Originally Posted By: TonyTebbeI feel that using a coon for training would be just fine. I start my young pups on rabbits. It teaches them how to hunt, how to range, what the "sick" command is, gunfire, how to come back to the beeper collar, even in the heat of the chase, etc... My dogs are straight up coyote dogs, but will take down a rabbit, badger or hog, if given the chance.
I used rabbits, cats, and coons for training my greyhound catch dogs, back when I used to run them.
Tony
I agree with Tony, your dog is young and using a Coon should only encourage your dog and if it has any game drive at all, this training should bring that drive to the forefront. You may only end up with a dog that finds Coons for you, if you hunt where Coon are around.
If you want a decoy dog only, you can use a Coon to get that drive alive and then just take the dog on stand after stand, calling Coyotes in and let it happen naturally. Most of the time Coons are not necessary for dogs that have the drive naturally.
I have trained a few decoy dogs that made real good Coyote dogs, but you wouldn't have been able to tell from the first couple stands, that I wasn't training them for ducks or who knows what?
If the dog has what it takes to be a real decoy dog, Coons are not necessary. All it will take is exposure to Coyotes and the different situations that come from many, many stands, both successful and not so.
My best decoy dogs I have ever raised spoke Coyote naturally and played the game of decoy dog very well after they had a few killed to them. They realized if they did they're part, there was a dead Coyote for them to chew on and that was all they ever needed.
Best of luck to you, but don't try and use a screwdriver to drive in a nail. Get dogs that are bred to be decoy dogs and let their natural instinct kick in.
If you are using a dog not bred for decoying, and they have what it takes. Killing Coyotes in front of them and letting them learn the game is what it takes.
Both ways can make decoy dogs, I just had a lot more luck using the tool made for the task.
Take care and whatever you do, have fun!