EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

When it comes to catchdogs, I am a firm believer in pitbull terriers.  With the pits I've had, I've never had to worry about the dog quittiing or letting go. I knew they would hang on until the end. Within the last year, I've been trying other breeds of dogs for catching, mostly for the purpose of running catchdogs. I currently have an AB, and I am not impressed with her. I've also hunted with friends that have other breeds of cds and I question their heart when it comes to staying until the end.  From my experience, I haven't seen another breed that I believe would hold on not matter what. I'm just looking for other opinions on the matter and would like to know what experiences you have to prove other breeds of bulldogs will stay no matter the cost.

I have a half pit/half BMC that is 5 years old and this past summer my buddy Chris and I had a big hog bayed and I turned him loose to the bay and when we got there the hog was backed up uner a tree and Spanky was sitting there baying. That was the first hog he has ever bayed. I have never seen a Pit or AB do that. They are locked on until the end.

The catchdogs we have have alittle bit of everything in them, (dogo, AB., Pit, Bull Mass) we have never had a problem with quiting.

I use a pair of ABs and I have no complants! They have always hung on till the end no matter what!

I'm pretty sold on pits as well, but there are so many people out there using other breeds for cd's that they must be working out otherwise people wouldn't use them.

I like APBT too.  They have no quit in them at all.  Plus they are cheep and you can start them young or old and they will do the job..they just seem to love it!

There are good and bad in all breeds.  To make a generalized statement and say because a dog is a pit it will make a good catchdog is debatable.  I've seen plenty of good pits, but I've also seen plenty that for a half-hour after a catch would loose their mind.  Most people use and like what first fit the bill when they started and most people dislike a certain breed based on a poor specimen that they have observed.  You know the old saying, One bad apple spoils the bunch...

As a breed id say a pit is your best bet.  The only dogos I've had quit only quit on the hog that killed them.  Loss of blood and fell out, or heat stroked and in shock.  But there have been plenty of cull dogos that didn't get the chance.

have seen some real good ab's but i like a smaller pit cause the thickets are bad around here. nothing wrong with a bigger dog long as they are atheletic and have pleny of air.a catchdog aint nothing but a distraction till you get there, so i guess different folks like different types of dogs

Bryant, I agree with you. I have seen quite a few pits that didn't make the grade, but when I had a good one, they were hard to beat.  The way we hunt, we have one catchdog and no guns. The dog has to be reliable to never let go. I have seen dogs other than pits catch well, but there was a pack of 2 or 3. I know a lot of guys run a couple of catchdogs and they don't take nearly the beating one dog would have to take.

i use a smaller pit and a full-blood bmc.  the bmc will catch and hold anything, anysize. you gotta have a break stick to get him off.  he is harder to get off than my pit.  he took the beating the hog gave like a soldier.  he got thrashed pretty good, but never let go of the ear.

I may be the only hog hunter on here.  That says this and yall bash me if u want. But I won't own a full. Pit.      I ain't gonna say anything bad about them. But there not for me. That's just  my opinion I am out for. Size. Speed.  Brains.   

W-tate, you may have an argument with size and speed, but some of the smartest dogs I have ever known were pits.  With that said, some of the dumbest dogs I have ever known were also pits. I believe that is more the individual dog not the breed.

No, I'm the same way. ;D

No  full blood pits for me either,the dog may be fine for 5 years then snap and kill one of your good dogs.I have had 5 really bad things go wrong on hunts with them and I dont trust them one bit.I am still trying to recover from the last Pit episode.

i love pits  wont use nothin else   

For the guys who don't care for pits, what do you use or what have you been successful with?

me and my bro in law use pits only   they dont quit 4 nothin  sum of our buddies use abs and love em  but we believe solely in pits  never had a single prob with em  but im not a vet of huntin  just learnin 

Alot of it has to do with the way a Pit Bull is bred there is junk in every breed.  But from my experince a half way decent bred Pit will do as good of a job as any other breed that is well bred for example you can take a dog pound pit and catch hogs how many other breeds can you do that with  not many if any.  You take a line of Pits that  has been bred for years on top of years for the catch and it is a pretty safe bet you ain't gonna find no better in any breed.  My trust and my well being as well as anybody hunting with me is in a APBT.  When a hog of any size turns a catch dog into a bay dog they got to go are you are looking for a big time wreck .

Beejay I will admit I own a half pit half. Ridgeback.    Now sayin that. I am about to breed most of the pit out of her.  Going to breed her to a one out. Great Dane.    No pit I have ever seen will be able to keep up with that dog.      I also use a half dogo half American bulldog   I got high hopes for the breedin on my pit ridgeback

I like a Pit/Cat cross or a Pit/BMC cross.I must admit the best CD I have ever owned was a pit but that went south after I was attacked by the dog after 4 years.I have a Cat that I am using now that is the best CD I have used in years.His litter mate bit the dust a couple of weeks ago and was also a fine CD.

WE own a 3/4 AB and 1/4 dog. He has turned out to be amazing. He holds strong, hits hard, and has brains. Id say what makes him differ from a pit is that he is extremely athletic and adjile. If you cut him loose to a bay and the bay breaks before he gets there, he has no problem runnin one down and catching it.

