excellent post ED...
I see lots of folks talk about range and I agree with you...quite a few folks confuse range with bottom or stick...
A medium range dog with a good nose is about perfect in my eyes as well...I don't give a dog much chance to range out...either they are born with it or not...I want a dog that does it naturally...breeding for natural ability is where it's at...
you could pay me 10 million dollars to paint the best picture and I will never do it...but a brother of mine can paint one on his lunch break in about 15 or 20 minutes just killing time...he took after my father in that department and I didn't...it is natural and a dog that is born with it just excels in it...
long range dogs...I have had them to and they can find lots of hogs pretty quick and they go straight from the dog box to the chain and all are pointed in the right direction and they are turned out last...sometimes have to let them run along side wheeler on leash to cut some of the edge off...hunting for dogs instead of hogs sucks for me...
medium range dogs that hunt with me is the way I like my dogs...these dogs will keep ranging out if we don't move out or stop too long...but as long as we are idling along they are checking in on their way to the other side...
some folks don't mind investing lots of time in a dog...but I see it as a trait that will be passed along...I don't have much room for dogs so I want dogs that are all around for the traits I like as well as for breeding...and improving the bloodline...at least when breeding my own I know what I have...no rose colored glasses here...and the right range is very important to me...
Like you I give the pup a short while to pick up on range and I use every trick I know to make him/her range...
another confusion that so many have is thinking the dog is ranging/hunting when in fact the dog is a good me too dog...take that dog alone and those same folks will wonder why ole fido is having a bad day...
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