Have done the same thing. I have found this is the best way to get their attention! A friend of mine had a pup a while back that was the TRASHIEST thing I was ever in the woods with! Had he been mine he wouldn't have been eating my food very long! Haha. However he was outta some good stock so he didnt wanna give up on him! Once he got him off the deer fox...anything that would run from him he started treeing possum's. He was that bad he would run past a coon to tree a possum!! He tried everything shocker, leading away, beatings...nothing helps. Finally he calls me..."Josh I gotta sell this dog." why I ask thinking deer or summin. He says about this possum problem...I said well if you wanna sell him I'll buy him if you want him broke I'll break him. He was convinced of selling (we've all been there just feed up). So I bought him for 400 bucks at 1 1/5. He treed ONLY one possum since I've had him!! LMAO. And all I did was shoot one down and beat him (nothing crazy) with the possum. An old timer told me one time that they think the possum is doing it thats why they never wanna mess with them again! I dunno about any of that all I kno is it works. He treed 150 this past year in kill season in pa. No junk or possums! Buddy didnt talk to me for a few months after I nited him. Dumby! HAHa