# getting your dog to leave your feet



## Primos can man

how do you get your dog to leave your feet in the woods?


----------



## Turkey Trax

kick it


----------



## mag shooter

How old is the dog ?


----------



## Al Medcalf

Turkey Trax said:


> kick it



You can get them out from under your feet that way but you can't make one hunt


----------



## Jeff Raines

You gotta start that in the yard.

Chasing balls or squirrel skins tied to long cane poles.That gives the dog confidence you will be there when he comes back


----------



## Hardwood

Size 12


----------



## Donnie Reid

how old is the dog and what kind coon hound or what ?


----------



## Donnie Reid

Turkey Trax said:


> kick it


sound's like you need that


----------



## Murphy

Get a Bluetick.....

Walk him in the woods 

Run a few drags (few) 

As he gets confidence he'll learn to leave you there an you can gather your thoughts in the dark while he does his job!

Takes time..shoe leather..and a little confidence


----------



## GA DAWG

Born in em. You can't make one go. If you have to. Its not my kinda dog. Brains,heart and desire are the 3 main things ones gotta have.


----------



## Prorain

I'm with ya GaDawg it is or it ain't.A hunting dog that is, you have got to put the dog in the enviroment you want it to work woods,feild,swamp,light,dark the dog has to fill comfortable to do it's best.JMO


----------



## 1shot1kill

bout 10cc of gallberry switch!


----------



## plottman25

This is easy, if you want your dog to hunt let it go out on its own, just give it time.  If you want to ruin your dog listen to the people telling you to kick it and whip it, just like Mr. Medcalf said, you can make em leave your feet, but all they are going to do is get some yonder away from you and probably sit around in the bushes doing nothing.


----------



## Ruger#3

I've hauled pups repeatedly and watch them go off to the running hounds and come back to check in. Ones with desire eventually stay with the pack. I worry when there is no interest in a running pack. I know no recipe for desire beyond born to it.

I also talk to my hounds when in the field before a jump. They know where where I am and the area to come back to. 

If you could beat hunt into a dog there would be fewer culls.


----------



## Turkey Trax

Donnie Reid said:


> sound's like you need that



to each his own. but ifn the dog wont get out and hunt it needs kickin'.


----------



## TOMBUKTU

It needs kickin? Thats about the dumbest... Look, you want the dog to get out from under ya? Go to the woods, sit on the tail gate, and pay the dog no mind. He'll get bored and start looking around! But kickin the dog? Thats a sure fire way to have your dog run from ya, act like a coward, and also point out your own faults!


----------



## gemcgrew

Turkey Trax said:


> kick it



Any hound that is smarter than its owner deserves a good kick'n!


----------



## Turkey Trax

TOMBUKTU said:


> It needs kickin? Thats about the dumbest... Look, you want the dog to get out from under ya? Go to the woods, sit on the tail gate, and pay the dog no mind. He'll get bored and start looking around! But kickin the dog? Thats a sure fire way to have your dog run from ya, act like a coward, and also point out your own faults!



settle down. i aint gonna kick the dog. it needs to be left at the house and find one that will hunt.


----------



## Murphy

I've never kicked one but I have gotten on one so bad for coming back he would've wished I kicked him but he knew better....Ive done the same thing before with pups  turn him out sit on the toolbox don't say nothing to him he'll get bored and start venturing out when he see's you aren't playing with him....


----------



## Prorain

Natural ability is a great thing just to sit back and correct them a little but do the job and do it with style.


----------



## Primos can man

well its a feist hes about a 1 year and he will run and tree squirrel like crazy in the woods by the house and its about 8 acers. but when i take him to woods hes never been to he wants to just get about 15 yards and stop and wait on me. so what to do with that cause today he treed 3 but that was the woods beside the house its like hes not use to the other woods cause i take him often to other places.


----------



## jabb06

run him with other dogs.ive got a couple feists im working with.we can go sometime if you want


----------



## j_seph

I ain't no dog hunter, have been a few times coon hunting and hg hunting. These folks talking about beating the dog or kicking have lost their mind. Sort of like if you come home and the wife ain't cooked supper so you just beat her. Coon hunted with a guy one time who had a good walker that would hunt and a younger one just getting started. Seen him kick/beat the dog to get it out from under his feet. It worked, the dog would stay about 20 ft in front of him and still not hunt, then he couldn't load him cause the dog was scared of him.
Agree with GA_DAWG's post, it's in em or it ain't show the dog respect and it might turn out to be your best dog


----------



## Forest Grump

j_seph said:


> These folks talking about beating the dog or kicking have lost their mind. Sort of like if you come home and the wife ain't cooked supper so you just beat her.



