leting them lose in the yard

[bghogdogtx]

I Dont get to Hunt as much as i used to.  is it ok to let the dogs loose and run around the yard alittle to stay in some kind of shape HAHA.  Anybody do that???

[slimpickins]

Yup, gotta let them stretch.

[Dirtydog]

all my dogs run in the yard when im home. some times i have to seperate a few at a time so it doesnt turn into a gang fight.

[raider54]

I wouldnt do it, for one if they have any hunt in them they are probably going to get gone but even if they dont get gone I believe it is sending them a mixed signal, you would be telling them its OK to hang around with you. Part of what gives a hunting dog its drive is penned up aggresion, meaning when he is penned up all week when you turn him loose on Sat. he should knock the back of the woods out looking for something to get into. This is my opinion, I went to Howard Carnithan's in Mississippi to pick up a couple of pups once and noticed he lived right on the highway but all 25 of his dogs were running loose and I asked him about it, he said nah! they know what time it is when I take them to the woods. I have owned hunting dogs for over 30 years and in my circle of friends the rule of thumb was when a pup starts treeing squirrls and cats, its time to put him up! just my two cents

[BMichalak]

yeah i wish i could let my dogs loose but if i do they would be gone as soon as i unsnap them off their lead... (Im not bragging in no way) thats just the way they are... to tell you the truth i wish i could let them loose in the yard now and then

[Circle C]

Part of what gives a hunting dog its drive is penned up aggresion, meaning when he is penned up all week when you turn him loose on Sat. he should knock the back of the woods out looking for something to get into.

 Based on my personal experience, I question that logic.

What would your dog do if you hunted him several times a week, without the penned up agression? Would he stop hunting? Does he hunt harder if he is on a chain 6 days vs 3 days? 

 During the week, if not hunting, I let my dogs out to run around and cut loose, they get cut loose in the yard(2-1/2 acres) that is  pipe fence and cattle panel so I don't have to worry about them leaving the country if they chose to.

[elliscountyhog]

I worried bout mine cause they have done it b4 they got out of the kennel and i find them hours later, worrying but they seem to make there way back home if i didnt find em, but if i had a set up like circle then i could see where it may actually make them hunt more, it is like a big kennel to them and when u cut them loose there ain no fence stopin em

[doublel]

I let mine run loose but i only let one out at a time because my dogs seem to see which one can out run the other when i let them all out. i also have about a 1/3 of an acre net fenced i let them all in if i dont have a hog in it.

[Cull Buck]

I let my dogs run around on about a acre that is completely fenced and haven't had any problems.  My major concerns were fights that I wouldn't be there to break up and them figuring a way to get out.  So far so good but my dogs have little to no dog aggression.  I like the idea of them being able to run around and get all the excercise they want. 

[bghogdogtx]

Well there are alot more people that let there dogs off to run around then i thought. Do yall do it everyday or just a couple of times during the week???

[bryanmcc]

I let my dogs run out of their pens every day for about an hr unless hunting   

[raider54]

I based my logic on MY personel experience! not your personel experience! I tried to give my two cents without going into e very possible sceniaro. I stated that penned up aggresion is "Part" of what gives them thier drive. I dont think it would effect an older finished dog as much as it would a younger dog, I dont think  K9's posess the ability to reason to the point they could know when its OK to hang around and when its not. I have yet out of hundreds of dogs  in my lifetime  to see a dog that would hunt hard after it has run loose all its life. Does this mean there are none out there? probably not but I believe it is the rule and not the exception. I have found in this Hog Doggin business nothing surprizes me, I think it is a miricle when I see a cur dog you dont have to kick out from under your feet. I guess those hounds ruined me.

Part of what gives a hunting dog its drive is penned up aggresion, meaning when he is penned up all week when you turn him loose on Sat. he should knock the back of the woods out looking for something to get into.

 Based on my personal experience, I question that logic.

What would your dog do if you hunted him several times a week, without the penned up agression? Would he stop hunting? Does he hunt harder if he is on a chain 6 days vs 3 days? 

 During the week, if not hunting, I let my dogs out to run around and cut loose, they get cut loose in the yard(2-1/2 acres) that is  pipe fence and cattle panel so I don't have to worry about them leaving the country if they chose to.

[chancebrown]

my dogs dont get turned out cuz they go to the highway. but i do get em out and exersice em

[Circle C]

I based my logic on MY personel experience! not your personel experience!

I kinda figured that    That's why I said I question it based on what I have experienced...Just two different opinions on the same subject...Nothing more.

[grunterhunter8]

Usually let the dogs out every day to run around for 20-30 mins in a fenced 2-3 acre yard. They need to get out of the kennel and exercise some IMO.

[matt_aggie04]

Usually let the dogs out every day to run around for 20-30 mins in a fenced 2-3 acre yard. They need to get out of the kennel and exercise some IMO.

I do the same, I think they like it and they get to socialize with each other. 

[Maver!ck]

My opinion.. it really depends on the dog.  One of my best strike dogs runs loose on my place 24/7.
We don't have a fenced in place for her, she just knows when it's time to go hunting and when it's time to stay home.
She is a very smart catahoula gyp that is the family dog.  My wife would put me in a pen if i didn't have her running loose.
I hunt right behind my house, as in i can turn the dogs loose in my back yard and start walking.  We've caught hogs as close as 150 yds from my back door.  I have others that if you turned them loose, they'd hang around with some attention, but sure as the world, you walk inside or turn your back for some time and they'd hit the woods and be gone.  My relationship with this one gyp i think is the key to her working so hard for me in the woods.  She really has a personality that requires my attention around the house, and she will hunt her butt off for me in the woods.  I can agree that it does seem that some dogs need to be penned and when turned loose in the woods they seem to 'run off' all that energy they've bottled up all week or however long between hunts.  On the other hand, i know of several hunters over the years that had dogs that i considered the best strike dogs in the country that he left loose at his house just like mine.
I even have a gyp out of one of those males, and she is just about the same way(only she likes to hunt all my neighbors cats, so she has to be confined  )  I am a fan of cutting them loose to have some running time if you don't get to hunt them that often.  They need the exercise just like we 2 legged folks, especially if they are hard hunters.

Maver!ck

PS - to raider54... this is a so called cur gyp, that you don't have to kick out from under your feet, and she does possess the knowledge to know when to hunt and when to stay home.  Ever want to go hunting with her, she'd love to work for you too     but that is my personal experience, i hope everyone gets to have a dog like her in their lifetime.

[Crazy8]

Mine run the yard about 3 hours 5 days a week. So far they have no confusion, when I snap the leads on they know its time to hunt and ready for it.

[pig snatcher]

I turn mine out regularly to run around the yard.  Lets them stretch their legs and makes cleaning kennels and such a little easier.  

[bghogdogtx]

Thanks Guys.  I have been letting them out every once and a while when i dont get to go hunting alot.  But now i belive im goin to let them off alot more