Before closing, I will say something more with regard to breeding:--We often see where someone has pure bred Walker, Williams, Redbone or Buckfield Blues. Now to my understanding, these are strains of dogs, bred by southern fox hunters, 50 or 75 years ago, and to keep them pure, there must have been a lot of inbreeding, a thing I do not approve of. Now why would it not have been better for Mr. Walker to have selected one of his very best b.i.t.c.hes and bred her to one of Mr. Williams" best dogs, then called the pups the "American Fox Hounds"--as grand a dog as ever put his nose to a trail?
[Ill.u.s.tration: Typical c.o.o.n Hounds.]
CHAPTER IV.
TRAINING THE c.o.o.n DOG.
In training, we have been told to drag a "c.o.o.n hide, lead a pet "c.o.o.n, etc., but your pup soon learns to a.s.sociate your tracks with the trail of the drag, and when you carry the "c.o.o.n hide he simply follows your track to where you start the drag again. Should you have a "c.o.o.n so tame that it will follow you, start out and tramp through the woods, along streams and just such places as "c.o.o.ns frequent.
Your "c.o.o.n will run logs, go up on the side of trees, in and out of the water, in fact will do just about as a wild "c.o.o.n would. After you have been gone for some time, have someone turn your pup on the trail and if he runs it, keep him a little later each time, and you will soon have a trailer out of him anyway. Should you have neither "c.o.o.n nor old dog, you can train your pup without.
In nearly all places where there are "c.o.o.ns, squirrels and woodchucks (groundhogs) may be found also. Teach your dog to lead and when he is about eight months old, attach a light cord to his collar; then some good morning for squirrels, take him to the woods. Keep him until he gets sight of a squirrel, then drop the cord and let him go; he will likely see it run up a tree, and perhaps he will bark, but if not, do not urge him, but give him plenty of time; then take him to find another and if he does not get to barking, get one in small timber, where you can make it jump from tree to tree; if he does not bark then, he will never be much of a "c.o.o.n dog.
If he barks after he has learned to tree squirrels, take him to a woodchuck country. He will soon get to working after woodchucks and while they won"t all tree, some of them will. Should he get one in a hole, hollow log or tree, get it for him if possible and let him kill it, and see that he doesn"t get hurt much. If he trees one, shoot it out for him, and after he has gotten a few, and trees another, go to where you can see him, but do not let him see you, and watch until he starts to leave; then go to him and by so doing, he will learn to stay and wait for you.
After you have a good dog for woodchucks, you may rest a.s.sured that he will tree a "c.o.o.n if he finds a trail. If it happens to be summer time, take him where "c.o.o.ns abide and turn him loose. He will likely run rabbits, but when he strikes a "c.o.o.n trail, he will take it. As soon as you know he is after a "c.o.o.n, keep after him as near as possible, but let him have his own way. If he trees it and barks, get to him as soon as you can, but do not urge him, for he will get to lying as soon as you want him to without any help from you.
After he has barked awhile, encircle the tree with him; then if the "c.o.o.n has been up and gone on again, he will strike his trail, and, after a few times, he will learn to circle before barking. If the "c.o.o.n is up and it is summer time or early fall, when "c.o.o.n hides are not prime, take your dog back from the tree, keep still, and unless it is a den tree, you won"t have long to wait, for another "c.o.o.n chase, and by keeping your dog longer each time, you will soon have a cold trailer out of him.
This may seem considerable work for some, but it takes work and time to make even a fair "c.o.o.n dog. Should you have a good dog to train with, it saves lots of work, but even then it is a good plan to work early in the season, and tree your "c.o.o.n several times in one night, as you do not have far to go after the first tree.
In breeding "c.o.o.n dogs, the same rule applies as in fox dogs--if your dog is bred from a line of "c.o.o.ners, he will take to it naturally.
Some one will say, I will take a house cat to teach my dog to tree.
Well I have done that myself, but after cutting several good trees, only to get a house cat, I learned better. It is just as easy to break a dog from running cats, as rabbits, and more so. I do not consider a dog that will run and tree every house cat he strikes the trail of, a No. 1 "c.o.o.n dog, no matter what his other good qualities may be.
Years ago, when timber was more plentiful than now, I always trained my dog to take care of himself, when a tree was cut for "c.o.o.ns, and I never had a dog get hurt, nor had many "c.o.o.ns to get very far from the tree.
They are easily taught by cutting small trees in the day time and making them keep back until the tree is down; but now, timber is getting rather scarce and valuable to cut for "c.o.o.ns.
