Trash Breaking

 One man’s game is another man’s trash.

Large herds of deer can be found throughout the piney woods and swamps of South Mississippi.  Most southern states have an over abundance of deer.  If you are a deer hunter, news that the deer population is on the rise must be a good thing.  However, for us rabbit hunters a large number of deer presents a special challenge.  Keeping our little rabbit hunting hounds from chasing after deer and other off game, is paramount to good order and discipline.

The running of deer, fox, bobcats, squirrels, rats, cats and elephants can disrupt a good rabbit hunt.

In days gone by, I had more than my share of trash runners in my pack.  I called these hounds, “Combo Hounds” because they like to run rabbits but also like to chase after deer and other off-game.

Back then I tried everything to break my little hounds from running trash.  I would try to run them down and give them a reason not to run trash.  It is next to impossible to catch a hound that is running flat out after a deer.  If you are able to catch your hound, and then introduce them to a little discipline, it is always after they have been running the deer for miles.  They most likely do not have any idea why they have been chased down and thrashed.  Some hounds may stop hunting for the remainder of that day, or at the very least they may not run another deer on this day.  Most of these hounds were soon culled out of my pack.  Over the years I have given away more than my share of hard hunting hounds because they were determined to be trash runners.

I used sponges, soaked in deer sent, attached to the dogs collars.  I soaked the sponges and carpet hung over the dog house doors.  This was based on the “Too Much Cake” theory.  It is believed that if you had to eat a whole cake, then you may never want any more cake.  Supporters of this idea seem to think that if a hound is forced to smell lots and lots of deer sent, then they will not want to follow that sent in the woods.  That may work on some hounds, but it had no effect on my little deer chasers.
 

Some hounds are born rabbit chasers.  For what ever reason, they have no interest in running any other critter.  I have been privileged to have a few of these, rabbit only dogs.

RABBITS ONLY  DOGS!!!!!!
It took my friend, neighbor and rabbit hunter mentor, (Jon Humble) many years of hard culling to come up with this line of grade hounds.  The last of these “rabbit’s only” hounds died this year.  These hard hunting hounds were naturally straight on rabbits.

While some hounds never ever run trash, this is not the norm.  Most hot nosed hounds will run any fresh sent they cross.  To keep our little hunting buddies on bunnies and off all other game we must introduce them to the ever so popular E-Collars.
 

E-COLLARS ARE THE SOLUTION:

There may be more than one way to break hounds from running deer and other off game, but the best solution that I have found is the E-Collar.

My First Experience Using an E-Collar to Trash-break a Hound.
I am sure that most serious rabbit hunters don’t need to be reminded just how important E-Collars are when it comes to training and controlling our little hounds in the woods.  When you strap an Electronic Collar on a dog, it is like having an arm that can reach out and touch or smack that hound at a very long distance.
 (For the details about how I use and depend on E-Collars, check the “E-Collar Training” section of this web site.)
The number one dog on my A-Team is named Peaches.  Without the E-Collar she would most likely be someone else’s deer dog.  She ran her first deer at 10 months.  The truth is she led the race and took two older dogs with her.  She spent the remainder of the season wearing an E-Collar.  It was close to the end of the season, and she did not have any other opportunities to chase deer.
The next October, just prior to opening day, we were out for a little training and Peaches got her first taste of that long arm.  A deer got up and was identified and reported by a hunting buddy over a FRS Radio.  I was very sure that Peaches was on the track.  She opened right where the deer had been and she sounded more explosive than normal.  She was in full cry and running at top speed.  I let her go for about 100 yards and then hit her with half power.  I consider Peaches to be a sensitive dog, so I did not use full power.  When she stopped, I let off the transmitter.  There was another dog running ahead of her.  Moments later she started up again.  This time I hit her with full force.  Her bark turned into a scream.  I held it down for a few seconds longer.  I wanted this to be a bad experience.  When I let up, I started to her and she was on her way to me.

This all sounds a bit harsh, but the lesson she learned that day earned her a lifetime membership in Paw Paw’s kennels, where I provide her with the best of everything.  Later that season, she opened on a scent that my old dog Liberty, did not seem to notice.  Liberty is one of those special little hounds that has never chased a deer and never will.  As Peaches picked up the volume and started to take off, I looked down and saw fresh deer tracks.  I was sure she was about to make a mistake. I touched her with the lowest setting on the transmitter. She immediately stopped and turned away from the track.  I called to her and she came running. Peaches had to wear the E-Collar for the next year, but I never had to use it.  We hunted right over the top of many deer and she always stood her ground or continued to trail after a rabbit.  On one occasion, I did see her let out several barks while running backwards.  After a 30 foot run in reverse, she made a big circle to avoid what ever it was that was burning her nose.  Peaches soon graduated from the collar and can now be considered to be trash proof.

Trash Proof Hounds, Like My Peaches Are Worth Their Weight In Gold….

While Peaches was very easy to break, some hounds will require more E-Collar correction than others.  I have always found that breaking males is harder than females.
 
 
 

 I have one fine little male named Cowboy who was very fond of running deer and did not want to give it up.  He was out of a July litter and did not get started soloing bunnies until the end of hunting season when he was seven months old.  This solo time was in an area with very few deer.  He continued to solo and run some brace that spring.  By the time season opened in October, he was 15 months old, had circled a number of bunnies solo and was ready to run with the pack.

Like most Satsuma hounds Cowboy was an eager, hard hunting little hound.  The first time he came across a hot deer sent, he exploded.  I knew he was running trash, from the sound of his aggressive chop mouth and the straight line he was running. When my older, “Trash Proof Hounds” all came to me, I was then absolutely certain that Cowboy was after a deer.
 

It was time to give him a taste of the E-Collar.  I hit him with half power and held it down for a long 5 seconds or more.  His full cry changed to a yelp and then to silence.  I called to him.  He did not come but opened again.  I was close enough to him to know that he had advanced up the trail some 100 feet of so after the deer.  When he was back in full cry and hot pursuit, I turned the transmitter up to full power and stopped the race.  I held it down until the unit reset itself after 10 or 12 seconds.  Cowboy was screaming for the duration of this correction.  I called to him and then hit him again.  I repeated this until he was at my feet.
 
 

You would think that after all this that Cowboy would never want to run another deer.  That was not the case.  He did not run anymore that day, but the very next time I took him hunting he had to be stopped from running deer.  It took most of his first full season to break him off of deer.  After that first season, he continued to wear an E-Collar, but never once considered running a deer.  By the end of his third season, I declared him to be a “Trash Proof Hound” and allowed him to hunt with out an E-Collar.  He, like my other older hounds help me to know when a pup in training is running trash.  They come to me with their tails down, waiting for me to punish the trash runner.  I call the hounds that report in to me “Tell Dogs”, because they confirm that a deer is up.

Helpful Trash Breaking Hints:

Trash-Proof hounds are a pleasure to hunt with.  All you have to do is break them young, never hunt with trashy hounds and show them lots of bunnies to run.

These hounds are proud members of my pack: