Message #547408

[Cajun]

From the time they are 3 weeks old I handle them as much as I can. I want my dogs socialized. I cannot stand a shy dog. I normally leave them in the pen until they are about 9 weeks old as I like them to have at least two sets of shots before I turn them loose. I just let them be pups until they are 5 or 6 months old & don't force anything on them or expose them to anything. Once they are running rabbits and anything else I chain them up & start teaching them to handle. I will run them in my pen as long as I have a running hog in there but do not want them on any hog that will hurt them. I will expose them to a hog in my small bay pen but nothing that will hurt them, just to get them baying. If they are catchy, I will let them bay a bigger hog. Once they are 8 or 9 months I start carrying them to the woods.