EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Do you spend alot of time with them patting them and playing with them?
(Some people say this makes them pets and they won't leave your feet)

Or

Do you put them on a chain/kennel and just feed them and spend short period of time with them?
(Some people say their not socailized and become skidish)

   I socialize the heck out of my pups . as well as work the heck out of them from  6 weeks up . if I take a special liking to a pup it stays in the house with me for a while  . all socializing a pup does is reinforce it's trust in you and gives it one heck of a handle . I have never had a dog to not leave my feet because of this . if it's bred in them to hunt they are going to hunt , might as well have them hunt for and with you instead of themselves  .

If it's a single pup (6-8 weeks old) or two...I'll usually keep them inside for a couple weeks and bond with them before I kennel them up.

A litter I just keep penned and visit with them at feedin time.

Start showing them little piggies at around 12 weeks and progress to mock hunts at 4-6 months. To the woods at 8-10 months or whenever they show interest. Dang Bluetick of mine didn't start showing interest till about a month ago ( 11 months)....wore me out ... I'm used to the cur dogs that start earlier , lol .

But I digress ... To answer your question... I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. Don't pet and love on them that much but through their "training" they get plenty of attention.

I agree with half breed if dogs going to hunt it will if you love on it or not and the more time you do spend on it the better it will Handel this will help in more than one way

Best dogs I've seen were aloud to run loose and were not penned up until later in life.  As far as socializing, I like pups to run loose and I give them a little pat and talking to every time I see them.  I don't think you can socialize too much.

I agree! I have a good seasoned hunting buddy and he tells us the same thing about not lovin on them too much "like a pet" or they'll not wanna hunt. I feel that if they're gonna hunt, they're gonna hunt regardless. I feel that it's important to bond with pups, and establish that trust. After all, at the end of the hunt, when it's time to load up....who do they come running too? I've seen a lot of folks with the "only fool with them to chuck feed" method that are cussin up a storm at the end of a hunt because their dog is acting half feral and skittish not wanting to be caught to be loaded up, just staying out of reach of their handler. I think that in any sport or activity involving man and dog, there should be a bond there. I don't think you can establish a solid bond with a dog with just two minutes a day of you pourin feed in their bowl. Dogs also have a natural instinct to want to please, and when you have a good bond with a dog, you can often see a difference. I have seen this as fact, specifically with the bulldogs. All in all, I don't feel that being lovey with a dog will have any negative affects on it's willingness to hunt. I'm real close with my blk/tan Catahoula bitch, and when we get out to the woods and I cut her loose, she's up ahead, or gone. At the end, when we're all calling our dogs and loading up, she comes right to me happy as a clam. All the while I'm helping others catch their dogs cause they won't come to them, haha.