When a dog is trained for "c.o.o.n so that he is first cla.s.s, he is valuable in dollars and cents as well as satisfaction. One of our good friends sets the value in this way, and we agree with him, except that where one is training a dog for his own use, love of the pursuit and woods repays him in a measure for his trouble:
"A man ought not to expect to get a first cla.s.s "c.o.o.n dog for five or ten dollars. In fact, one can"t be trained for that price, not saying anything about his feed. In the first place stop and consider how many nights one has to be taken out to get him to understand running them, and to learn their tricks and to tree and stay treed. They may do this in a reasonably short time with another older, well trained dog to show them how to find the tree and keep them out there, but then take him out by himself and when Mr. "c.o.o.n goes in the creek or around an old pond or bog your young dog lacks experience and a year"s work or more.
Then there is the rabbit which he must be broken not to run, and a dog can always find their tracks before he can a "c.o.o.n. Now here is where the right kind of judgment must be used, as all dogs cannot be handled alike, and one may spoil a pup in trying to break him from rabbits. So taking everything into consideration, it is worth far more to train a dog for a first cla.s.s "c.o.o.n dog than most people consider,--what it requires to train a dog, and what he should be worth when properly broken.
Of course, it is not so much work to train a dog to run fox, as there is generally a lot of fox dogs one can turn in with, and that way get a young dog started and he will take to running them naturally."
I think a good dog, either a fox hound, or one that has never run foxes, makes the best dog, altho curs or "c.o.o.n dogs are not to be kicked out, that is if they are good, true hunters. I wouldn"t advise trying to train a hound with a cur unless he is an old "c.o.o.n dog. Try and get your dog on a "c.o.o.n right in the start, and do not let him fight too much the first time, unless he is an extra fighter. Do not let your dog stay out hunting when the other dogs have treed a "c.o.o.n; make him come in and bark up the tree. Always climb the tree for your dog and get what he has, no matter if it takes until daylight.
When I own young dogs, I always train them myself. I never permit a stranger to handle them. It is all right for strangers to handle the old dogs once they are trained but the hunter who wishes to have good dogs should train them himself or have a man who thoroughly understands the proper way to use young dogs. It is a very easy matter to spoil a dog when you do not know exactly how to proceed.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Capable Cross-bred c.o.o.ners.]
On the question of the proper age at which to begin training a hound, a successful Minnesota trainer takes issue with those who advise taking the pup to field at eight or ten months of age. He writes in part: "I disagree with those who advise the early initiation of the pup. Any kind of fairly well bred pup will run, not only at 10 months, but at 5, 6 or 7 months, but the point to consider is, will a dog put at hard work at such age, become a hardy one? Will he develop himself as well as if he had been given a chance to grow some bones?
I say no; put a colt at hard work at 2 or 3 years old, will he ever be the horse which he would have been, if he had only been broken at 4 or 5 years old? Every horse breeder knows that if he wants a good roadster, he must give him a chance to grow, then he will not be afraid to cover 60 or more miles in a day with that horse; not only this but he will get many times the price for that horse as for his brother which was put to work two years earlier. I have bred horses and know of what I speak.
There are many reasons why a sportsman should not start to train his dog to hunt before he is full grown, that is at least not until he is 12 to 15 months old. Before that age, a pup may have the will but he has not the strength to cover the ground of an old dog. A man who has a valuable pup should wait until he is capable to stand hardships, and until he has also a good knowledge box. In allowing a pup of 6, 7, 8 or 10 months to hunt, he will learn more bad tricks than good ones, such as to remain in the bush longer than necessary, and soon become a long record dog. The risk is great that he will get lost, or if not, will return with swollen feet and legs if he ran at all, also be chilled and be rewarded with a fine dose of distemper. This is often the cause why so many young dogs die with distemper or of some other lingering death, but if a man gives time to his dog to develop and get strong, the chance is, should he ever get distemper, it would be but a slight attack from which he will soon recover."
We take it, however, that our well informed friend does not mean to imply that a pup should not be taken afield and given a kindergarten course earlier than a year old. His contention is, no doubt, that the pup should not be permitted to over exert himself or to be thrown too much on his own resources.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Good Catch in Which the Shepherd Dog Figured Prominently.]
CHAPTER V.
TRAINING FOR SKUNK, OPOSSUM AND MINK.
All the foregoing has more or less application to the present topic.
We are still dealing with the nocturnal wanderers. Occasionally any of the above may be discovered abroad in the full glare of day. Some hunters successfully locate them, by the aid of dogs, in their dens or burrows and capture them in the day-time. This is a cut and dried operation that requires none of the resourceful tactics of man and dog in the chase, and is, therefore, dismissed from the discussion.
Now, what are the dog"s duties? The matter of still hunters vs.
tonguers, being of such variance of opinion, it will be discussed in a subsequent and separate chapter.
