# Raising a hound pup?



## Rouen (Aug 19, 2004)

I've been looking for a puppy for the last 3 months and finally found a litter at a local municipal animal shelter a few towns away. filled out an app for a female that looks like a redbone coonhound. can anyone offer input on raising a well rounded hound? they said she's a beagle/cockapoo mix, she looks like she'll be about 30-40lbs, one was black, 3 were red/tan and two were piebald tan/white. they say she's about 11 weeks old.
also any input on scent training would be welcome(think drug dog type scent training)
I'll know on thursday or friday if I am approved for bringing her home.


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

I did do some research on SAR (search and rescue) training for our English Coonhound. If you google "search and rescue dog training" there are a lot of sites with good information out there.

I have not made the time to work with our dog, so we just mess around casually with scent games.


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## Elizabeth (Jun 4, 2002)

PrincessFerf, what kind of scent games do you play?
We started our pup on some tracking last year and will start again as soon as it warms up a bit. Pup can handle the cold- I can't, lol.


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## Rouen (Aug 19, 2004)

I'd like to use her to find turtle eggs/hatchlings for local environmental research projects I am part of. I'm not sure if the training would be the same, for SAR as it is for something like drug dogs. SAR dogs usually work on excitement and being vocal/digging, drug dogs usually do their job enthusiastically but calm, I will look into it though. thanks


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

My english tricolor coonhound has a nose that WON'T QUIT. I swear she can smell a **** from miles away. Even if we are driving along a country road and she gets a wiff from the open window it sets her off. She's trained for bob cat too. She already came trained when we adopted her. Know that hounds are noisy, not for a quite person who enjoys peace LOL


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

I have been able to get some scent at Cabelas (pretty much any outdoor store will do), then rub it on something that gets dragged on the ground (we have about 1/2 acre of "play area") in a zig zag pattern. At the end of the pattern I put a food treat. Then I bring her out and start her at the beginning of the "trail". She gets nose to the ground and follows the pattern, wandering. 

I cheer her on by saying "where's the smell, Chloe? go get it". She seems to have fun at the game. Nothing fancy or "official", just some dog-nose-fun.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Have her sound on obedience. We also made a game of finding with my Irish Setter. He loved it. You can teach her to find family members. Once she knows everyone's name, you can have her "find" people. Make it easy at first, then have them a little farther away, then hiding, etc. She'll be rewarded with petting and praise. You'll want to then have her sit and wait when she finds the person, or maybe bark once while she sits and waits.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

I'm supposed to get a half black & tan half walker coonhound (if you're in KS or OK and interested in one, private message me) pup from a friend in 2 months from now and intend to train him to find termites/bedbugs for me. Any suggestions on doing the training?


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## Rouen (Aug 19, 2004)

I wish Ted, I'm in Mass and apparently theres a puppy shortage here. like I said it took me a while to find this one. 
We're doing a meet and greet with the pup and Dingo(my male mutt) on Monday, they said if he shows any fear or aggression theres no chance on her coming home, and he's afraid of other strange dogs sniffing his rear.  
We've been trying to find random puppies in the pet stores and in town for him to meet so he wont be too afraid, but they're few and far between.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

when you say SAR, do you mean trailing a lost person in the deep woods or finding people in collapsed buildings? all trailing requires the same brainwork, it's like writing for the dog they start w/ a subject and keep at it until it's concluded. the difficulty varies depending on game (or people) environment, conditions & the dogs fitness & focus that day. a hot bear in the eastern USA is like a paragraph cold dry ground bobs, greys or coyote in the AZ desert in summer would be like a master's thesis. their is alot of mental fatigue involved w/ harder types of trailing.
drug dogs & finding people in collapsed buildings (& birddog work) is like looking at all 400-800 pages of a book at once and picking out the one time it says quail, weed or old diabetic lady under a block of concrete.
it's important to understand the difference so you don't waste time & create obstacles by training incorrectly.


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## Rouen (Aug 19, 2004)

Well here she is, she came home today. she still needs a name.


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

By SAR, yes I am referring to Search and Rescue. However, we have not gone that route with our English Coonhound. "Scent games" is as far as we've gone.

The puppy picture is absolutely adorable! I hope you truly enjoy her!

She looks like a "Ginger" to me. (I like to give my pets "people" names)


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

Princess
both activities are SAR but they require different training techniques for optimum performance. so do you want tracking, body scenting or both.


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