Jim LaPratt

I found this good article about Squirrels here in Michigan. Squirrels.PDF

On this page we are walking through the steps one of our fellow hunters is going through with a litter of pups. He post's what is going on in the Message Board and we can all add our comments as to what is happening. Thanks Lavan for doing this. Folks, these puppies came sight the night of 7 Mar and morning of 8 Mar. 2001. There were 1 male and 4 females. The male is white with lemon trim, 1 female is white with lots of black, the rest is white with lemon trim. These aren't just yard dogs. Here is some of their pedigree. The dam is out of Wilkerson's Snow Ball. The sire is out of Cauley's Jay Bird. In Jay Bird's lineage is Swift Leggs, River Run J.D., Neff's Joe Boy, Sally, etc. This is a good line. Lets see if we can make a squirrel dog out of one of them. 8 Mar-Checked often to make sure every one was O.K. 9 Mar-Docked their tails. Hauled them around in the truck some 10 Mar-Checked on them several times to see if their tails were doing O.K. Moved the pups around some, made light noise, talked a good bit. 11 Mar-Same as 10 Mar. All is well, mother and missing tails. 12 Mar-Mother had scraped utter. Washed it with antibacterial soap, rinsed it good and put Neosporin ointment on it. Moved pup around. This is to get them used to being handled. Talked to them and made some noise. 13, 14,15 same as 12 16 Mar- Puppies still laying around. Utter looks good. Talked and made light noise. 17 March ( day 10 ) Lots of folks came be to look at the puppies today They didn't get as much sleep as they wanted. Every time we went to the dog pen we would have to wake them up. Almost every one wanted to pet them. They seemed to like the human contact. Two or three of them don't seem to like to be held up side down. They still like for their feet to be on something solid. Some don't seem to mind it. They got lot of human exposure today. The dam's utter is looking better every day. Suggestion: One thing I've always done when we've raised pups is to keep those toenails trimmed. I use regular fingernail clippers. it helps to keep dams utter from getting so scratched up from their constant pressing. I think she's willing to let them nurse till they're older also if they aren't hurting her. 18 March-Today was pretty much uneventful for the puppies. Two people came to look at the puppies. One of these men has first pick. I suggested that he wait until they were 6 weeks old to pick his. He can tell more about them then. He agreed. They were handled some. I took pictures of them like Lone Oak suggested. They should be on my web site by next week end. 20 Mar. 01 (day 13)(age-13 days) Rained most of the day. Did not want to get the puppies wet and cold. I have the top of the dog house hinged so I can open the top of the dog house. It makes it a lot easier to check the puppies, clean the house, etc. with this type top. Got the puppies out late, about dark, took them into the house. Had the TV. going for noise. We have 3 house dogs and they all had to check out the new puppies. Their eyes are almost completely open. They are trying to walk. Some are walking but they are real wobbly. We let them crawl around and over a squirrel skin. They did not take any interest in the skin but it may imprint on them some. We kelp them in the house about an hour or so. We made lots of noise and petted them a lot. We let the house dogs smell of them and root them around. This helps them get used to people and other dogs. These house dogs are all females and they act these are their puppies. They are all bench legged Feist. The puppies are all healthy and growing fast. The dam is doing good. For 22 Mar-- Went to pen a few times to pet the pups and talked to them. Made some noise each time. They seem to be use to noise. They like to be held. They are growing fast. Snow's puppies always do. They are walking pretty good now. For 23 Mar. (age 16 days) Spent quite a bit of time with the puppies today. Took them out of the dog house and let them walk around on the concrete. They didn't like that too much to start with but got use to it. Snow kelp trying to put them back in the house. She was worried about them. She sure is a good mother dog. For 24 Mar 01. Pretty day. We worked in the yard most of the day. Took the mother away from the puppies for a while. Turned her out and let her run. We petted and handled the puppies a lot. They like to be held. Noise don't seem to bother them any. I took a frozen squirrel skin out of the freezer to thaw out, we will put it in with the puppies this afternoon. Boy they are growing. Lone Oak got the pictures yesterday. They should be on my web site by tonight. For ===25 Mar 01 (Day 18) Age (18 days) Went by the dog pen and messed with the puppies a few times in the morning. Every time I look at the Puppies I tap on the side of the dog house with a pocket knife. I tap real easy as to not scare the puppies but to get them use to noise. I will tap harder as they get older. If you noticed on my web site, the top of the dog house opens up. Sunday afternoon Christine brought the puppies into the house. The TV. was on. I turned it up some and let the puppies listen to the races for a while then changed to other channels. This will