How to spoil the pup and make a Coon Hound

coonhunterssupply.com Carl Moore

I got that new coon hound pup. What do I do now? That is the big question. You have picked a pup after a lot of research, picked the breed, the parents, hopefully you hunted with them, and of course picked your favorite pup.

Now you got him home the first thing to do is take him to your vet. Let him give the full check out and give the shots needed. Your pup should get used to the handling and probing by his vet. Give him time to get learn to trust in his vet. Use the same vet for each visit, the pup will feel more at home with someone he knows and his vet will know all about him.

OK now that is done. Take your strong healthy pup home. Introduce him to the family. Let him play with the kids and your wife, he should know he is a part of your family. House break him, teach him manners, how to lead, stay close, sit, follow directions and most of all to trust you and the family to protect him and love him When the time comes he will do his best to please you when training to make you a great coon hound. Not all pups will turn out just the way you want, but don`t give up on him. He may just be a pleasure to take to the woods, and only tree a few coon, but give lots of love tell him how great he is. The more one on one time you spend with him the better he will get. Make sure you take your children with you often. The pup wants to show them how much he learned from you. Make day trips to the open spaces with the pup and the kids, let them play in the woods, streams and fields.

Yep make him a lap dog.

I think I can hear you screaming. Think about it you want a well behaved hound when you go hunting don`t you. One that only wants to please you and make you proud of him. Coon hunting is not fun if the dogs only hunts for his own pleasure.

You can make up a game for the family when the pup has grown a little. play hide and seek with him. Let the kids make drag a trail with a hot dog or sausage, and let the little guy find it. Of course that is his treat. Make it harder each time for him and hide it a little higher. After while put the sausage just out of reach. Cheer him on get him to tree that thing. Always give him his treat if he earns it. Before long the kids can put down a trail in the back yard and put the treat in a tree. Now you have a tree dog and trees how you want a real coon hound.

With lots of hikes in the woods and knowing how to tree you now have a hound that is ready for training.

The Old Yellow Dog

Carl Moore

http://coonhunterssupply.con/

One of my great hunting buddies was George Sammons. George worked in a steel mill in Erie Pa. When the week end arrived George and his family would come to our house to hunt coon. All the kids and the wives and our dogs would head for the woods. We hunted until early morning and return to the house for a big breakfast. After that most of the kids would sleep wherever they could find a place to crash. We did this both weekend nights almost every weekend.

George got badly burned in a mill accident and could not work or hunt for awhile. He always drank beer, but with time on his hands he started to drink a lot more. When he was just about in shape to start a little coon hunting again. His wife called one evening to tell us that their coon hound had died and George was having a rough time. Could I find them a coon hound so they could hunt with us again.

I spent a lot of time trying to find a good coon hound at a fair price we could hunt with my dogs. There just did not seem to be decent hound to be found. If I did find one the price was so high we could not afford it.

George called me, oneSaturday morning and said he had found a good coon hound that could tree coon by himself. The price was only $20.00. That was even cheaper than buying a pup. He was four years old and they told George he was a good tree dog. At the price I just knew George bought a trashy hound. I was not going to hunt my dogs with a hound that ran deer, skunks, possums, or what have you. Of course I would go with George to try the new hound out.

I went to Georges house to see the new dog and take them coon hunting. When I first saw the hound I was impressed by his size and looks. He looked well put together, had the look of hound and seemed to have a voice to go with it. The dog looked great and he had a nice even yellow coat. I would guess his age at about 4 years old. This dog was in his prime and I knew something just had to be wrong with him. George said he was told the dog was deaf. The only way you could get out of the woods was go to the tree and get him, he could not hear you call.

We went to a corn field and turned the hound out to hunt. Of course his name was Yellow. That old yellow hound only went a short piece into the corn and he opened on track. He had a nice clear bawl and carried the track down and across the corn to the woods. Not to far into the woods he hit a tree and treed his heart out. George was smiling from ear to ear. When we got to the tree. That big old hound was stretched as far as he could up the tree. He was barking as hard as could. We saw the coon right away and put a lead on the hound. George made a big thing to that dog telling him how great a coon hound he was.

We headed for another corn field, when we turned loose, Three deer crossed the road and headed down the side of the corn field. We held our breath when the hound barked trail. He went down the field a short way and then turned right toward the deer trail. He crossed their trail and headed for the woods. He ran for a time up a long hill. He soon settled to a tree. George and I both just about ran to the tree and there he was, doing his best. George had been drinking some and was a little drunk, but we head for one more field to hunt.

We turned the hound loose again. As I walked around the truck to get my light I saw a glow on the ground. I picked up a hot cigar butt. I told George someone had already hunted this place earlier this night. We waited for the yellow dog to come back to the truck. He could not hear us call him so we waited. George carried a 357 Mag handgun with him. Before long we heard Yellow coming through the corn. He came out to thw road about 20 yards from us and turned away from us. As he headed down the road George yelled at him to come in. Of course he just kept walking down the road. George pulled the handgun from its holster, and fired all six shots at the dog. Gravel and stones flew off the road and all over the yellow dog, none of the shots hit home. When the last shot was fired Yellow turned and ran for the truck.

We hunted the yellow dog with my hounds for many years after that night. He was one of the finest coon hound the families ever hunted with, however, after that night you had be careful when you called him. Call gently or you might get run over by a big yellow dog trying to get in the truck. Yellow sure could hear you now.