How long does the boy spend on the travels described in Sounder?

The book Sounder tells of a young African-American boy who searches for his lost and injured dog, Sounder, after it chases after the police officers who arrest the boy's father for theft. The dog was shot and injured but survived the attack and ran off.
The story begins at an undisclosed time during the year, but it is before Christmas time, and the boy and his father go hunting, so it likely begins sometime in that fall. The boy chases after his dog and goes on a variety of adventures throughout Christmas time and the following year. Over the year, his father is convicted, the dog is found severely injured; it is missing an eye and an ear and is unable to use one of its legs. The book wraps up just before the following Christmas, meaning the adventures in this book span roughly one year.