how long of a trial?

[duece24]

in reading the cull vs ?? thread one post (by mike) got me thinking? what is a suffecient trial period?

personally when i got an older dogs(only two) i would get them to the house and immediately put them in their spot and feed and water them. for the next two weeks or so i would spend a lot of time with the dogs and let the dogs spend time with my other dog, allowing them to get acquainted with me and my dog. i would even go to parks and let them run around then call them to me so that they get used to coming to me when i call. after that two week period i would then take them to the woods with me. in one case it turned out fine. the dog hunted as expected and i was able to catch him when it was time to go home. the money spent was worth the dog that i got. the second time i did that it turned out bad. the dog wanted nothing to do with a hog and it was just a complete waist of time and money on that dog. i hunted her several times and in different situations to allow her the chance to show me something and nothing came of it. she was sold to me with the understanding that she may or may not be a good dog, so i knew that going in it may not be a good dog. no harm no foul, the information was divulged from the get go so i wasn't upset(at the previous owner, but real upset that the dog didn't turn out).

with all that said what is a good trial period to allow a dog a chance to settle in and show you something? personally i say the dog should be allowed to go on at least 5-10 hunts before you ask for your money back and return the dog. i don't think it should be a TIME period like 10 days, 30 days, etc.  i say that because i am not able to hunt tremendous amounts of time every month, my job doesn't allow it, so being able to hunt the dog 5 or 10 times in several months gives me a better chance to allow the dog a chance to settle in and show me what it can do. like hunt it, it doesn't show good, give it a week or two to get more acclimated then hunt it again, etc. by the 4th or 5th time over say 2months you know if the dog will hunt the way you like or not.

give me your opinions.

[dgdawsonBMCs]

I think a year or so should do it

No, I think there are just too many variable so know for sure, whatever the seller and buyer can work out...I do similar to you Duece, except that I take them to the pen as soon as I can...That way I can at least know that they desire to bay a hog (I just don't totally judge them on that one experience, however, they should show a some desire)...

Now this being said, I have never bought a finished dog, so haven't shelled out a whole lot of cash....When I buy, I try to buy a good 2 year or older working dog....That way, I don't get burned too bad...

It has been said many times, but if you are spending good money, you need to hunt with the owner and the dog before you lay down the green...

[hogtied]

I have tried alot of dogs... the day i get them they hit the woods... BY THEIRSELVES... no other dogs, i want to no what it can do not what mine can make it look like it did. all this talk about getting warmed up to you and all that is irrelevant... A hunting dog will hunt and it will do it whenever he gets the chance, anybody on this board could borrow my good dogs today and they will roll out and find you a hog this evening, day one,  day or night...I can turn a dog loose and within an hour tell you if ill buy him or not. All this month trial stuff is more of a haggle thing and alot of people base how good a dog is by how long they let you have a dog on trial!!!... POINT IS, DONT BUY A DOG IF YOU DONT NO WHAT YOUR LOOKING FOR... Saying he dont no me or no my dogs so he wont hunt right is just an excuxe to make you feel better. A hog dog is a hog dog, turn him out, see what he is about, decide if he is what you want, and stop wasting someones time on a month trial. I mean seriously, it takes weeks to see if you like what he does??? Either they have it or they dont... and you wont get screwed as bad if you go with the owner, with his dogs, with him, and watch the dog hunt, no money is required to hunt with the owner, then if you see he is junk you still got your hard earned dollars in your pocket and he cant screw you on it... Just how it is with me, surely someone thinks the same way???

[Eric]

I do two weeks. The dog should be settling in and not have a problem hunting by then.

You can't really say take it on 5 or 10 hunts because what if the person takes 2 months to hunt that much.

[Mike]

Hunt with the dog first and a 30 day trial.

Dogs aren't machines... i've seen a helluva lot of damn good dogs that wouldn't do much of anything for several hunts with new owners.

[Caughtandhobbled]

JMO....
Get dogs from friends....Unlike some people seem to think, I truly believe that dogs are like a spouse or a horse or anything that you will use in your life that is very important to you. I have a bad habit of loving my dogs, horses and my spouse . You need to get to know them..... I have been using working dogs all of my life (cattle and a few hogs)...I am not a dog trader and I very rarely sell dogs (an accidental breeding of two un-proven dogs) and it will not be to friends (kinda like going to a horse auction). I will give a good dog to a friend. Some of us think we have the perfect set of dogs and others are always looking to improve our pack. Either way you can not go wrong with a real friend, truth be know I could improve my pack but never my friends. Point that I am trying to make is get a dog from a friend you will never go wrong, you know exactly what you are getting...Good Luck.....

