How long do yall keep a pup before culling

[BigCutters4]

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[BA-IV]

It varies on each individual dog.  A dog needs to be finding hogs on his own by 18 months on my yard. Nothing special, but if the dog is making you question him at a youn age, give him alil time, let it mature alil and if it's still the same, then cull.

[BIG BEN]

 Depends on the bloodline actually, Ive seen some fire off at 9 months and Ive seen some not reallt turn on til 2-2 1/2 but the later maturing ones turned out to be the better dogs.

[BA-IV]

Getting pups off good linebred dogs that you can gauge the pups off of will tell you when to cull the pup just like Big Ben said.  If you know the bloodline then you'll know exactly when to cull.

18 months is a good indicator for me though, if it's later then that, then I'm going to question the line itself.  Some dogs fire off young and burn out, some start slower and just finish off to be better, and some make a smooth steady progress.

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

Experiences vary greatly on this topic with no wrong answers only personal experiences. 

My experience has been the good ones start and end being good.
Have never been a fan of the "waiting on the pup to turn on"  either they are turned on or they are not.
I like the pups that naturally go crazy the very first time they lay eyes on a hog ......extremely high prey drive.

Few folks dont mind waiting for years for a dog to "turn on"  but I dont have deep enough pockets to feed one nor the willingness to maintain a tool that isn't being utilized and so far hasn't made the effort to make itself worth feeding.


Same expectations and requirements.  DONT BEG THEM TO DO THEIR JOBS just find another that will. 

Good luck 

[BigCutters4]

I usually keep one around 16 to 18 months if the dog shows no sign of progress in those months I let it go ,recently I gave one back to a buddy the dog would not leave my feet and to make room for some pipe that's on that I have on the way .my buddy  had the dog back one day it ran a hog w his mother stoped and bayed it and they caught it. This always seems to happen when I let  a dog go he or she 50% of the time turn on once he or she is gone .what the heck is going on I been doing this a long time and I know what I'm doing as far a training dogs and things like that .do ya think dominance is a Posibility like the pup won't progress due to a dominate finish dog in the yard ?

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[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

Different elements can and will affect dispositions to certain degree. I have also gave pups to friends that immediately began to work better. Environment change can shake em up sometmes. But the question with that dog will always be.....does it have to have a perfect environment to be able to perform adequately from know on? 

I like to spend more time with the ones that do it no matter what the temp, how many dogs or poeple present,  tornado watch...ect.  they are gonna perform under any circumstances.

Without doubt you can get good dogs either way..but never had a great dog that I had to ask myself these questions about.

[BigCutters4]

Different elements can and will affect dispositions to certain degree. I have also gave pups to friends that immediately began to work better. Environment change can shake em up sometmes. But the question with that dog will always be.....does it have to have a perfect environment to be able to perform adequately from know on? 

I like to spend more time with the ones that do it no matter what the temp, how many dogs or poeple present,  tornado watch...ect.  they are gonna perform under any circumstances.

Without doubt you can get good dogs either way..but never had a great dog that I had to ask myself these questions about.

thanks it makes me feel better about getting rid of him i just wanted to get some other opinions on the matter just seems like when i get rid of one they usually turn out later on down the road for someone else than me not all the time just sometimes

[hoghunter71409]

It depends on how much effort YOU put in him.  You cant expect a dog to be one year old and go find hogs if you have never messed with him.  Some pups start at 9 months if they have been trained right.  If you are asking about culling too soon...dont do it.  You may not know enough.  It is all about training and exposure.  On a different note, some hounds just have it.  I had one that I turned loose at 6 months old....never seen a hog before.  She ran the rack and ran the hog....she truned out to be an OUTSTANDING dog.  I'd say in the top 1% of all dogs.

[Reuben]

Experiences vary greatly on this topic with no wrong answers only personal experiences. 

My experience has been the good ones start and end being good.
Have never been a fan of the "waiting on the pup to turn on"  either they are turned on or they are not.
I like the pups that naturally go crazy the very first time they lay eyes on a hog ......extremely high prey drive.

Few folks dont mind waiting for years for a dog to "turn on"  but I dont have deep enough pockets to feed one nor the willingness to maintain a tool that isn't being utilized and so far hasn't made the effort to make itself worth feeding.


Same expectations and requirements.  DONT BEG THEM TO DO THEIR JOBS just find another that will. 

Good luck 

X2...I couldn't of said it any better...its a progression and it starts early...by 3 months a few are gone....and so on...does it mean I kept the best??? No...but I will pick what I believe is the best at that particular time...

[boarcutter14]

Experiences vary greatly on this topic with no wrong answers only personal experiences. 

My experience has been the good ones start and end being good.
Have never been a fan of the "waiting on the pup to turn on"  either they are turned on or they are not.
I like the pups that naturally go crazy the very first time they lay eyes on a hog ......extremely high prey drive.

Few folks dont mind waiting for years for a dog to "turn on"  but I dont have deep enough pockets to feed one nor the willingness to maintain a tool that isn't being utilized and so far hasn't made the effort to make itself worth feeding.


Same expectations and requirements.  DONT BEG THEM TO DO THEIR JOBS just find another that will. 