Having impressed your dog with the fact that you want him to look out for skunk, possum and mink, as well as "c.o.o.n, the next point of importance is to insist on the dog staying with the quarry and barking until you arrive; also not to take hold until the word is given as the hide is apt to be all chewed up and full of holes if the dog is too long and too vigorous in the task. Many hunters pick up many of the skunk on the field, without even being touched by the dogs.
In this connection a contributor writes: "We walk right up to the skunks and pick them up by the tails; then hit them on the head with a club and kill them or put them in the bag and take them home alive, as the occasion may suit."
"Now I won"t tell that I can catch skunks without getting scented, but will say this, we have caught hundreds by the tail, and after lifting them clear off the ground, never have been scented by them.
As I said before, I go for the business end of it, and am not afraid to get some scent on me as long as I don"t get it in my eyes. If you get it in your eyes, it feels about as if you had horse-radish or hot water in them for the next ten minutes, which is not altogether pleasant."
The skunk is a foolish, unresourceful animal and were it not for its natural, unique means of defense, would be utterly at the mercy of dogs and hunters. Many dogs object to the scent and will trail and bring to bay a skunk only with reluctance. Only those who hunt for profit, care to take the skunk, and he must needs learn the finer points by experience.
The Scotch Terrier and Beagle should be mink dog. The steel trap is more generally relied upon to bag the sly mink and his capture with dog and gun is oft-times very unproductive.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Opossums Are Easily Caught Alive for Training Purposes.]
A Pennsylvania hunter contributes the following to the general fund: a good cross for mink as well as rabbit. This combination gives the requisite agility needed in coping with mink. Some even advise a strain of water Spaniel with the above breed for ideal.
"Before taking him out you can teach the young dog when 8 or 10 months old, what to do by catching an animal that you wish to train your dog on and leading it around. If it is a "c.o.o.n or opossum, then put up a tree or on a fence. Loose your dog and let him trail until he finds it. Teach the dog to bark by hissing him on and clapping, whooping to him and such like.
If for skunk, kill one and drag it around, place it out of pup"s reach, and teach him to bark when he comes upon his game. You can teach the habit of tongueing after night or silence on the trail as you prefer. Let your young dog shake and chew at the game you are training him to hunt for. After he has found it and he fails to bark by hissing him, tie a rope three feet long to it and keep throwing it toward him and pulling it quickly away to teach him to grab at it and hold on, and also bark. A live skunk generally gives a young dog such a lesson the first time that he is always afraid of one afterwards, unless he is an Irish terrier or bull dog or beagle crossed. These two breeds are good ones for any kind of night hunting.
Take a live animal, a "c.o.o.n or something, and lead it past your young dog"s box where he is tied and let him see it and take notice how he will want it, but all you want is to teach him the scent and how to tongue when he comes up on the game. I believe what I have told will generally break any dog.
A good dog, well broken to hunt "c.o.o.n, skunk or opossum is worth scores of traps. Don"t be afraid to switch a young dog some, to make him learn good from bad, like tonguing track and rabbit. Always pet him and be friendly after chastising him, and a good scolding with a couple of light smacks with open hand will take the place of a whipping. Don"t use a stick unless necessary. Use judgment, the same as you would want some one to use you, and in a few nights" training your dog will be catching game. It is easy sailing after a few are caught, and your dog is your greatest friend you have. He will make you from $5.00 to $15.00 a night, where if you were trapping for the same game, you would be lucky if you got a dollar"s worth of fur, and besides what is finer sport than a day"s gunning, to hear your old dog up on yonder hill or in some woods talking to you to come his way?"
[Ill.u.s.tration: North Dakota Wolf Hounds.]
CHAPTER VI.
WOLF AND COYOTE HUNTING.
In training a dog to run wolves, it is unsafe to allow a young dog to go alone, as some wolves prefer fighting to running, and if a young dog is whipped back a few times, he will become afraid, or will be perhaps, spoiled altogether. Training a dog to hunt young wolves is a harder task, and unless your dog is born for it, you will fail to make anything like a first cla.s.s dog out of him. Almost any good fox dog will hunt old wolves, but very few will hunt pups, and my experience has been that a b.i.t.c.h will hunt quicker than a dog. There are a great many dogs that will trail and hunt a wolf to a finish, but will pay no attention to the pups whatever; but if you succeed in finding one that is inclined to hunt them, remember that practice makes perfect.
Speaking of brush wolves: The kind of dog needed is a good ranger, extra good cold trailer and an everlasting stayer. Then if he will only run a short distance after starting the wolf and come back and hunt the pups, and then bark at them when found, you have a good, valuable dog. There are plenty of dogs that will hunt and trail wolves all right, but very few that will hunt the pups.