Advice for Training Bluetick hound

[decker]

I have just recently aquired a 8 month female BlueTick and would like to start training her to chase scents any advice would be appreciated.

[duck duck goose]

I don't mean to hijack your thread but I am going to be watching this one carefully as I just got a Red Bone that I am working on scent training for cougar. Everything I can find on the topic usually starts with keeping the training sessions short and fun to begin with.

Get yourself a bottle of scent for whatever animal you are planning on chasing with the pup and make a drag with it. I've seen guys using paint rollers and stuffed animals to put the scent on. Start with a short track and slowly make it longer and more difficult. Try to make the scent drag mimic what you think the animal will do in real life (ie rub up against trees, speed up(wider track spacing) slow down (close track spacing). Encourage the dog the entire time.

I want my hound to tree so I always end with my drag toy up a tree, just so she gets used to looking up. I know that won't always be the case in the real world but it is as close as I feel I can mimick what she will see in the woods.

I am still new to this, but that is the just of what I have found in my research.

[decker]

Thanks for the reply, I was thinking of doing as you said for starters. How old is your Red Bone?

[H380]

A house cat makes a good drag as well as scent , they also tree well ..

[duck duck goose]

She's 5 months right now. What are you planning on chasing with your Bluetick?

[decker]

I want to chase some cats but I will train her and then maybe if I could pair up with some one else would be best.

[duck duck goose]

Well keep me in mind as I am in the same boat as you are.

[grinr]

A house cat makes a good drag as well as scent , they also tree well ..

x2 ;)
We(my dad)had coonhounds when i was a youngster.Roadkilled coon pelt skinned out was usually the main training drag to start,but hard to beat live trapped coons as the dog advanced,send a pup with experienced hound on a live coon etc.Any incidental feral cats that found their way into the box traps were put to good use also,as our dogs were dual purpose coon&cat hounds.(bobcat)

[Blue]

O.k guys. First of all I've been running hounds my entire life and have aways had cat and coon dogs. And by no means should house cats be used as a training tool. Not only is it disgusting and wrong but also illegal!! Under the animal cruelity act not only can you be fined but also serve jail time if caught. So spouting your mouth off about it on an open forum just shows complete ignorance ecspecially when there are investigations already going on pertaining to this matter. Nothing like stearing new hunters in the wrong direction!!

[WildOrchid]

I agree with duck duck goose and blue.. Train the pup for what your after or don't be too surprised if he/she tree's an actual house cat when the time comes. It is in poor taste and illegal to use house cats as tools and putting it online pins you to it. If you have a pup with a killer nose you'll do awesome in the woods but gotta know how to find the tracks to get him/her started and might have to walk it in a bit. I have seen how a dog is loyal anf respects owner. Some pups do it on their own, others with a bit of help and some just aren't into cats cougars but will take to something else.

Blueticks are beautiful btw.. congrats on the new pup.

[decker]

Where would I find cougar scent at, would they carry it at sports stores?

[Blue]

Not here they don't. Your best bet is to order from the States. The trials use Pete Richards scents most of the time. You can find them online.

[decker]

Halford Hide sells cougar urine

[bluetick hounder]

Stay away from using feral cats its not as houndsmen a image we want to present. There are two houndsmen associations in alberta and both are on facebook. Prairie Houndsmen Association and the Alberta Treehound Association. Join both of those pages and most of those guys are still lion hunting but in a month or two they will start running field drags and always welcome new people. They will all have pups to start training and would welcome new houndsmen.:)

[H380]

O.k guys. First of all I've been running hounds my entire life and have aways had cat and coon dogs. And by no means should house cats be used as a training tool. Not only is it disgusting and wrong but also illegal!! Under the animal cruelity act not only can you be fined but also serve jail time if caught. So spouting your mouth off about it on an open forum just shows complete ignorance ecspecially when there are investigations already going on pertaining to this matter. Nothing like stearing new hunters in the wrong direction!!

Whoa !!! Internet police on patrol .... look who's spouting off . Somebody can't take a joke . For your info , I used the halford scent , happy now ?

[grinr]

WHOA Internet police indeed!!
First of all,I was relating my experinces from 25-35 years ago and dont really GAF who reads it?
Secondly,its the first Ive ever heard of using wild old fleabag tomcats being illegal,must be one of those newfangled city slicker PETA freak laws er sumthin?
Third,said feral cats shouldn't be running wild in the first place,eating thousands of birds and small game,and getting caught in my coon traps to begin with.
Fourth,I'd just as soon catch same feral cat in a Conibear and not shed a tear over it.
5th,I would be tickled if my pup treed a cat....any cat.A cat is a cat is a cat,I doubt if the scent is all that much different wether its a housecat,bobcat,or cougar,and it's a damn good training exercise either way.
6th,is box trapping a mean old rabid coon for hound training purposes any less cruel than using a fluffy lil kitty cat or bunny wabbit for same,or have the bunnyhugger PETA freaks made that illegal these days as well?
7th,I dont like cats.
8th.....I like cake............








