WEBVTT - Ep. 143: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - My Journey as a Coon Hunter (Part 1) 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:09.200 Welcome to this country Life. I'm your host, Brent Rieves 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.680 from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living. 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.040 I want you to stay a while as I share 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.479 my stories and the country skills that will help you 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:22.360 beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.880 part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.960 outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends, 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:33.040 pull you up a chair or drop that tailgate. I 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:34.760 think I got a thing or two and teach you 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:45.000 My journey is a Coon Hunter Part one. It was 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:48.559 a children's story published in nineteen sixty one that smoldered 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:53.199 old bookshelves with moderate sales until nineteen seventy four. That's 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.279 when they made a movie telling the story of a 0:00:56.320 --> 0:01:00.720 grown man's perspective and memory of coonhound in his life 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:03.440 with him as a child. I saw the movie Where 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:06.080 the Red Fern Grows when I was eight, and before 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:09.319 the movie ended, I knew I was a coon hunter. 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:12.320 And just like Billy Coleman starting out in the story, 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:15.319 I didn't have a dog. It would be a few 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:17.440 years before I got one. And let me tell you 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:21.120 what I did. I never looked back. We're talking about 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:23.800 all things coon hunting. From what I looked for and 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.720 picking out a puppy to getting them to treat. It's 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:30.959 a coon hunting Juwilee. This week on This Country Life podcast, 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:46.320 the first I'm going to tell you a story. This 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:48.920 story I'm about to tell you could have come straight 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:51.960 out of where the red fern grows. The only difference 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:55.080 is this one is true. And while Billy Coleba was 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:58.120 desired to have a coon dog was fictional, it was 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:00.800 very real in the heart of my father and would 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:04.040 eventually be passed down to me. This is one of 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:06.680 my favorite stories of all time, and it's the one 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:10.040 where my dad and his friend Raymond stole a coon dog. 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:14.440 Nobody Barney lived less than a half a mile from 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:17.200 the house where my dad grew up. He had been 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:19.800 his neighbor since the moment my dad first saw the 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:24.600 light of day on April sixteenth, nineteen thirty seven, in 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:27.400 that very same house. This would have been in the 0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:30.800 late forties, when my dad was ten or twelve years old. 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:35.560 Nobody had a good dog, a really good dog, and 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:38.919 one that he guarded like it was a child. During 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:42.080 this time, coon hides were bringing top dollar and having 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:45.280 a good coonown was just like having a second income, 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:47.799 and most of the time it paid more than being 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:50.920 a hand at the saw meal. Dad and Raymond would 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:53.880 go hunting with him, and like anyone I've ever taken 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.560 with me that liked it, they liked it a lot. 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.959 And anytime Nobody was leaving the house to go there, 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:02.800 there stood Dad and Raymond on the porch waiting to 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:06.040 go with him. Thirty plus years later, and at about 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:08.799 the same age as my dad in this story, Miss 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:13.600 Alay Barnett, Nobody's sister, lived there with him, and she'd 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:16.440 fixed me cookies and a glass of sweet milk anytime 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:19.120 I just happened to be walking by and ambled up 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.840 in their yard, which was just about any time I 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:25.720 could smell her bacon cookies. I'd sat on the same 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:28.880 porch by Dad and Raymond waited on me, eating cookies 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:32.160 and listening to nobody in Miss Ali tell me how 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.960 much I looked like my dad and walked like my grandpa, 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:39.440 except there was no coon hunt afterwards, just a heart 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:42.160 full of old stories and a belly full of warm 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:45.800 cookies and coal milk. They were good folks, They were 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:50.120 real good folks. Nobody's dog was a tree and walker, 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:52.280 and his name was Tiger, and as far as my 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.920 dad knew, he was the best coon dog in the country, 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:58.160 and not having many dogs to compare him to may 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:00.560 have elevated his status to a kid. But he said 0:04:00.600 --> 0:04:04.600 if they went hunting, they nearly always brought coons home. 