[hogtied]

thats true caughtandhobbled, and you probably already no the dog too if it come from a friend. being attatched to your dogs is one thing, but not knowing if he is gonna work for you until your attatched to him is totally different, it blurs your vision of what he really is if your real attatched to him

[hogtied]

like i said, a real solid hunting dog should hunt, period... im not saying anybodys dog is bad, and handling a new dog mite take some time to adjust, but he should hunt for whoever is hunting him. If i go to buy a 1000$ dog and turn him loose and he pees on a bush and comes back to the wheeler he is gone back, no more chances. if he wont even go to a bay and they want 800$ for him, he is gone back...if he jumps the first deer he sees, he is gone back.. he should hunt out of instinct and not much should change his instinct to hunt. I do no that it takes time to adjust to different styles of hunting and different terrain, but learning his name for a week should not affect his hunting ability. One more reason to hunt with him and his owner before you ever take him with you... see how he is hunted, and where, see what you can expect from the dog once he gets use to you...it is better than a 6 month trial to me to see the one he is use to handle and hunt him, saves the potential wrecks of having someone elses dog on trial.

[cantexduck]

Hogtied,
  I though you hunted you own line of dogs?

[hogtied]

up until a about a year ago i did about 99% of the time. What does that have to do with a trial? you want to try one of my dogs or something? or are you just trying to get off track? anybody that knows me or pays attention to what i write on here knows that i have been introducing new females to my dogs in hopes of getting some less rough dogs on the ground for the last year or so and i did not buy junk. I have over 2k dollars in one, some were free...some i got screwed on some i didnt, tried and went thru over 50 dogs before i got the 4 that suited me. not sure where your going with that coment but its irrelevant and sounds like your trying to stir up an arguement, which you wont win and ill end up with my a$$ reamed again for argueing, and i dont care for that much so what does my line of dogs have to do with a trial?

[stoked]

well, who's ready to hunt some of these runners this fall>?

i'm ready to shut a few down!

[cantexduck]

 Just a comment. It has alot to do with trials and such. I thought you hunted your own line of dogs, that would mean that you didnt buy dogs. So that would lead to the fact that you wouldnt have much experence on trials.


  I think that you need more then a month on any dog outside of a finished dog.

[hogtied]

I wanted to get some good blooded young dogs that were not as rough as my line is, i tried alot of dogs in the last year and a half, i no what a hog dog is and it dont take long to spot one, if its suppose to be finished, it should show it right off, that all goes along with being a finished dog, if its not versatile its not finished. If its just started it should do whatever the owner says it will do which should not take long to see either. If its use to the owner hunt with him and have him show you what he does... just common sence folks, if he dont do it for the owner he wont do it for you either no matter how long you try him. asking the right questions can save alot of time when looking for a new prospect, example... how long you had him? why you selling him? how many more you got for sale? when your buying a dog have big ears and a little mouth, 80% of the dogs i inquired about i didnt even look at. If you dont no what your looking for or what you want then you WILL get screwed... some real slick dog traders will screw even the most experienced hunters. The bottom line is, if a dog is for sale he is not doing something right for the owner,find out what it is thats making him get rid of it, decide if you can live with it, go hunting with the guy and see how the dog does compared to how he is suppose to do, if the owner makes excuses for the dog(dam he never did that before must be because your a stranger) it HAS happened before he just hoped he wouldnt do it in front of you, turn and run the other way!!!  A dog is for sale for a reason, i gave up on finding a solid finished dog, the ones i kept were a year old or less and they had what i was looking for right off the bat. I had several dogs on trial that got killed, lost, or stolen and i lost several thousand dollars. Im just trying to help someone from getting screwed, NO WHAT YOUR LOOKING FOR and it wont take long to spot it when you find it. If a guy says its a young started dog that will bay, you can see that very quick why would it take a month to find if he will bay? dont waste someones time if its not what you want, having him a month is not going to make him do what your hoping for if he didnt do it on the first or second time. You take for a him a month, you like how he looks and handles, he is suppose to be a strike dog and he is a help dog,you hunt him a month and keep hoping he will find you a hog but he just dont, your all disappointed and have to take him back, he did not have it from day one... it dont take all that time hoping he will miraculously change and do for you what he wouldnt for the guy that owned him...now you have to do it all over again... ITS LIKE RENTING A NEW DOG FROM MONTH TO MONTH!! That could easily be avoided by knowing what you want and knowing how to spot it. I have been raising, hunting, and dealing with dogs for nearly 20 years... dont be fooled, just because i primarily raise my own dogs dont mean i dont no anything about trials or outside dogs

[cantexduck]

  Not worth it.



   Just something that you told me the other day, you told me about that plott that you bred. How did those pups work out? Were they silent?

  

[hogtied]

Didnt mean nothing by it cantex, and was not saying your a dog trader just trying to save some headaches for folks... alot of trial stuff can be determined without even hunting the dog... I dont necessarily breed only my own dogs if i can put some better blood in them then im open too it, if its proven that they are good blooded, with the exception of a couple dogs my old line of dogs is pretty much gone, I made the mistake of breeding only for me and they all got killed :'( I still have a couple but not many. And i had a few plotts over the years, only a couple that i bred, and only one that i crossed with a cur, then crossed the half and half  back to another cur... kept one pup... I was not real impressed with the cross, and the full blood ones are ether too slow, to open, or too rangy for me... I love a plott dog tho and cant resist one, but my passion is a good yeller dog