I don't think they JUST beat her, they yell at her too & then buy her flowers & say they're sorry for being a pig...worked for John Bobbit...hey, wait, that didn't turn out so good for him, did it? 

Listen to the folks above who DIDN'T tell you to kick, hit or scold the dog & try what they suggested.


----------



## jamo76

I have one almost two years old. Really starting to do good now and he did the same thing. Just keep hunting!


----------



## mag shooter

jabb06 said:


> run him with other dogs.ive got a couple feists im working with.we can go sometime if you want



Good advice !

and hunt the hair off of him !


----------



## Redbow

I have seen many a young Beagle who wanted to hang around the hunters at first but it didn't take them long to figure out they needed to be in there running with the older Dogs. Never saw one that instinct didn't kick in sooner or later for what he or she was bred to do...Just give them a chance, sometimes it takes a while.


----------



## Ruger#3

Primos can man said:


> well its a feist hes about a 1 year and he will run and tree squirrel like crazy in the woods by the house and its about 8 acers. but when i take him to woods hes never been to he wants to just get about 15 yards and stop and wait on me. so what to do with that cause today he treed 3 but that was the woods beside the house its like hes not use to the other woods cause i take him often to other places.




Yep, sounds like insecure for some reason. Hunt him with other dogs when you get the opportunity. He'll come around I bet.


----------



## livin outdoors

You might could try tying the dog to a tree then walking out of sight and hanging a sharp left or right and ending up somewhere other than where the dog last saw you.Get someone to stay with the dog so that they could untie it then let it hunt for you.I have seen this work before to give the dog confidence in it's ability to find you when you get separated.The more squirrels you can shoot out for him and the more he can get his teeth on, the more likely he will go and hunt.I've seen coon dogs and squirrel dog that wouldn't leave your feet or were gun shy when they were young, but turned out to be jam up.I have also seen them never change.Either way good luck!


----------



## Redticker

GA DAWG said:


> Born in em. You can't make one go. If you have to. Its not my kinda dog. Brains,heart and desire are the 3 main things ones gotta have.





Agreed 100%


----------



## Jody Hawk

If it hangs around my feet, it won't be eating here long.


----------



## simpleman30

Jody Hawk said:


> If it hangs around my feet, it won't be eating here long.



agreed.  a hunting dog is born to do one thing:  HUNT.  i won't feed a dog that won't hunt and i'm certainly not going to make him someone else's problem.  

all you folks griping about a dog being kicked need to get over yourselves.  for one, it is just an animal, not a human being.  i walk my beagle puppies through the woods every so often just to get them out and get some exercise.  if they get under my feet, they get stepped on.  if they walk in front of me, they get kicked out of the way.  not maliciously or violently, but i don't slow my pace.  they eventually learn that "Hey, if i stay under his feet, i'm gonna get stepped on!"  when they're older and they don't have enough drive and desire to hunt that they refuse to leave my feet, they don't come back to my kennels.


----------



## tim scott

so many people with dogs but so few that will take the time to understand them.... when a dogs young they often stay right with you because they are scared and looking to you for protection but by a year old they've outgrown that.  remember to them you've become their pack leader. once their grown up then the dog staying with you is it wanting to protect you... this is their natural instinct. so why is it that the dog thinks you need it's protection? your giving off the feeling that you need him there.  you've got to take the dog out often for walks in the woods and show it you don't need him to protect you. i've never nor have any of my friends "trained" a dog to hunt. they all took naturally to it. the only training we did was to teach the dog to ignore a persons arms and legs. what to a dog is the natural thing to grab.  we taught them to go for the throut or back of the neck to take a person down. this is also good training out hunting, have run into more than one person that needed an attitude adjustment but it also gives the dog the ability to take down large game. twice have had dogs get into a run in with large packs of 40 to 50coyotes both times each of the dogs took on the alpha male and killed it in seconds. this stopped the pack cold in their tracks.
when the dog goes off a few yards and looks back to you... it's either asking your permission to go further or stopping not sure if your safe enough to leave alone. encourage the dog to go further. as i said have never trained a dog to hunt so the drags and skins have never been needed. just use an old tennis ball to get the dog to run and chase further and further from you. then go to a half deflated basket or soccer ball and kick it... this teaches the dog how to drag bigger things back to you...
tim


----------



## mlandrum

I see only TWO options here?  # 1-  Give the dog plenty of time(Jam was over 1 year old before he barked the first time on a rabbit, I took the challenge and with patience worked the kinks out)  Bond with him no matter how long it takes, if it don't work out he'll  make a nice pet for some little ole lady.    #2- Start trapping  squirrels and turn them lose on your 8- Acreas and you two have time of your life!!!!