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:07.840 Now that's the solid of a testimony for a coon 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:11.000 hound that you can get. There was only one problem. 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:14.800 Nobody had a job and could only go hunting on 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:18.080 the weekends, which really wasn't a problem until school was 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:21.719 let out for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Dad and Raymond's hunting 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:25.760 had been limited to weekends only, just like nobody's. But 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:29.120 now that school was out Friday night and Saturday night, 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:32.760 that wasn't nearly enough time for two aspiring young houndsmen 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:36.320 to get their fix on hunting, and no amount of 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:40.000 begging to persuade Nobody to sacrifice a good night's rest 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:41.919 when he had to be at work so early in 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:46.800 the morning. Now, Dad said it was absolute torture to 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:49.600 walk by and see Tiger tied out by his doghouse, 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:52.560 knowing they weren't going to be able to go hunt 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:56.480 that night. This is when the innocence of my father's 0:04:56.520 --> 0:05:00.440 youth took a dark turn. Dad said he he told 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:04.080 his friend, well, if he won't take us hunting, we'll 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:08.360 just take his dog. The plan was formulated when nobody 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:10.360 went to bed, Dad and Raymond would slip up to 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:13.440 the edge of the yard, remove Tiger's collar and fashion 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:15.720 it back like he pulled lookes from him, and then 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:27.280 they'd go up. The first night they did it, Dad said, 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:29.080 they slipped up to the woods at the edge of 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:31.200 the yard and waited for the lights to go out. 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:33.919 When they did, they waited for a little bit, and 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:37.000 he left Raymond to watch the house, and Belly crawled 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:39.120 across that yard like he was sneaking up on the 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.640 enemy bunk, hoping old Tiger didn't start barking, all the 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:46.520 while watching the house for any signs of movement. He 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.000 made it up to Tiger, who'd been watching him the 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:52.600 whole time, wagging his tail. Dad took his collar off, 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:56.000 fastened it back, and they led him a long way 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:58.200 from the house with the lead rope he'd made from 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:01.720 some haystring. He got out of the bum, and once 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:04.080 they were far enough away they figured nobody couldn't hear 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:07.240 Tiger barking. They cut him loose and the hunt was on. 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:10.960 They treated a coon or two and as happy as 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:14.480 they could be. They're planning to workship perfection. They'd gotten 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:17.560 away with it, and when they were done, they walked 0:06:17.560 --> 0:06:19.520 Tiger back to within side of the house and let 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:22.000 him go, knowing full well that he'd go back home, 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:24.880 and he did. They hid their coons up in the 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.159 barn that night and skin them later the next day, 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:31.080 after nobody and everybody else had gone to work up 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:33.360 in the day. They walked by and checking, sure enough, 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:36.680 they're laid Tiger back on the chain, sleeping the day 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:41.240 away mission accomplished. That was easy, so easy that they 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:45.040 decided to do it again. They did this several nights 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:47.920 over the winter school break, each taking turns doing the 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:51.440 belly crawling while the other one was the lookout. Dad 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:53.560 said they did it so much the tiger would be 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.320 sitting outside his doghouse looking for him to slip into 0:06:56.360 --> 0:07:00.360 their hiding spot, waiting on him to go hunting. They 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:02.680 did it. It was the same hide out till dark, 0:07:03.120 --> 0:07:06.080 crawl across the yard, hitched Tiger up to the homemade 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:10.000 lead rope and fix his collar back exactly as it 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.920 had been leaving nobody eating. No other answer for him 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:15.640 to being off the chain other than he pulled out 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:19.720 of it on his own. Now, Tiger always went home. 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:23.640 It was the perfect victimless crime and one that they 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:27.600 had no intention of stopping. One school started back, he said, 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:29.920 if they could borrow a man's prize coon now without 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:33.280 him knowing about it, and then they could surely slip 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:36.080 out of the house and go hunting, because not only 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.280 were they hiding their actions from Nobdee, but the Reeves 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:42.600 family too. My great grandpa would not have approved of 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:46.920 him borrowed someone's dog, especially one is valuable as that one. 