help them get use to the outside world. They can get around pretty good but most of it is by pushing with their back feet. The black and white one is going good. We held and petted them a lot. Suggestion Lavan I bought a Gunshot Tape from Nite-Lite #C-30 $9.99. It is a shot gun being fired and you can play it as loud as you want on the tape player. I start feeding my pups gruel made of puppy chow and calf milk replacer and water mixed in a blender when they are 2 weeks old. I feed them 3 times a day and every time I feed them I play the tape.....starting off on low volume and as they get older I increase the volume. It sure helps to keep from having gun-shy pups. I sometimes turn the tape player off and turn the radio on low and just leave it on until I feed them again. I'm like you....I believe the more strange sounds the pups encounter the more rounded dog they make. Suggestion A particle of training for my pups at early stage is to teach them to recognize me by sound and scent. Sound-talk to them in different tones, calling them to you, no ,stay, whistle to call them. Scent- each time I go around them I greet them by talk and take off my cap and let each one smell my cap, let them play some with it. I will take an old shirt, wear it about half a day then put it in with their bedding. Suggestion I LIKE TO GET IN THE PEN WITH THE PUPS AND CLAP AND RATTLE THE FEED PANS AS I CATCH THEM & PET THEM. AFTER A LITTLE OF THIS THEY WILL COME A RUNNING WHEN THEY HEAR YOU CLAP. START OUT EASY AND WORK YOUR WAY UP TO A GOOD COMMOTION. A PUP IS LIKE A KID THEY LIKE YOUR ATTENTION. For 26 Mar. 01 (day 19) (Age 19 days) Wasn't able to work with them any today. For Tues. 27 Mar 01 (Day 20) (Age 20 Days) Still running behind. Sorry. Let me back up a bit. On Sat. 24 Mar. when the puppies were 17 days old we gave them NEMEX-2. This should be given at 2,3,4,6,8 and 10 weeks of age. I am running a week behind on this. The dam should be treated at 2-3 weeks after the puppies are born. Sorry about not posting that. Christine will keep me straight. Turned the dam out to run a while. Took the puppies out of the dog house and let them crawl/walk around the dog pen. They stayed out for about an hour. They are moving around better now. I wish I could send everyone a movie of them. I made a lot of noise, talked a lot etc. They don't seem to be effected by the noise. Reddog said he uses a tape of gun shots to play to his puppies. He said he turns the volume up as they get older. This sound like a great idea to me. Reddog said it works good for him. Nothing beats success. Thanks Reddog. I am going to order the tape. For Wed. 28 Mar 01 (Day 21) (Age 21 days) The neighbor's kid and some of her friends came over today to see the puppies. They carried them around and petted them a lot. They let them crawl and walk around the car port. The mother dog (Snow) was out running around. They played with the puppies for a long time. Snow got worried and started taking them back to the dog house so we put them up. For Thurs. 29 Mar 01 (day 22)(age 22 days) Rained all day. Checked the puppies 2 times. Didn't do anything else. For Fri.30 Mar. 01 (Day 23)(Age 23 days) Caught up on hunny dos and went to AL. today. I took Cody home after him breeding Little Bit Too. I took Dan too. Had a great visit with DeLane and Mack Ledbetter. DeLane is going to work with Dam in the woods this Summer. I have gone as far as I can go with him in the yard. He was treeing hard from the pen at 3 1/2 months old. Petted the puppies before I left and after I got back. Didn't do anything else with them to day. Tomorrow will be a big day for them. Sunday 1 Apr.01 (day 25)(age 25 days) The last two days have been busy for the puppies. We made a ramp for them to get in and out of the dog house yesterday. The dog house door is about 3" off the ground. They started going in and out real quick. They go outside to use the bathroom now. We have petted and messed with them so much that they will whine when they hear a human voice. They will whine until they are picked up. If they are in the dog house & hear someone talking they will all come outside. They stated eating Saturday, We have been feeding them twice a day. We have been feeding them canned Pedigree Puppy Food. They are eating good now. They are growing real fast. I want to send Lil-Lone some more pictures this week so he can put them on the web site. Thanks a lot to Lil-Lone for his help. Thanks a lot to Lone Tree for the board also. For Monday 2 Apr. 01 (Day 26) (Age 26 Day) Lee (A.K.A. Buddy) came up from Dallas, GA. today. We walked around the yard a lot with his 5 month old puppy, Buddy. Buddy chased lots of squirrels. He treed one and timbered it to a nest. Real good for a 5 month old puppy. Got the puppies out in the afternoon and brought them into the house. I put them on a drop cloth when I bring them in. I played with them a lot. Had the TV. going real loud. They love to be petted. Put a dead squirrel on the floor with them. They rooted it around some. They like human contact. I call puppies by saying( chepo, chrpo, chepo) over and over. I will say it and pull a puppy to me. One will come when I say it mow. I talk and they will start looking for me. They are walking real good now. I am still feeding