----------



## Melvin4730

Just hunt the dog. When you first start out with a squirrel dog, there are going to be a few obstacles that come up while training them. 

1) they won't hunt as good at first in different woods when they are young. This is common with young squirrel dogs. Just keep hunting him in different woods and he will continue to improve.

2) When you first start hunting with strange dogs, it might throw them off a little. They wont hunt as deep, as hard or act weird in some other way. This is common too. Some dogs won't even notice the other dogs, but a lot of young dogs get distracted by unfamiliar dogs in the woods. Just keep hunting them and over time they will improve.

3) hunting with other people can also throw a young dog off. Just keep hunting and they will improve.

The bottom line is all problems are solved hunting the dog and getting squirrels that he trees knocked out to him. You keep doing that and he will keep getting better.

Don't kick the dog! This is a learning thing. It has nothing to do with his desire to hunt. The more you hunt him the faster he will get over it.


----------



## willy57

Lots of great posts here so heres my 2 cents.Im not the best dog man been dogging Hogs since 1993 and im still learning with the dogs but i aint stupid. Yes iagree the hunts got to be in the dog but dogs today r they like the dogs of old ? So many puppy mills and brreding not for hunting ability but looks throw them white to bue eyes in the cats ,paperd dogs lieing about a breeding so u dont really have the son of a purple ribbon grand night champ , crap like that but i have a Hog hunting friend and it seems like if buy 6-8 months old his pup aint doing right he wants to send it to 22 heaven or give it away i keep telling him man give him time they say a dogs age is like 7 to a human then heck you act like a 1 yr old dog age only 7 human age that dog is supposed to come out of the box and be the God of all hog dogs give that pup time to grow to mature. also had a great bullxcur ole spike spike would leave you with the pac go about 100 yrds and b right back i walk the river bottoms alot dogs check in and out in and out spike might leave with them then 2-3 other times stay with me but let him catch wind of ole hog r they strike ole spike would be there before they and hed be caught i think his smarts was why wear myself out whens nothings there then when he knows its there its on. Like i said i dont know it all im still learning but let them pups grow mature u might get the best dog ever . happy hunting.


----------



## Carl4th

i took mine out one hot weekend she normaly ranges out just right but that weekend she wouldnt leave my feet I talked to a friend he said it sounded like she knew know game was moving so why put  in the effort when nothen will come of it the next weekend it was cooler and she was back to normal sometimes dogs are ALOT smarter then we think dont know if thats your problem just tryen to help and thats what worked for me good luck Just dont kick it


----------



## wilber85

I wouldnt listen to all these internet tough guys tellin you to kick the dog or dont feed it or whatever.  If a dogs not gonna hunt before, it sure wont after all that.

The most important thing in a dog is his confidence.  A dog with tons of desire can be beaten into insecurity easily.  If you can work with the dog to build his confidence, you can take a very gifted dog who may have otherwise been too insecure to hunt and turn it into your lead dog.  Confidence is also a huge factor in a dogs range.  As a dog gets older he will range farther.  He will also hunt closer in new places or thicker cover.  All dogs have a different max range, and this is determined by a lot of things (mostly training, personality of the dog), but confidence is the biggest factor I believe in determining a dogs range outside of the ones I just listed.

When you are training a dog, if his tail is between is legs, that is your fault, and you are not making progress.  A top notch hunter out of the box is what everyone hopes for, but reality is that is not the case.  You keep leaving dogs out in the woods that wont hunt after you kick em, and you gonna have more dogs in the woods than rabbits.

These folks sayin a dog wont hunt probably dont know the first thing about how to work a dog.  Some dogs have less desire, that is true, but if you know what to look for and how to bring out the best in a dog, that is how you tell if the  dog will hunt, not by how hard you have to kick it.


----------



## Prorain

Well i look at it like this if i gotta beat it to keep it in line i don't need it and that's with anything dogs,wives,friends,or whatever it is that's to much trouble for me if it's a new pup then you have got to introduce to the type of surroundings you wish for it to work in.8 acres at the house is different then 8 acres 30 min. away of course all he knows is he is in a new area and sounds like you gotta  carry him to different areas and do like i do and sit and wait he'll get bored with you and start nosing up different dogs take a different amount of time,mine don't see a coon till they are 8-10 months old.Good luck


And folks if your gonna give ammo to the peta folks and such cause when you post about kicking dogs and such they will twist it to sound like everytime the dog does something you don't like you boot it well i will be the first to say i treat my hounds like my kids but when they do wrong then they will get corrected if they know better if it's because they are young and you haven't showed them then how can they know better.I think what I am trying to say please watch how you post what you post. Thanks Heath


----------



## Nga.

Primos can man said:


> well its a feist hes about a 1 year and he will run and tree squirrel like crazy in the woods by the house and its about 8 acers. but when i take him to woods hes never been to he wants to just get about 15 yards and stop and wait on me. so what to do with that cause today he treed 3 but that was the woods beside the house its like hes not use to the other woods cause i take him often to other places.