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:49.480 Folks didn't have a lot of pets back then, and 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:52.160 you can bet if they were feeding a dog, he 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:55.200 was serving a purpose, and one that could put food 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:58.120 on the table and money in your pocket was more 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:01.600 valuable than any. Dad told me he didn't know how 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:04.640 many times they pulled that off, but it was a lot, 0:08:05.360 --> 0:08:07.520 he said. It all came to a screeching hault one 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:11.160 night when it was Raymond's turn to fetch Tiger. He said, 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:13.920 Tiger wasn't setting up waiting for him like he normally was, 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:16.520 and they could see him under the night light, still 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.840 in his house. They guessed him to still be sleeping, 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:23.000 and deservedly so, after all, he had been hunting quite 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:25.360 a lot during the weekends, not to mention all the 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:27.760 times Dad and Raymond had him out during the week 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.320 Dad said it was Raymond's turn to get Tiger, and 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:33.880 he washed him crawl off toward the doghouse, ready to 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:37.800 hit the woods and tree some coons. Then Raymond came 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:42.320 crawling back and said, Buddy, something wrong with Tiger. It's breathing. Funny. 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:45.600 Dad told there ain't nothing wrong with that dog. We 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:48.640 hunt him every night this week, including last night. Was 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:51.319 nothing wrong with him then, And when we checked on 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:54.240 him this afternoon, I bet he's just sleeping in his house. 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.720 I'll go get him, And off he went, crawling across 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:00.640 the yard like an aggravated Gi Joe. To find that. 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:04.080 Raymond was right, he said. He stopped right before he 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:06.360 got to the doghouse and listen, and he can hear 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:09.160 him in there breathing, kind of laboring to do it. 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:10.840 He said it It sounded to kind of like he 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:19.520 was snoring in and out. That's he didn't know what 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:22.640 it was, but he whispered, come on, Tiger. Tiger got 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:26.079 up walked out of the doghouse. He said. He reached 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:28.640 up to grab his collar, and he said it was 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:31.480 so tight that he could barely get a finger under 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:35.880 it to take it home. Nobody had apparently grown tired 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:40.280 of time. Nobody had apparently grown tired of Tiger slipping 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:43.280 out of his collar and had been slowly tightening it 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.800 up every morning when he'd leave for work, he'd come 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:49.720 home and there was Tiger on the chamberside his doghouse. 0:09:49.840 --> 0:09:52.920 He'd go to bed and wake up only discover his 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:56.400 prize coon dog was loose once again the next morning 0:09:56.679 --> 0:10:00.199 from slipping out of his collar. Dad said, if we 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:02.800 would have took Tiger out one more night, when nobody 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:04.920 found him loose again the next morning, that he would 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:07.520 have tightened his collar up so much it would have 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:10.120 choked him to death. Before nobody got home from work 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:16.160 that day, Dad loosened his collar and they never barred 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:28.120 him again. And that's just how that happened. My journey 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:31.680 as a coon hunter. Coon hunting has always been a 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:34.120 part of my life since I was a kid. I 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:37.840 got my first hound when I was fifteen. He was 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:39.960 a registered tree and walker and I got him from 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:44.760 mister Lloyd Corker, who on Corker's feed store in Warren, Arkansas. 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:47.640 He cost me seventy five dollars is an eight week 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:50.840 old puppy. I had a job working at the local 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:53.600 sail barn, pushing cows from one end to the other. 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:57.520 As the sale progressed every Saturday and a little trapline 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:00.839 money left, but I was still twenty five dollar short. 