them caned Pedigree Puppy food. Reddog feeds his puppies a mixture that I like and am going to try it on these puppies. He mixes 1/2 Puppy Chow with 1/2 milk replacer, puts it in a blender, adds water to make a mush. He feeds this to his puppies. It works real good. These puppies are trying to eat Puppy Chow now. NOTE: I start feeding the mother dog Puppy Chow as soon as the puppies are born. She never gets sucked down. Her weight always stays normal. Put the puppies back. Tuesday 3 Apr. 01 (day 27)(Age 27 days) Raining to day. A friend came over and wanted to ride over to the hunting land. We went and in about an hour we saw 6 gobblers and 14 deer. He liked that. Almost put me back to turkey hunting. After we got back I fed the puppies and waited a while to bring them into the house. (waiting cuts down on clean up.) They stayed in the house most of the afternoon. They would explore a while, play a while and sleep a while. While they are sleeping they remind me of a post that T.W. put up one time. They dream a lot when they are puppies. It is hard to tell if they are running from a bear or chasing a rabbit. They make lots of different noises and kick and move a lot. This is about the time when they start tugging at your heart strings. Sorry. Back to training. I turned the TV. down and talk to them a lot. I get down on the floor and play with them. I have talked and played with them so much that their tails go 90 miles an hour when they hear my voice. I put a dead squirrel on the floor with them for a while when they wake up. They will push it around some. I don't leave it down long at the time. 3 of them will come to me now when I make that (chepo, chepo, chepo) noise. NOTE: They don't understand words. Any noise you make will work as long as it is the same every time and they associate with being petted. They like to crawl around on me. This is a good way to get the puppies socialized. Took them back to the pen. Day 28 was a repeat of day 27. Thursday, April 5,age 29 days. About the same as Tues. They love people & are coming real good when I call them. I can go out of the house & yell for them & all of them will come out of the dog house & raise a lot of noise for me to take them out of the pen. I open the gate & they are all over me. They play with the dead squirrel a lot more now. I was looking in the freezer to see how many squirrels I have frozen. I have mostly skins. They will work about as good as the whole squirrel. They are eating good. I am mixing canned puppy food with dry Puppy Chow that has been socked in water. They are starting to eat dry puppy chow but they have to chew it a long time. Their teeth are real small. I put them out in the yard for a while Thurs. They seemed to like that. They won't get far from me though. Snow takes off when I open the gate. She will run a while before she comes back I leave them out a long time each morning & afternoon. Fri.Apr.06 (day 30) Age 30 days) Did not get a chance to work with them any today. Sat.Apr.07 (Day 31) (age 31 days) Put them in the yard today. They ran around a good bit but they won't get far from me. Washed their pen out. Let them stay in the yard long enough for the pen to dry out. Talked to them & made lots of racket. I bang their food pan every time I go to the pen. It is a round cookie sheet, boy is it loud. Man they are eating good. They played with a squirrel skin today. They are taking up more time with the squirrel each time. Sun.Apr.08 (age 32 days) Still feeding them twice a day. Mixing more & more Puppy Chow with the canned food. Didn't take them out of the pen today. Went into the pen & petted them a few times. Banged their food pan each time I went into the pen. They are eating real good now. Plan to take the mother out of the pen about Wednesday. Monday, April 09(Age 33 days) Had company today. Allen Culpepper came up with his kids to build a dog house for his new puppy & to let the kids play with their new puppy. They are getting her next weekend. The kids played with the puppies most of the day. Boy, these puppies like people. They cry & bark when we leave them in the pen. They want to be with us. We ran saws & nail guns around their puppy & she didn't notice it. They aren't getting much food from the mama dog now. They are eating good. They are still sleeping a lot. Tues., April 10( Age 34 days) Took mama dog out of the pen to feed the puppies. They eat good. They stayed out most of the day. I took them to town 2 times they don't mind riding. I worked on a dog pen most of the day. It takes a lot longer when you have 5, 5 week old puppies helping you. Man you have to be careful. You have to hunt puppies a lot too. They will wonder off on you. Snow went hunting but the puppies didn't try to go with her. They will come running now when I call them. I call them pretty often & pet them & play with them when they get to me. They like that. I put them in the pen to feed them, man you should have heard that. They let me know they wanted out. It sound like 20 puppies. Put the mother dog back in with them for the night. Wed. Apr 11 (age 35 days) Took the mother dog across the street. The puppies can't see her over there. With me taking the mother out of the pen every day they get use to not having her in the pen. They