....and pool noodles.

[WildOrchid]

The original post requested training advice.

No need to get your panties in a knot. In Alberta wether you know it or not a handful of so called hunters are gonna get their pee pees slapped for using housecats. Like all things scents can be different and running a track for a cougar can land you on a house cat if your dog catches scent.

With someone starting out new, joke or not, its in bad taste to run someone new in a direction that isn't in his best interest.

And for true houndsmen it affects what they say and do, last thing they want are more laws and restrictions because of bad attitudes.

Everything on the net is monitored in this day and age best to be cautious unless you can back it. That and you never know who you are talking too or what they are capable of.

[decker]

Thanks again for everyones responses

[bullwinkle]

I'm working on a couple of young dogs as well and there are some very good books out there;Vicky lambs "dynamics of hound traing",Del Cameron's"call of the hounds" and John Wick's "tree hound encyclopedia".Also Grawes makes very good cougar scent but they won't always ship across the border.

[Springer]

Terry try this site. You know old Red who has many Blueticks and the best Houndsman i know.
www.Prariehoundsmenassoc.webs.com

[scrapper]

Where would I find cougar scent at, would they carry it at sports stores?

Try Cypress Hills.

[j.d.miller]

I to have a young blue tick that I am working on training. In the spring we could always go on a few trials and see how the dogs perform. PM me and see what we can do.

[Erik]

I trained my Beagles by having them on lead and anytime I saw a big Jack around my house I would get them all revved up and in a week they had their noses on the ground looking for those Jacks. After that I took them to the off-leash parks and let have at it. Took them a year to get to full speed in a thicket of bush. This doesn't translate as well for coonhounds. Hunting cats is a sport of great patience and fitness.


I don't recommend training them on anything you don't intend to hunt. Drag scents are probably your best option to get started, but probably the best thing you could do is to run your dogs in a pack of hounds that are actively hunting. If the hound packs up well, it will learn more than you can ever teach it from the other hounds.

Check out those hound associations. Wish there was something similar for Beagles!

[Nait Hadya]

http://biggamehoundsmen.com/forum/

[Big Daddy Badger]

O.k guys. First of all I've been running hounds my entire life and have aways had cat and coon dogs. And by no means should house cats be used as a training tool. Not only is it disgusting and wrong but also illegal!! Under the animal cruelity act not only can you be fined but also serve jail time if caught. So spouting your mouth off about it on an open forum just shows complete ignorance ecspecially when there are investigations already going on pertaining to this matter. Nothing like stearing new hunters in the wrong direction!!

I agree...

A barn cat is what you want.... they are much more wiley and provide a more complete training experience.:scared0018::)

[grinr]

I agree...

A barn cat is what you want.... they are much more wiley and provide a more complete training experience.:scared0018::)

Bwaaaahahahahahahahaaaaaaa!! :sHa_shakeshout:

[WildOrchid]

That's truly an awesome idea... while you boys are playing tummy sticks and chasing puddy cats waiting for F&W to catch up to you, the real hunters and houndsmen can chase big toms without care and concerns regarding the trash running dogs that are being brought up to tree telephone poles.

And by reading your well written tid bits i picture monkeys laughing and tossing poop at each other...:thinking-006:

[Blue]

Omg, that was too funny. lol:sEm_oops2:

[decker]

I found some pure Lynx Urine from a trapper I know, and I was walking around in his shop where he mixes scents and it must have got on my boots a bit. When I came in the door My dog's nose was glued to my boots and her hackle was up and growling at the door for about 20 minutes. Can't wait to see if she tracks on Saturday.

[Dawg]

Decker,
After treeing hundreds of cougars, bear, lynx, bobcat and coons, I can see there is a lot of misinformation on this site about how to train a pup. To start with, if you train with a house cat, you will end up with either dead dogs when they really face a cougar on the ground, or a big vet bill. A lot of people do not realize that a dog gets high on adrenaline when they tree and you want to train a pup to have the brains to keep enough distance to not get hurt, but enough pressure to get the job done. I would suggest basic discipline, as well as scent drags, and exposure to the bush. When the time comes, walk with your dog on the track and when it gets excited and focused on the track, let it go. If things go right, you should be able to tree a cat. You also may want to join the Alberta Tree Hound Association, as you will meet many experienced houndsmen, not just mouth pieces. Good luck and have fun.

[coon dawg]

Not sure why you would risk getting a fine and or loosing your hunting privledges and not to mention wrecking it for every one else when they ban hunting with dogs. Then how cool would you guys be for using house cats