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:03.880 Dad told me he loaned to me, and we paid him, 0:11:04.000 --> 0:11:06.280 and mister Corker gave me a bag of feed before 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:09.800 we left. I named him Tom. Want to know what 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:13.480 you do with a night week old coonhound? Absolutely nothing 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:16.440 as far as training the coon dog goes anyway. They're 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:19.880 too young. The brains are like jello, and some of them, well, 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:23.520 some of them never grow out of it their infants, 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:25.760 and they don't know the buds from fifteen since. When 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:28.600 it comes to anything about what their purpose in life is, 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:31.280 that's gonna come later. But there's lots of things to 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:34.199 do before you ever turned that rascal loose in search 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:37.120 of a coon. Now, this was my approach and the 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.960 methods that I used to train My first one was 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:43.520 from what my dad taught me later on, and as 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:46.280 recently as right now. I'd ask my uncle Jim Ray, 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:48.880 whose favorite dog he had many years ago was a 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:52.120 tree and walker named Willie Nelson. I thought it kind 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:56.240 of ironic that now I have one named Whalen. Anyway, 0:11:56.480 --> 0:11:59.880 some of what I learned is from friends like Rex Whiting, 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:03.760 Michael Roseman. But the best lessons I got was from 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:07.680 cutting that hound loose in the woods. But only after 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:11.559 I'd made sure of one thing that he'd mind me. Remember, 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:13.400 I said, this is how I do it, what works 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:15.520 for me. I ain't looking to defend this as a 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:20.280 doctoral thesis. Everybody has an opinion this one. It just 0:12:20.280 --> 0:12:24.160 happens to be mine. Dad told me it does me 0:12:24.360 --> 0:12:26.560 no good to have a dog with no way to 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:29.720 control him. So from day one he has to learn 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:31.800 that I am his boss and he's safe with me. 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:35.640 Wherever I am is always a good place. That's the 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:39.000 only way that a dog will leave what he's doing 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:42.080 or is interested in and come to where you are 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:45.320 is if he recognizes your authority and feel safe and 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:49.360 secure there. How do I get him to come to me? Well, 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:51.280 that for me starts when I'm picking him out of 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:53.600 the litter. You can't tell what a dog was gonna 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:56.600 make when they're two months old. Old time coon hunters 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:58.960 wouldn't even start messing with a coon dog until he 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:02.040 was like a year more older. So here's a few 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:05.200 cues that I've found to be helpful. I'm looking for 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:09.200 a puppy that looks at me. Michael Rosevean will tell you, 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:11.520 and I believe it that a dog that will make 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:14.959 eye contact with you has some potential to take direction 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:18.600 he's paying attention. That doesn't mean to tell tree coons 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:21.560 and not chase deer. It's just a starting point. Dogs 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.960 are like people and that they have personalities. There is 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:29.200 different as night and day. There's no one size fits all, 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:33.480 just traits to look for. Genetics are important up to 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:36.800 a point, and to me, it's just a baseline of 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:40.200 skills that a dog should inherently possess. Notice I said 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:44.839 should possess just like Mama, Daddy, Grandma, grandpa, and aunts 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:47.600 and uncles can do it. It don't mean Junior can 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:51.040 or any of his litter mates. I've got to teach 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:52.960 this joker to come to me when I call him, 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:56.040 and one of the easiest ways is to use food. 0:13:57.400 --> 0:13:59.439 Call the name when you put down some food or 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:02.160 a treating, praise him when they get there. But that's 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:05.240 not the way I like to do it. That'll condition 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:07.839 a dog to look for food every time that they 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:10.280 come to you, and it won't take many times if 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:13.200 you forgetting to bring any or running out, and soon 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:16.680 that dog might say, ah, I hear you calling, but 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:19.400 you don't ever really have anything to eat. I think 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:23.320 I'll just stay here. Well, I'd rather have that dog 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:26.400 come to me from the rapport that we've developed together 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:30.640 through socialization. I'm the guy that feeds him. I'm the 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:33.320 guy that waters him. I'm the guy that makes sure 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:36.320 his dog bed is cleaning, his kennels are washed out, 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:39.000 and in Whalen's case, I'm the guy that cleans the 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:43.320 filter in his air conditioned doghouse. I spend time with 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:45.640 my hound. But Dad always said that a dog that 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:48.920 gets messed with and hunted will make the best tree dog. 