didn't seem to miss her. They didn't whine or bark for her. About dark they went into the dog house and was quite. If the mother is with them all the time they seem to miss her more when she is removed. The mother seemed more anxious than the puppies. I played with them a lot. They are biting and pulling on the squirrel skin more and more. I took another skin out of the freezer today. They are eating good now. They seem to like Puppy Chow better than the soft food now. Boy they like people. You don't have to call them any more, Just make a noise and here they come. They like the yard much better than the pen. They try to check out everything. Thurs. Apr. 12 (Age 37days) Pretty much a repeat of yesterday. Christine turned them out when she got home. You should have seen them pulling on her pants legs. She was dragging them all over the yard. They went with her to check out the fish and flowers. Fed them two time today. They didn't eat much of it. They have a self feeder in the pen and they eat out of it most of the time. Still growing real fast. Fri. Apr. 13(Age 37 days) Rained most of the day. Fed and played with them some. That is about it for today. Sat. Apr.14 (Age 38 days) Let them be house dogs today. The grandson was here and the neighbors came over. Everyone played with the puppies. They will all come when you call them. They like to be on people. They played with the squirrel skin a lot. They will shake it like they are trying to kill it. Everyone get a kick out of that. They will fight over the squirrel skin now. We have to watch them real close though. They sure aren't house broke yet. When they start going in a circle you better take them out side. We call that the poopy walk. Still growing fast. Man, they are a lot of fun at this age. Sunday, April 15 (age 39 days) The puppies were out most of the afternoon. They get into everything. The neighbors came over & we brought them into the house. They like to be petted & played with. They like to pull your hair. I can't afford to lose any more hair. The neighbor's little girl stayed in the floor with them a lot. They played with the squirrel skin and chew toy a lot. They will shake the squirrel skin & growl real mean. They act like they are trying to kill the squirrel skin. They will play a while, then sleep a while. We put them back in the pen before dark. Man, they didn't like that. They think they are house dogs. They barked & made a lot of noise. All of them will come when you call them. They went into their house & went to sleep. One of the females went to it's new home in Dawsonville, GA today. Monday, April 16 (age 40 days) Fed the puppies. Didn't have time to get them out today. Tuesday, April 17 (age 41 days) Took puppies for a ride to town in the cab of truck. They didn't cry, they were content riding. They ran around in the yard some this afternoon & came in the house for a few minutes. They all want to be petted at the same time, its hard to pet 4 puppies with 2 hands. They can get out of the pen quick, when you come out of the pen. Wed. Apr. 18 (Age 42 days) Had the light on in their house last night. It was cold. About 33 degrees. Brought them in the house early in the morning. They ran and played for a while, had a few fights, whipped all the grown dogs. Had all of them run up on the couch and love seat. We have a rope about a foot long with knots on each end, they love to play tug of war with that. After they ran down some I got out the squirrel skin. Man, they like that. They just pull and run with the rope but they growl and shake the squirrel skin. They act like they are trying to kill it. They play hard for a while and then they all take a nap. I put them back in the pen after a couple of hours. Went to lunch. Came back and got them out again. I let them run in the yard. I cut the grass with a riding mower. Man, that is tricky. After a while all the puppies want to help drive. Ever try to watch where you were going and keep an eye on 4 puppies. They sure get misplaced quick. All in all, they had a big day. Stayed out of the pen most of the day. Thurs. Apr. 19 (Age 43 days) Well, the black and white one went to her new home today. There was 5.........now there are 3. Mr. Allen Culpepper came and got her today. She was the runt of the bunch. I gave Allen a tape of me training some of my dogs. Allen is going to post the things he does with his puppy. She went to a good home. One of the 3 still here will go to VA. the 28th of May. Don't know yet when the others will go to their new homes. Didn't do much with them the rest of the day. Friday, April 20(Age 44 days) Didn't have time to play with puppies today. Saturday, April 21(Age 45 days) We had a couple to come by to see the puppies today. We let them run, play & get petted. They went with us to check out the goldfish pond at the back of our yard. The little male puppy was walking on the waterfall & slid off into the pond. He did a good job of swimming out. We let them out to play with the grown dogs, they were careful with the puppies when they played. Sunday, April 22(Age 46 days) We made a movie of the puppies today, to send to Lone Oak, Reddog, & the Denny from Virginia, who is getting one of the females. We let them chase the squirrel skin some for the movie, They