Good luck 

X3- Took the words out of my months. Many people have different expectations. A pup might not show interest the first or second time in front of a hog but is expected to slowy progress as it gets old. If a pup is not running with the pack by 8 months and helping bay, I cull. I have let alot of good dogs go that have turned out to be great but I have also had some really good dogs to show for. If a dog doesn't prove itself by 8 months it gets cut from the feed bill. Don't worry to much about letting a good dog get away. If your questioning the dog than it should probably go.

[Matt D]

Experiences vary greatly on this topic with no wrong answers only personal experiences. 

My experience has been the good ones start and end being good.
Have never been a fan of the "waiting on the pup to turn on"  either they are turned on or they are not.
I like the pups that naturally go crazy the very first time they lay eyes on a hog ......extremely high prey drive.

Few folks dont mind waiting for years for a dog to "turn on"  but I dont have deep enough pockets to feed one nor the willingness to maintain a tool that isn't being utilized and so far hasn't made the effort to make itself worth feeding.


Same expectations and requirements.  DONT BEG THEM TO DO THEIR JOBS just find another that will. 

Good luck 

Couldn't of said it any better myself! I feel the exact same way. I show my pups a pig at 3-4months and see how they do from there I do staged hunts and drags for practice. At 8mo old they better be running with the big dogs. I expect at a year old to be running and striking hogs alone or with an older dog. I understand different breeds and bloodlines mature later but that's not for me. I had a Parker and culled him at 7months most ppl told me that's to early to cull one of these "Parker dogs" that they mature late and really hit there stride at 2-3yrs old. To me that is way to long to be waiting on a dog when there are plenty out there running and baying at a year old. No disrespect to the Parker dogs just using them as an example.

[Matt D]

I think once you have a pup start early that's just a natural it sets the bar for your other pups in the future. Once I saw an 8mo old pup strike n bay a hog alone in the woods at night I wanted all my other pups to follow at that age or I don't want them. Time is money ESP with dogs. I realize not all pups are naturals but that's why you Cull hard.

[Reuben]

I have had many a pup start hunting at 6 month old...but I will also say that I do not expect a pup to be striking at 6 months...but when one does he or she are going to get special treatment...possibly breeding rights as well....I breeding my own litter of pups...this way I can observe and test them and then start culling at 8 weeks...by time they are 4 months old I might be down to 4 pups and at 6 months down to 3 and at 10 months down to 2 pups...do that men I chose the best of the litter??? maybe...but I do know that I picked some good ones...and these were doing something I liked at all stages of their short lives...a star is born...not made...I like early starters and I look and will breed for that...if we have to spend many man hours trying to get the pup to bay and hunt then you can bet that those genes will be passed on...its a pleasure to hunt behind a natural hunting dog...

I will give an example of what happens to some good dogs...this example is a true story...

we went on a hunt and just caught a 250 pound boar in a slough...while we were dealing with the hog the 6 month old pup moved on and she was baying a coon in the cat tails about 100 yards away...it was a pitch black moonless night...one of the guys hunting with us right away started talking noise about that trashy pup...me...I was totally excited about what that pup had just done...the owner culled that pup later on because it was trashing too much... that pup came from some good dogs and I would have kept it and would have bred to it several times...

but that is how it goes...different strokes for different folks...

read what yellowblackmouth is saying...i agree 100% on all he said...

[pigrig]

while i agree with most of the above i have culled plenty of dogs/ pups with high prey drive because they have no balance .eg your work mate is good at his job  but he is still a prick

[justincorbell]

2-3 weeks old, if they aren't belly to the ground baying within a day or two of their eyes open they get sent to Jesus!























Not that i got ya'll all riled up ill say that im just serious lol, im jokin but seriously tho 3 weeks TOPS!!



.....ok SERIOUSLY i like to see a pup at least baying good at 8-9 months and runnin with the older dogs by 1 year of age, if they arent findin by 16-18months they get gone.


"the sun is shining somewhere in texas" -Jason Boland

[Sneaky Creek Kennel]

I had a litter last July I kept 3 of the 5. I named them Captain Gus and Lori from lonesome dove and they have really lived up to their names.

Captain is the hardest goin gameiest pup I have ever owned he has yet to strike his own hog but is always right there when it happen. He's a good hard working dog!

Gus is the laziest dog I have ever owned don't wanna do anything. The other night the dogs bayed and as I was walking up he came outta the bay Justa wagging his tail!

Lori is nothing but a white trash whore she hunts hard for a little while then will try to lay up on ya but will go to every bay and bay hard and look like an old pro.  She has bad kennel manners like I have never saw before she will crap all over the place in her barrel in her food and water bowl it is insane!!!

Captain is a keeper!
Gus is more than likely getting culled July 5th unless he improves drasticly
Lori is more than likely gettin culled due to kennel manners.

I'm goin to wait til they are all a year old.
What I'm gettin at here is there are way more factors in the culling game than just huntin ability.

[Reuben]

What I'm gettin at here is there are way more factors in the culling game than just huntin ability.

I agree...if I don't like the pup then it is best that I give it away even if it is a decent hunter...because if I don't move the pup then it will be at a disadvantage...

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

Lori is nothing but a white trash whore she hunts hard for a little while then will try to lay up on ya

Lmao!  Never heard that described about a dog but have considered a few ex girlfriends in that manner.

Let me scrub the cheetos off my screen now where I spit them laughing. 

[drew]

thats funny same hear