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:53.400 So I don't look at him as a tool. He's 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:57.120 not a hammer in his doghouse, ain't a toolbox. I 0:14:57.160 --> 0:14:59.120 don't just pull him out of the kennel every time 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.520 I want him to go a coon. He's a member 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:03.680 of this family, and he got there by doing what 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:06.760 I wanted him to do, or he be a member 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:10.200 of somebody else's family. I wasn't looking for a pet 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:12.880 when I got him. I was looking for a coon dog, 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:16.240 and it was my responsibility to give him every chance 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:19.480 to be one. It goes back to that looking at 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:21.680 you thing. If they're looking at you, they're paying attention. 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:25.760 If they're paying attention, they're teachable. And that's half the battle. 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:29.720 If you got an intelligent dog who's inherent desires to 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:33.720 please you, they're boss. And you can't convey what you 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:36.040 want that dog to do. That ain't the dog's fault. 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:40.080 That's all on you. They say dogs can learn close 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:44.840 to like two hundred and fifty words, go tree a coon, 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:47.960 that's only four. So how hard could it really be 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:52.280 to get one to do that? Well, they got to 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:56.680 be exposed. You can't teach a dog desire. That's got 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.840 to come naturally. They have to have the will to 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:02.560 leave the safety of your presence and go into the 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:05.800 dark unknown, specifically looking for the sin of a coon. 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:09.200 And let me tell you about Old Tom. His registered 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:13.560 name was Reeves Sea Creek Tom. That name come from 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.640 obviously my last name, and the creek that ran through 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:19.760 our farm that I only a few weeks ago learned 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:23.600 The actual name wasn't Sea Creek, it was Walker Creek. 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:26.440 So I guess you can teach an old dog a 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:29.000 new trick. At least you can teach him a little 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:32.800 bit about the geography. But Tom was his call name, 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:35.280 and that's what it was going to be. Steve McQueen 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:38.440 played a cowboy named Tom Horn in a movie by 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:41.280 the same name. I liked that movie and Steve McQueen, 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:44.640 so I named him Tom. When you register a dog, 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.160 a pure bred dog, he has to have a unique 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:50.440 name that separates him from the other dogs in the registration. 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:53.720 There are some real creative names in the registrie in 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:57.200 some of which make absolutely no sense. It may not 0:16:57.280 --> 0:17:01.440 even be what the dog is called. His registered name 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:06.400 could be Buffalo Bill, Cody's Trycolored Tornado, but his call 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.639 name might be Carl. That's a whole, whole other show. 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:21.639 So we're gonna go on with the story. Old Tom 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:23.760 gets to be about eight months old, and I'm about 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:27.440 to have a fit to take him hunting. Dad finally says, 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:29.959 come on, let's load him up and go see what 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:35.080 he'll do. Finally, it's Coon hunting time. After six months 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:38.119 of working with this dog and leading him and teaching 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:40.720 him to load, to come to me when I called, 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:43.399 and getting him to do everything under the sun that 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:46.159 I wanted to do except split wood and paint the 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:49.960 barn or anything related to coon hunting, We're finally finn 0:17:49.960 --> 0:17:52.600 to get this dog in the woods. I was about 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:56.159 to pee in my briches from excitement. Philly Coleman, you 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.479 ain't got nothing on me, because I'm fitna do this 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:02.640 for real. We loaded Tom up and Dad's dog crate, 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:06.280 and off we went to the neighbor's chicken farm. Dad said, 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:08.320 there was a big persimon tree on the side of 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:10.840 the road that goes down to the chicken house. It's 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:14.320 probably got some persimmons on it. If it does it 0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:16.400 order to have some coons in it or close by, 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:20.639 we'll cut him loose and see what he does. Now. 