wooded pen.  After they "find" the hog in the 3 acre pen they are ready to go hunting. 99% of the dogs I do this with look like really well started woods dogs their first time in the woods.
[/quote

Buddylee has a good system going here and it will work for sure if the dogs have it in them...also like someone mentioned. hunt the pups where you see fresh hog sign or keep them in the dog box until the straight dogs open on a track or hog and then turn the pups in... once or twice like this and the pups are ready to run with the big dogs...by this time I already have the pups deer broke...

Take the pups somewhere where they can rome without getting into trouble and turn them out and just ignore them...Ignoring them will encourage them to go find something to do and you want them to range out...What is exciting is when you take a 3.5 month old pup to the woods and he makes a loop and checks in five minutes later...

Myles has a good system too...

but there is more than one way to skin a cat and it is the small things that can set back a pup or can bring out the best in one if the small things are done right...

I say the small things because we would be writing a chapter if we included the small details...so just use common sense when training a pup.

[halfbreed]

everything on here is a good example for starting dogs . but just be sure that they get plenty of time in the woods without the older or lead dogs or you will wind up with a bunch of me too dogs . this is because of the pack mentality of canines there is most allways a BIG DOG in the pack that runs things and the rest the pack follows . you don't want a young dog releyeing on the dominant dog to allways strike or find the hog . that is the reason you see so many people looking for a strike dog on the dog trade when they loose one . and with a little work they probably own one allready but don't take the time to let it establish it's self and take on the roll . and if you've trained a coon hound there is no differance in methods just baying instead of treeing . happy huntin  and in one last thought make sure the pups are having as much fun as you should be having

[T-Bob Parker]

Get em baying..HARD... not just bark a few sniff a lil. ... Slobbering and biting wire baying, straight hating a hog fighting you to get back at em baying. If they don't do this .... not much use goin to step# 2. Imo

Take pups walking in woods to test natural hunting ability without help from older dogs (watch the ones using their nose)

Drags with older dog

Drags without older dog ( should be able to find no questions in or out of water when complete)

Go to big woods with older dogs and hunt their butts off until they are independent. Then hunt as lead dog.

And CULL the sandbaggers along the way.  

My training program. Some like it some don't.  

Dadgum you!! That's my patented recipe for success 

You owe me $30 for letting it slip! Just kidding, good advice.