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Good morning to all and thanks for taking time to read this post. For as long as I can remember I’ve had deer dogs and a coon dog here or there. I’m interested in raising a liter of pups and trying my luck at a few field trials. My son is starting to take an interest in it and he’s getting my interest in it as well. We’ve been to pens before but mostly to judge a hunt for a hunt club or just pleasure run. My question is this: how often do you run your field trial hounds? I’ve heard of some guys running them weekly year round. I can see where running and conditioning would be crucial if getting hounds in shape for a field trial but is it nessasary? My son plays baseball in the summer and we do a little fishing so I’m sure hounds wouldn’t get as much ground time in the summer as they did other times of the year. So I guess I should of just ask how often you run your field trials hounds without getting long winded and typing half a page. Thanks for taking time to read.
It’s just like any sport that humans play. The better a team is conditioned, the better they do. The healthier they are, the better they feel and perform. Its easy to run for fun but very hard to be competitive in field trialing. Some people run about 5 hrs once a week. Some people run at night and let them run most of the night. And some people only run about 3 hrs a trip but go multiple times a week. Have to find what suits you and your hounds. Also some people spend endless amounts of money to only have the fastest best running dogs thats out there.. Hard to beat. I always take my kids and they love it. Family time, fun, and fellowship is most important to me... Good luck.
Blake & Ray, thanks for the input. I’d likely not be able to compete with the more dedicated folks. It wouldn’t be from the lack of desire though but lack of time and money. I still may get a couple dogs just for my son and I to have something to do and just pleasure run on the weekend when we’re able. Are they many guys that just run and hangout that arnt dedicated field trial guys ?