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:22.840 I should probably mention in this point of the story 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:26.400 that I had recently had my appendix removed, like eight 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:30.160 days ago. I was still sporting a handful of staples 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:34.400 in the incision. Anyone that's ever had an appendectomy will 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:38.280 tell you they're not fun. Believe them when they say this. 0:18:39.320 --> 0:18:42.840 On with the story. I was sitting on the edge 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:45.240 of the seat for the two mile ride down the 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:48.920 gravel road. We made the curve in twenty yards off 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:51.760 the road, and a hundred from that chicken house stood 0:18:51.800 --> 0:18:54.679 the persimmon tree, and it looked like it was decorated 0:18:54.680 --> 0:18:57.600 for Christmas. When all those coons looked at the truck 0:18:57.600 --> 0:18:59.879 and their eyes glowed in the dark, Dad said, well, 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:04.199 Tom's fixing to get his test. I was ready to 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:07.040 bail out of that truck before it stopped. I did 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:09.840 that ten years prior to this night, and my dad 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:13.520 ran over me on a accident. Six years prior to 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:16.320 this night, I ran over him. But those are two 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:20.760 different stories. Back to the coons, that tree was over 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:23.320 twenty feet tall and as big around as a cantalog. 0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:26.439 The first limb was about eight feet off the ground. 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:31.119 It was loaded with for simmons and coons. I counted 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:34.320 six sets of eyes of what I could see. Dad, 0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:37.160 what I do? He said, Get Tom out and cut 0:19:37.200 --> 0:19:39.120 him loose. We'll just see what he does. He needs 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:41.800 to find him on his own. Well I did just 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:44.520 as he said. Old Tom walked around in front of 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:47.239 the truck, wagging his tail and looking happy just to 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:49.760 be hanging out with the boys at night for once, 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:52.280 and all of a sudden he caught a whiff of 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:56.280 scent from the coons, and his whole demeanor change. He 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.000 started moving with a purpose over toward that tree. His 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:02.240 nose was going from above his shoulders back to the ground. 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:06.359 Dad said, he's winding them coon, son, and that means 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:08.960 he was catching their sin as it flowed through the air. 0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:10.960 And then he put his nose to the ground and 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:14.159 smell where they'd been walking around. Now, you think that 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:17.040 would be an ideal scenario to train a dog in, 0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:20.760 but it really ain't. Dogs don't smell like we do. 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:24.400 If you walked in a house and you smelled someone 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:30.040 cooking homemade soup, you think I smell soup, let's eat. Well, 0:20:30.040 --> 0:20:33.280 the dogs never don't work that way. They walk in 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:35.919 the door right beside you, and while you're smelling soup, 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:42.840 they're smelling tomatoes, salt, pepper, potatoes, garlic, celery, thyme, corn beans, 0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:46.040 whatever you got in the pot, plus and everything else 0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:50.640 in the house, including you. In an area where coons 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:55.440 have been frequenting, it could turn into sensory overload. Literally 0:20:55.640 --> 0:20:59.400 everything around it smells like coons, and when everything smells 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:02.600 like a coon, it's hard to discern where the source 0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:05.560 of the smell is coming from. That'll mess up a 0:21:05.600 --> 0:21:08.520 finished dog just as quick as it is will a 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:12.199 young one. I've seen it. We watched old Tom as 0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:15.639 he went back and forth around that tree, left and right, front, 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:18.240 and back over to a big corner post on the 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:21.200 fence ten yards away, and back to the tree again. 0:21:22.000 --> 0:21:26.280 He was confused. He was also still a baby as 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:29.320 far as coon dogs go. Now, you coon hunters out there, 0:21:29.440 --> 0:21:32.160 save your message just telling me about how your dog 0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:35.200 was tring coons by there by theirself when they was 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:37.960 two months old or before they had their eyes open. 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:41.119 I know y'all are out there. It goes for you too, Clay, 0:21:41.480 --> 0:21:45.240 Michael Rex, Toby Neemeyer Ain't. Nobody got time for that. 0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:51.159 Tom needed some help. So I had to plan, and 0:21:51.240 --> 0:21:53.919 I knew if I didn't, if I didn't just do 0:21:54.040 --> 0:21:56.240 it on my own, that I'd never get it approved 0:21:56.240 --> 0:21:58.960 by my dad. So when Daddy walked back to his 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:01.840 truck to get a light, I saw the opportunity I 0:22:01.920 --> 0:22:05.840 was waiting for. I could feel the staples pulling against 0:22:05.920 --> 0:22:08.480 my incision as I reached up and I grabbed that 0:22:08.560 --> 0:22:12.000 bottom limb of that for Simme tree. It felt like 0:22:12.080 --> 0:22:14.160 my guts were about to pop out of that cut 0:22:14.200 --> 0:22:17.240 when I finally hooked my leg over the limb and 0:22:17.320 --> 0:22:20.119 stood up on it. I was fixing to shake some 0:22:20.160 --> 0:22:22.720 coons out of that tree. And if that didn't get 0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:25.479 Tom more focused on what we were doing there, I 0:22:25.480 --> 0:22:28.880