Whats the trick? Whats the training technique to teachin a dog to strike of the box or out of the box? Does some dogs have it, and some don't? I am talkin about strikin a bear, i forgot to put that at 1st of my post. thanks.

Join the forum today and remove this ad!

I think it's mostly bred into them, but, I don't see why you couldn't train a dog to do it. I would try some bear scent on the upwind side of the road and put the dogs up and drive by and see if they will strike it. If the dogs are running bear they will probably open on the scent. Mike

_________________
I hunt the leopard spotted bear dogs
http://bearmtnguideservice.webs.com/

Find someone who will let your dog ride on the rigging with theirs and the take them out by themself after a few times if they open up with the other dogs. Go a little slower at first since they won't ve as confident. They may be slower to strike from the rail.

Get them started on bear scent at home and likeing it. Make sure they KNOW that you want them barking at it. Put a good helping of scent on the side of the road and mark the spot with alittle flag tape. The flag tape will tell you where your scent is traveling. Load up your dogs and drive them around. First maybe 30 minutes after you put it out. Then an hour or two and then 8 and so on. I know some guys who have rigs on bear scent put out 24-36 hours prior. I for one don't have a dog that rigs like that. Doing this enough will also tell you how old the track might be by how your dogs respond. My walker will rig a 10-12 hour old track with a low bark. My plotts won't open their mouth unless it's 6-8 hours and they to low mouth it. Anything fresher than 4 hours get the whole truck a rockin. There are all kinds of things that you can do if you like fooling around with your dogs as much as I do. Once you get them rigging you can lay out a "track" and let your dogs run it as a reward for rigging it. Lay a big U shaped track and bring them right back to the road. (if your in an isolated area) This makes it easier on you. This is also a good time to teach your dogs not to all pile out of the truck at one time. Come by name (something I'm STILL trying but, I know it works) It's also the time to teach your dogs left in the truck to be quiet. Nothing drives me crazier than my buddies dogs barking the whole time in the box. Oh, and once you have a strike and you know your past any scent you can teach your dogs the "enough" command and make them quit rigging. I know their hyped up but, I don't need to hear them rig for 5 miles down the road. When putting out scrent I don't like to just rig, rig and rig and never give a reward other than praise. I like to let them run a "track" atleast every 10 times (min). You can also put out some "nontarget" scent like fox or deer or anything you don't want them running (coyotes are biggy for me)and see how they react to it. Scold them or give the offender a lite tap on the e-collar. After a while your older dogs should figure out the difference in real bear scent and (even the best scents) the ones that you've layed. My older dogs won't touch a rig I make. I drive around and when I get a real rig I find a track and mark it on a map. I also use a wind puffer (if there's not much wind) just to see where the scent is coming from. Once you start doing this you can lay it out and see what's going on. If your getting alot of rigs in a suspicious area you can snoop around and find out if someone is baiting (if it's illegal in your state like mine) and stay clear of the area. You can find natural funnels, travel routes and good food sources that may produce year after year. Anyways, I'm rambling but, it gets me fired up. I guess the point I'm trying to get at is, getting a dog to rig isn't just about barking at bear scent. I am no expert but, between these web sites and talking with people more knowledgeable than myself I have learned some very good tactics and practices. The thing 95% of all the really true top houndsmen will tell you is just spend time with your dogs. The more time you spend with them the more BOTH of you will learn. I hope some of this helps.

i agree.. time means EVERYTHING, it helps you and the dog. over here scent conditions are a whole lot worse, a super cold noise dog might smell a 12 hour old track. We have few rig dogs but 9 times out of 10 if they strike in the box that track is on fire. but when you leave all this humidity and low altitude my old dog can strike a 14 hour track out the box.. if you dont spend time with the dog he wont be nothing more than a pack dog

put your dogs on the rig board and go to a trash can where bears feed and let them rig them let them now that is what you want and after a few times of that they will be rigging there own if they have it in them