What age do y'all start your pups in woods ??

[justin11]

At what age do your pups go to te woods and what do y'all consider a old dog on his last "leg"

[Shotgun wg]

I start mine in the woods in the one year area. Depending on time of year if a lil early or late.

An old dog on its last leg depends on the dog and his job. I have a lab that's 12yrs old. He's slow but will still try to hunt. I've hunted with an 11yr old bay dog. I've hunted with a 6yr old cd. When u grab the lead and go to their spot and they just look at ya. They are old. U watch ur dogs they will let u know what's enough.


Shotgun
Arkansas

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

8-10 months they go to the big woods.  1-1.5 yrs they had better be hitting it hard. Anything older that hasn't impressed is a question mark that needs a period !

The old dog question.  Depends on their range or motion and if they are able to get out of the way of a bad hog.
An old dog that has proven themselves countless years is worth more in the brood pen and on my front porch than still trying to keep up in the woods. 

That is the job of your younger dogs. If your dependent on the older dog to do it all.......... might want to gut check your youngster and do a lil thinning.

[Jason Dunn]

I let them run around a bay pen with their momma as soon as they can and when they can keep up with a atv I start taking them to the woods to see which ones get ahead and which ones just follow the atv I pick the ones that bay fast and get ahead early not that that does any good. I think its healthy to let them get around other dogs and learn to keep up and ride an atv.

[halfbreed]

  when I feel they a physically mature enough to keep up with the big dogs .

[warrent423]

Dogs ain't never to young to go to the woods or pasture. Always something to be learned , even if it means riding on the bed of the truck .  A good working dog should always have the "want" to go, its up to you to know when their body will no longer allow them to.

[Hutch33]

Dogs ain't never to young to go to the woods or pasture. Always something to be learned , even if it means riding on the bed of the truck .  A good working dog should always have the "want" to go, its up to you to know when their body will no longer allow them to.

^^Great post.  I have a pup that just turn 4 months old and I've taken her to the woods. Kept her on a lead the whole time but just to expose her to riding in the box, and the sites and sounds.  Watching dogs that a pup lives with is a big time teacher for them. I think you should expose your pup to as much as you can starting around 3 months but keep them close, around 6 months I'd let them tag along and run their own.

[reatj81]

  when I feel they a physically mature enough to keep up with the big dogs .

If they can't keep up, your training them to not finish the race. 


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[justincorbell]

I start working mine on mock hunts at 10-12 weeks old w/ tied shoats, I try to show them at least 3 shoats between 3-5 months of age then I put em up and let em grow. When I tote em on mock hunts I try to make the mock hunt as realistic as possible to a real hunt. Usually around 7-8months I start totin em to the big woods with the grown dogs, sometimes sooner than that but I do not let em run with the big dogs until I feel they are ready, I will turn em to a bay and let em mess around and be pups while the big dogs are out hunting. I agree that its never too early to introduce em to the big woods just to let em get a feel for things.

[Scott]

If you consider finishing a race = bottom...I don't think you can train that any more than you can train hunt.

[Reuben]

  when I feel they a physically mature enough to keep up with the big dogs .

If they can't keep up, your training them to not finish the race. 


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also makes them pups bark more because they are getting left behind...

[Reuben]

at 12 to 14 weeks take them to the open woods and let them play...sit back and watch...

I remember as a kid of about 12 years old I carried 2 pups with me way out in the brush country...I had to carry them now and then because they couldn't keep up...the big dogs had a dillo in a hole inside a big rose hedge and they wouldn't give it up...I finally crawled in enough to where I could grab the dillos tail but I couldn't pull him out...in the meantime those pups crawled just out of my reach and curled up and went to sleep...it took me until dark to get them out and it was a long walk home in the dark without any light...back then I hunted my pups as early as possible...and that was when they could keep up...back then it was a different hunting style for me and my dogs...but taking them out as early as possible just to let them run and learn is a good thing IMO...

[halfbreed]

  I agree Rueben .  if you don't live where you can let them run free as pups you need to just get them out in the woods to explore and gain confidence and get [ woods wise  ] no big dogs just a couple of pups . doing this will put you way ahead in the game when you start the training and running with the big dogs  .