I call any dog under two a puppy... so that's a choice you'll have to make for yourself. I usually don't put one in the woods until it's a year old, sometimes a little sooner depending on the dog's maturity level. I've seen way too many people give up on year old dogs. Most of the better dogs i've seen and from talking to others, were late bloomers. I've also seen to many "one year old wonder dogs" be burned out and washed up at age four or five.
I have had full litter mates one is a ball of fire from 9 months old and the other may take till it was 2 years old before turning on.I will not breed to one that takes that long to show me anything but they seem to make it a lot longer running hogs. The boys I hunt with say that I spend too much time handling my pups. What I mean is they look to me for everything. But even if they are a little slow getting started they have one hell of a good handle on them. Just like I want them to have.I want to be able to call them off at any time I want to.
