Hound Dogs in Southern California and Hound Dog Training

Andrew Ledford your hound dog trainer 714-827-4058

Yes I like hounds and I do Hound Dog training in Southern California.

That is pet hound dog training. The training I do is for pet dogs and not hunting dogs. Although I do like going out to talk with the hunting hound dog groups in the area.

I have also included a hound dog rescue video at the end of this article. The video give a little bit more information about a few of the different hound breeds.

Most positive reinforcement training research has been done with hound dogs. At least the early research mainly used beagles which is a scent hound bred for hunting rabbits.

Hound dogs have some peculiar behaviors that make them a challenge to train. Being scent oriented often makes this breed pay more attention to some good smell and not to the owner. It’s ideal if you can teach this breed to get off scent, on command. This will give you more control at a time when the dog is focused on something it finds highly rewarding.

Next I would over train the recall (come on command.) You should be able to get an orientation response using the dog’s name no matter what the dog is after or doing.

One of the most noticeable features of many hound dogs is their extra big ears.

Over the years I have had several different breeds of hound dogs. One of my best was a walker hound. That dog had a good deal of drive. I remember the night I was driving down a dirt road with that dog in the desert when I heard the first Gulf War had started. He was the darndest dog you’d ever seen. He had a great voice and made a good deal of racket when he got something treed. But during the spring and into the early summer he would kill a baby opossum every night and never make a peep. When we would go to clean the kennels in the morning there was always a dead opossum to great us in his run.

I have also had Blue Tick hounds and a Red Tick along with a Black and Tan Coon Hound and a Plott Hound.

I think the walker hound was the best out of all of these. But, because of his rather intense hunting drive he was also the most difficult to train.

Surprisingly from all that I have read, as Plott Hounds go, the one I had was easy to train. Plott Hounds were originally bred to hunt wild boars. It is my understanding that there are long eared and short eared Plott Hounds. Mine had short ears, no hunting drive, and zero aggression. She was a very sweet dog and made a good pet. You don’t see many Plott Hounds in Southern California.

The Black and Tan was in the middle and was a good dog who was moderately easy to train with a scent oriented personality and a bay to match the breed.

My other hounds were somewhat average run of the mill dogs. I got all of these dogs from one of the hound dog rescue groups or from the dog pound. Except for that Walker hound, he was given tome by a guy who was moving.

I have included a short video I did about Hound Dog Rescue that first aired on Long Beach Public access Television.

Wishing you the best in dogs and in life,
Andrew Ledford
Southern California Dog training
714-827-4058