Training/Handling question....dogs swimming in high current

[Myles Man]

I heard coon dogs are supposed  to stay out of water and quit on track when the coon dives in.  I've seen a few times watching dogs chase hogs in some pretty dangerous current. I'm at a point where if the currents are risky-just stay far from it. I'm just wondering---

Whats the good or bad "handling"  side of training a pup from proven bloodlines to avoid water?

When a dog has to dive in and stay on track, that's just part of it and deal with what comes with the territory?

[KevinN]

Depends on where you hunt I guess....if you try to train a dog to stay outa water seems your gonna lose a lot of hogs. I would think avoiding the high current times would make more sense (if its possible I guess). JMO

[jimco]

Well, I can tell you from my experience about the bad side. Our place is 20 acres completely surrounded by
bayous, swamps, and a 10 acre pond. My son bought a puppy that loved playing in chest deep water. There
was alligators everywhere that year. He was constantly on that pups a$$ to stay out of the water. It took a
some time but after some boot to the a$$ sessions she finally learned to avoid the water. ALL WATER!!!!
Later on after we started hunting her if she came to a canal, or deep slough that the other dogs crossed,
she wouldn't. It is instilled in her to stay out of water.
         After this mistake, all puppies raised on this property can play in the pond and bayou all they want.
There is still a few gators every now and then but they were exterminated through the years to where the
threat is kept to a minimum. If I ran dogs near any rivers with extremely swift currents like you are concerned about I would get me some light weight cut vest made with 1/4 " flotation foam in it. This foam
weighs next to nothing and you wouldn't even be able to tell the vest had it in there, especially the way
P & P puts all that stitching on every inch of the vest.

[Amokabs]

I worry sometimes about my lil jagds and high creeks. They are excellent swimmers, but worry they'll get swept up in a brush pile in the creek. The water gets moving pretty doggone fast after a big rain. Have many folks lost dogs in swollen, fast running creeks?

[halfbreed]

  just one question myles  ,  from whom what when and where did you here that a coon hound was supposed to avoid water  ? ? ?    coons eat, sleep and live on rivers and creeks and streams . if a coon hound wont hit the water it is about as useless as trying to coon hunt without a light  lol ..  you boys be carefull where you get your info .  and about hunting around water for hogs    same deal   just another hazard no different than a stock wire fence they better figure it out or they are useless  .

[pinecreekkennel]

Been coon hunting my whole life and have never heard of em avoiding water! I agree with halfbreed! If they wont swim they get culled. I hog hunt on red river and it has swift current at times and my dogs swim it all the time. If it is really high and rolling I find somewhere else to go

[t.wilbanks]

If coon dogs never crossed water, Billy would never got his coon skin cap and Little Ann and Old Dan never would have treed the Ghost Coon... 

Jared must have taught you that... 

[Myles Man]

The guy that told me about the coon dog not swimming is a complete stranger, I didn't really think to much of his "huntin dog" tales. Maybe he just learned from Where the Red Fern Grows, lol

The red river is actually what has me asking, from experience. Watching my Bella gyp and Machito cur surf the red river barking at a 250 pound boar when the river was up 6 ft was a pretty crazy chase. The dogs did great. Machito swam/floated down about 300 yds and quit/came back. Bella swam/floated down 800 yds and never quit, until she figured she got out ran, then decided to come back. That's when I learned people  who live on the river stay away from it when it's rollin!
So training a dog to stay away from water makes no sense...I get that....I think he was wanting some credit on the whole "a coon will drown a dog" punch line...hes just full of it!!!

[Myles Man]

Twill, sounds like u have seen your fair share of the movie,
did u learn most of your handlin from lil dan, Ann and Old yeller....?

[t.wilbanks]

Twill, sounds like u have seen your fair share of the movie,
did u learn most of your handlin from lil dan, Ann and Old yeller....?

Your Dern tootin!!!!  Obviously I learned more than "the coon hunter" did... 

[Cajun]

We have dogs & hogs swim the ship channel 2 or 3 times a year & have had them swim the Mississippi River twice. The only danger they have had was I almost lost 5 young plotts to a barge being pushed by a tugboat. It ran over the hog & looked liked it got the young dogs but they popped up on the side & swam back. The hog did not make it.
  Other then hypothermia on extremely cold days, most dogs can handle the water, even strong currents pretty well.

[ked]

Myles, I lost my best walker this year to high water. Water wasn't a problem, but a big rain had the creeks deep and rolling. He was swept under a log jam and drowned. If water is extra high and rolling I'd be cautious cause a good dog ain't suppose to quit a track.

[Amokabs]

That's the scenario that worries me. My lil creek would be called a river in some parts of the country, but u cant walk 200 feet down the creek without running up in a brush pile. When it rains hard, for the next day, you got pretty bad currents pushing everything into those brush piles.