Cast type dogs genetics or trained

Maverick, to me it’s still a genetic issue with your dogs. I’ll use this example; you had three littermates that will all cast well but two of the three didn’t do right out of the gate. You realized early on that the one dog was more advanced mentally. He was the exception of the three in the sense of early maturity. There aren’t a lot of families or lines that can do it solo at the age of 9 months consistently. They may leave and be busy but not the same as how you described Limpy. Many of those early starting, barn stormers top out and don’t get much better after a certain point. Your other two I would bet were busy just not striking and being a lead dog type. If I’m right, genetics had them out there in a position to learn. It just took a little maturity for their math to all add up. The opportunity to learn, a ride to the woods and the presence of desired game, is a must for any dog in any hunting discipline. Some lines start early and people breed for it. I know the Old Man has mentioned that he expects his to start and contribute pretty early on. I’m a lot the same way. We, my hunting circle, just culled a litter. That are just over 18 months old. They will piggy back and cast with other dogs, but they won’t cast solo. Once you get into hogs they look like all stars, find and bay their own hog, but only after another dog has done the heavy lifting. The norm of my dogs is to be able to do the job at 18 months without someone else holding their hand. I firm believer in putting young dogs in a position to have the opportunity to be the lead dog. If my young dogs are out there striking and baying ahead of my older dogs on a regular basis, then my old dogs probably aren’t up to snuff. With their experience, a young dog should hardly ever beat them.

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