Worse thing for a pup

The worst thing you can do for a pup whether it's in the pen starting out, or hunting in the woods is let it get bored. When I first start my pups on a penned hog, I let them bay a few minutes then pull them out right in the heat of things. Makes them want it even more. When I start hauling to the woods, I'll turn them with the old dogs...if we don't hit anything shortly I'll pen them back up. I may turn them back out later, or I might wait and turn them to a bay. Always worked for me.

As far as them finding something to hunt, the best pups I've raised have always been extremely trashy starting out. No fault of theirs...they're not born knowing what to hunt.