really get after it. We also would call them from a distance & they would come running as fast as their little legs would carry them, across the back yard. They would leave Lavan & come to me when I called them & vise versa. They already like coming into the house. They run in with us when we come in if we aren't careful. Gave them their 1st 5 in 1 puppy shot today & worm medicine. Sat. Apr. 28th (age 52 days) Sorry I haven't posted this week. Been a busy week. Had a lot going on with D&R, and my stepdaughter is getting married today. Big wedding. I rode the puppies around in the truck (front seat) a few times this week. Took them to town so they could hear different sounds. I mowed the grass at their pen so they would get use to the sound of a motor close to them. Man, they didn't like that. They went in their house and peeped out. I cranked it up and parked it a few yards from their pen and just let it run at slow. After a while they didn't pay it any attention. I will keep doing that and moving it closer to their pen each day. I got them out a few times to play with the other dogs and to play with the squirrel skin. I will have more time after today. I will be back to the old routine after today. I know the puppies will like that. They are growing fast. God bless and Good hunting. Monday, April 30 (Age 54 days) Didn't do anything with the puppies yesterday. Cleaned up after the wedding. Today (Apr.30), turned the puppies out & played with them a long time, let them run down some. Brought them in the house for a while. They like to come in the house. Took them with us to fill the squirrel feeders. Spent a lot of time in the woods behind the house. Came back to the yard & played with the squirrel skin for a while. I have it on a pole with a string, like a fishing pole. They chased it around real good. I let them catch it pretty often. I Pulled it up a tree. They mill around & look at it but don't bark. They are looking up at it. Tues. May 1 (age 55 days) Puppies stayed out most of the day. They rambled some. I worry when they get out of sight. Sissy likes to take them hunting. The go out in the woods and look around. They smell strange smells and try to investigate it. They like the woods. I played with them with the squirrel skin a few times. I have to shut the older dogs up or they will run over the puppies. They don't like to be put back in the pen and boy do they express it. The whole neighborhood hears about it. Wed. May 2 (age 56 days) Worked across the street today. Didn't leave the puppies out much. I would take them out and play with them some and let them chase the squirrel skin. I did this a few times. I am pulling the skin up a tree every day. They still look up but don't bark. They will stand with both front feet on the tree. A little later, after they get some age on them I will start using the roll cage with Star helping them. She will get them started barking. Thurs & Fri May 3&4 Worked across the street all day, both days. Didn't work with the puppies. Did shoot the 22 some. Little Bit and Snow treed something that should be shot. About 200 yards from the pen. Sat. May 5th (age 59 days) Worked in the yard a lot today. The puppies were out a lot today. I shot the pump BB gun close to them a lot today. They didn't shy from it. Played with the skin some. They mostly just aggravated the big dogs. They get excited when the old dogs tree a squirrel. They go to the tree but can't figure out what all the fuss is about. They just mill around. I shot the 22 with CB caps after I put them in the pen. They just stood and looked at me. I was about 30 feet from them. That looks good. Called it a day. Sun. May 5 (age 60 days) Was gone all day. Didn't work with them. Sat. May 12 (age 66 days) Didn't work with the puppies much the first part of this week, just petted and played with them I turned them out to run and play every day. Thursday was the big day for them. I caught a squirrel & put it in a roll cage. The old dogs saw the rollcage and told everyone on this side of the county about it. All that racket & Commotion scared the puppies some. There was 9 dogs barking & jumping, trying to get to that squirrel. That was a mistake. That is too much excitement for puppies of that age. I put the roll cage in the pen with the puppies but they just smelled & looked at the squirrel. They didn't get after it much. There was just too much activity from the old dogs. Man, some of the old dogs go berserk when they see a squirrel. Fri. I put pieces of wieners in the grass in the yard. Then turned the puppies out. It was fun to watch them try to find the food. They can use their nose pretty good. This will improve with time and more wieners. Today I have a lot of activity myself. Planted some garden, did some honey do's that had become better do's, sold Sissy. That was hard to do. I hate to see a dog go even if it is best for the dog. Won't get a chance to work the puppies much. Wed. May 16 (age70 days) There were 5 puppies, then 4, then 3. Well now there are only 2. I will miss her for a while. She went to a good home where she will be hunted and be able to show her ability. I let them run out a lot this week and just be puppies. Worked a good bit with the drag. Worked on handling and manners a lot.