 
I seen it many times with feist and cur. The best way to fix this problem is kennel the dog when your not able to be with it. When you hunt the dog this season don't take the dog to the same place twice. It may take all season to fix this as it did one of mine. My female after that would hunt anywhere anytime and never looked back for the next 12 seasons.

It's a confidence thing in you and their self.


----------



## Al Medcalf

And folks if your gonna give ammo to the peta folks and such cause when you post about kicking dogs and such they will twist it to sound like everytime the dog does something you don't like you boot it well i will be the first to say i treat my hounds like my kids but when they do wrong then they will get corrected if they know better if it's because they are young and you haven't showed them then how can they know better.I think what I am trying to say please watch how you post what you post. Thanks Heath 




Very good point!


----------



## rivercritter

an old boy told me a coon dog wont hunt without a good beatin. he said he liked 2 kick his every time he pulled it out of the box. which i do disagree with i cant stand a dog thats had the spirit beat out of it. id say more good yung dogs hav been ruined from that ignorance but as far a peta or green peace or any of those liberal hippys that want everyone 2 get along but wont 2 push  there views on me theyll never stop theyll twist and turn no matter what u say or do. u cant reason with them so ill keep on keepin on and if they dont like my post or ur post or any buddy elses post oh well. let them write a letter or march or hold a sign. im not budgein on this one. so if billy wants 2 kick his dog so be it its his dog his property.  beatin dogs gets u know where i think shock collars when used right ar perfect obediance tools.


----------



## Prorain

rivercritter i'm with ya a 150% my property my problem BUT I'm not gonna put it out so much due to the fact that petaer's will never go away i understand but i'm not gonna load there signs and banners and such.We all have had alternate disciplining methods agreed and an E collar is a handy tool in the right hands.And what folks do with there dog i don't get into but i won't stand there a be a part of.


----------



## deadgame

X2 what prorain  said


----------



## GA DAWG

Im not agreeing with beating and kicking BUT I could give a rats behind less what peta does. Maybe they are reading this. If you are. Your all idiots!! Im not going to hide my kills. Im not going to not talk killing. If it chaps them. OH WELL!!! So peta.Im a hunter. I don't harvest animals. I kill them. If my dog needs a whipping its gonna get one. As long as Im not in prison or dead. That's how I role


----------



## Turkey Trax

Al Medcalf said:


> And folks if your gonna give ammo to the peta folks and such cause when you post about kicking dogs and such they will twist it to sound like everytime the dog does something you don't like you boot it well i will be the first to say i treat my hounds like my kids but when they do wrong then they will get corrected if they know better if it's because they are young and you haven't showed them then how can they know better.I think what I am trying to say please watch how you post what you post. Thanks Heath
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Very good point!



i dont think peta would like that dead cat your holding in your avatar either. if you're worried about what a few post on a forum about kicking a dog you best shut down the whole place cause there sure is a lot of killin of animals and fish on this site.


----------



## Prorain

This will be my last post but the taking of the animal i don't think is the problem it is all that goes on with it.I am only talking about the print when you type and hit enter it is here for all eternity.I've been hunting hounds for a minute or 2 hogs and coon and i know what goes along with the both 1 is defenently rougher than the other and i enjoy both just because of the dogs just like i enjoy watching my kids play sports i know they may get hurt during the event but i don't kick them or hit them for not making the right play so why would i do it to something i'm gonna have to pay for that i can't handle.Yes it is an ANIMAL sure your all correct but mine are more then hunters they are my kids playmates,friends,protection and more.

And as far as killing be done and talked about that is fine cause ain't nobody talking about kicking a fish or a deer or anything except a dog and that is where they start.I don't care that you may do what it is you do with your animals but i'm sure everyone doesn't need to know it all?


----------



## Al Medcalf

Turkey Trax said:


> i dont think peta would like that dead cat your holding in your avatar either. if you're worried about what a few post on a forum about kicking a dog you best shut down the whole place cause there sure is a lot of killin of animals and fish on this site.





Well "genius"  I didn't kick the cat to death....You go ahead with your kicking and beating to train dogs and I'll continue to do it the way I have for the last 40 years.  My ways have worked for me....Always be sure it's your own dog that you kick...


----------



## bearcat Z7

walk the dog in the woods a ways till you come up on a squirrel, shoot the squirrel and let your dog get him and take him away from your dog then walk a little ways further and find you a stump to sit on and just wait, if its in him it shouldnt take him long


----------