Things to Consider before Buying That 1st Squirrel DogOne of the first decisions to make is deciding whether to buy a pup and training it yourself, or buying a "finished " dog already trained. A third choice, in between the 1st two, is buying a "started" dog.There's advantages and disadvantages to all three choices.Pup: The advantages are you get to see it develop and form a very close bond with you.Because of this 'bonding', it probably will handle better than the other two choices.You can correct any faults before they become a big problem. (You can teach an old dog new tricks; it just takes a lot longer.)Some disadvantages are you will have a relatively long wait before you can expect it to be a hunting companion. You'll incur many costs getting to that point: the initial cost of the pup, a series of puppy shots and worming, registration costs, a house shoe replacement bill, possible marriage counselor bills, or worse, a divorce lawyer fee. You'll possibly spend lots of money on gas, driving to an area where you can train it. But most likely the biggest cost will be - buying lots of dog food. And, after spending this initial money, you're still not guaranteed that it will turn out like you expected. But, if the dog does turn out like you hoped, this can be the most rewarding choice. After all, this dog will be a product of your love, care, and devotion to its success.Started: Probably the biggest question here is exactly what does the seller mean by "started"? How "started" is the dog? Does he mean the dog has started treeing a few squirrels on his own? Or has he treed with an experienced dog? Or has he been introduced to live squirrels in a cage? A squirrel hide? Or has the dog just been taken to the woods and allowed to 'run with the big dogs'? Obviously, if the dog is in the first category (Treeing a few squirrels on his own) he is going to be easier to train and will probably make a 'squirrel dog' much quicker than the other scenarios. He'll probably command a much higher price too, although some guys tack on several hundred dollars more to justify all the money they've already invested in the dog. Buying a 'started' dog can be a good way to go, especially if the seller just has to many dogs to work. But don't expect to get a world champion caliber 'started' dog for a bargain-basement price. If the dog was that good, he wouldn't be for sale.So a decision you'll need to make is whether the dog has enough potential to justify the seller's 'asking price'. If you're new at this dog-buying business, you'd be wise to take along an experienced dog man to help with your decision and keep an eye on your wallet. Make a list of questions you want to ask about the dog and make sure they get answered. I've gone to look at some dogs and felt like I was dealing with an auctioneer; I couldn't get a word in edge-wise between all the bragging the seller was spewing forth. In my greener days, I bought a dog from a man like this who practically had the dog loaded in my truck before I got out of it. If you have any doubts at all, tell the seller you'll think it over and get back with him.Finished: The advantage with this type of dog is you can hunt with him right away. A disadvantage is the relatively high cost (and risk of getting what you paid for).This classification of a dog also raises a lot of questions. How good of a "finished" dog is he? Just like "Started Dogs", there's degrees of how good a "Finished Dog" is. Just because a dog is in the classification of being finished doesn't necessarily mean the dog is an excellent hunter. He may be a 'good' hunter, but because of his genes, age and experience level, he's basically as good as he's going to get. A good dog handler may be able to improve the dog some, but they can't turn an average dog into a world champion.Like a "Started Dog", the more qualities the "Finished Dog" has will have a big impact on how much the dog will sell for. Age can have a big impact on how much the dog costs too. You may be able to get an older dog, past their prime, a lot cheaper. Many guys with big kennels will sell these dogs to make more room for 'up and coming' dogs. Just remember, these dogs probably won't be around a whole lot longer, so be sure to take that into account before buying one. Also, maybe the dog is a grade dog (not registered). These dogs will normally come cheaper than a registered dog. Again, before buying a "finished dog", if you're not sure what to look for, take along somebody who is.More on learning about squirrel dogs and what to look for.Decide what kind of dog you want: a Cur, Feist, other. Go to some of the Competition hunts if you can and ask to go along on some casts as a spectator. (Most guys won't mind you tagging along)Watch the dogs work and observe their different styles. Do they hunt close? Far away? I usually judge this by how far away they will tree and how often they 'check back in'. For coon hunting, a dog that trees 2 ridges over may be acceptable for some people, but for hunting squirrels, this isn't very desirable. Most squirrels will have 'timbered out' to a den-tree by the time you get to the dog. Coons will usually stay with the tree. I personally don't like walking ¾'s of a mile to a treed dog every time, even if he does have the game. Some people like a close-hunting dog, some like ones who range out farther. It's all a personal thing and if you go to a few of the Comp hunts, you'll eventually see both styles.Do the dogs use their eyes, ears and nose to locate game? This is a big advantage the Curs and Feists have over the hounds in most cases. If a dog suddenly stops and intently looks in a specific direction, it's very possible he thought he saw or heard a squirrel. Does he ever hold his head up high and test the air? Some dogs 'Wind' game in the air before they ever smell a track on the ground. This is a good attribute for a dog to have. Many times, a good 'winding' dog can locate and tree a squirrel that hasn't been on the ground in quite a while. When the squirrels haven't been stirring (on the ground) due to the weather conditions, a dog with this attribute is good to have along.By Dennis Clay Smith

If I had to guess what the two biggest mistakes guys make when getting into the squirrel-dog sport (with a pup) it is:1) expecting way too much out of a pup too soon and overworking one to the point where the dog will lose total interest in treeing anything.Imagine a man with a two-year old boy trying to groom him to be an NFL quarterback. "That's ridiculous", you say! But that's what a lot of guys are doing to these pups. These pups are just that - PUPS, INFANTS, KIDS. The pup loses interest and doesn't respond and the guy thinks the pup is no good. GO EASY AND SLOW with a pup. Make a GAME out of PLAYING with a squirrel hide - AND - KEEP THE SESSION SHORT. STOP BEFORE the pups loses interest - NOT AFTER. As he gets older, increase the time of the sessions and make them more complex. BUT NEVER over do it. When starting out, take the pup to the woods and let him explore and play, and get what Reddog calls 'woods wise'.But even with that don't wear him out to the point it's not fun anymore. Don't take a 3 month old pup out and expect him to keep up with a grown dog all day! He's not ready for it.If the pup has good breeding, he'll eventually come around and make you proud - if you don't ruin him.I know how anxious guys are to get a pup going - so was I.2)Second mistake (I made this one too): shooting game out when a dog just Gets Up On The Tree WITHOUT BARKING. If the dog don't bark - he ISN'T Treed! I said to myself, "I'll just shoot this ONE out for him so he'll know that's what we're hunting for and to fire him up" If you start doing that, he may never bark treed! Be patient! If he gets up on the tree and shows interest and is excited and you can see the squirrel, by all means hiss the S### out of him, slap the tree, pull vines, whatever. If he barks, "Good-boy" him and hiss him some more. If he keeps it up (and has been conditioned to gun-fire) THEN shoot the squirrel out for him.You have to make a BIG DECISION when you take a young dog to the woods. A) Do I want to train this dog? - OR Do I want to shoot squirrels? If you chose leave the dog at home!Probably another mistake some will make is not conditioning the dog to gun fire before shooting around it. (That's a whole different article, and I'm all typed out for now.)I'm not trying to "rain on anybody's parade" or be a Mr-Know-It-All, because I Don't Know it all. Just trying to help some new guys avoid some of the mistakes I made.If you're too anxious to get going in the sport to let a pup mature and teach him the right way - buy one of these year-old dogs that guys are selling out of good breeding. Hopefully, they haven't 'burned' the dog out while he was young or made him gun-shy. Better yet, buy a dog that's already treeing. You'll be out some bucks up front, but if your patience is thin, you'll be way ahead in the long run.By Dennis Smith