If you refer to this video you can see what Im talking about.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfnLEjh3dHY


(http://rbvv8w.blu.livefilestore.com/y1paWXcZg_cSmdFFX7bKOlY5t7SJOCAcv1jmv4grDGw_o3sfED0y29Wve49uf4RkXk6iWXti4m3l1lPWGQYWOPYoztbzAbzO8HG/Picture%20004.jpg)

Thats a good looking dog.

I am not saying that the other breeds dont do the job...because they do! I was going on the premis that pits are a dime a dozen and you can get them anywhere for cheep if not free and they will work most of the time with little pen time for teaching...with that said when they do start to act a little crazy dig them a hole and get a new one...I have a very small APBT 100% Colby dog and she is a great dog in all aspects...The only thing that I dont like is she is small at 38 lbs...She is fast as lightning and can run forever! I have never had her in the woods yet as she is only a year old in Jan but in the pen she is a beast! No quit in her at all and have had her on some fresh cuaght 200# plus hogs that threw her around like crazy..she never let go and held for a good while.  I plan on breeding in some size in the next few generations and getting some real nice 50-60 lb CD's...Looking to get her in the woods if I can so if anyone is willing to take me and the lil girl with some experienced Cd's I would love it.

Nice looking dog Courtney.

There are only a few catchdogs that I can say I have 100% confidence going in behind.  This dog is one of them.

Post says 3/4 AB 1/4 dog. What is the "dog", or is it unknown?

I bet. Dogo

THe dad of him is Cotton who is one of Krystals Amerigos.The mom, Im not sure who or what she is I know she was mostly AB if not all AB, Krystal would know more than me. I was told thats what his main blood stream was, but there may be a hint of something else in him (I think at one time someone told me the mom has a hint of mastiff or Great dane in her, but dont quote me on that). :)   THere were only two puppies left out of the litter due to worms and he was in bad shape when we got him. I believe he is the only one left of his litter.

I have 2 Dogos and a DogoxAB, no pits for me. I don't want a catch dog that is going to get slung around by a big hog I want a dog that can "handle" a big hog and keep its feet. I don't want a catch dog that will hang on untill its dead.....I want a catch dog that is built to hold a big hog and NOT GET KILLED..

i use a half pit half  dogo an he has plenty of heart an aint nearlly as aggressive towards other dogs like some pits my frinds use an if he can hear the dogs he will go to em an has plenty of body to hold him!

Very good point

Beejay, I hunt all what most would call rcd. But my Catdo from Mr Mason is all that and a bag of chips. Good natured to all but a hog and you had better have a stout break stick and know how to use it to get her off. She is training all my other dogs that are pups of different ages. Love Mercedes and totally trust her. I'd better because I hunt alone 99% of the time. Hope you find what you are looking for.          John

I was betting bird dog.

I hunt behind this dog regularly and I can tell you he is the REAL DEAL.  Speed, power, size and most importantly brains.

Cortney,Cullbuck, I just got me a 3/4 AB & 1/4???, He is by far the hardest hitting CD I have seen. He looks like yours except mine has more black spots on him. Bad @ss vidio!!! I got to learn how to do that. I guess yall are going to have to come hunt down here and show me how that is done!

I do believe pits simply do not have the size to handle everything that is put in front of them. Lost a good 60lb pit when a big hog simply ran off with the dog hanging from him. The thing is, in my area there is a trade off for size. Too big of a dog and it has trouble or gets hung up in the thickets. Too small of a dog and it just can't always handle the big ones. Logic says a bigger dog will handle a bigger hog, but in my case, bigger won't always work.

Beejay

I understand where you are coming from. We use DogoxAB, i get alittle upset when they get stuck in vines and the hog breaks, But i would much rather a big dog not get there then a little dog get there on a big hog and get messed up.  There's always next time.

i love pits i used to breed them for many years. simply put a well bred pit is very very hard to beat in the heart category. the individual dog will determine whether they are smart or not as well as what type of wind they have. a bigger bred pit will be able to hold any hog on any size.

with all that said i have a full dogo now and i love her. she leads better than any pit i've seen in the woods, that's even when we have a full blown bay going in front of us. she just waits to be released then she is straight to the ear. just from what i've seen so far a good well bred dogo is really hard to beat. they have great wind, speed, size, and they give everything they got on that hog. pits you can start them in the woods earlier and i think they reach their potential faster. i think a dogo in the end makes for a better catchdog but they don't get to that point till later. also from my experiences the dogo holds a hog they don't fight the hog. meaning they aren't shaking and all that other stuff, they simply lock and dont move. if the hog tries to run they have the strength to keep them right there.

i still love a good pitbull. they are easier to come by and much cheaper, but i don't want to run thru three or four before i get what i want. at this point i'm seeing that a good well bred dogos are turning out at a high percentage...JMO

for the record i will own an AB, dogo, or pit if wel bred for catching hogs because i thoroughly believe that any one of these breeds make GREAT catchdogs if specifically bred for it.

Its all the dog. PIt, AB, Dogo i have seen all of the breeds metioned cur out its not the breed its the dog and his breeding

^ agree 100%

Pitbull my choice.
Also BMC/pit good catch dog.
Have seen pits used as rcd, used only when you got a running hog.

   ;D  www.americanboarterrier.com  ;D

I dont run pits often either i used to run a 1/2 pit 1/2 lab before he died.
Now i run a mt. cur and she doesnt know the meaning to the word quit.. :)

Courtney,

I'm pretty sure Jags momma is an AB named Daisy who is owned by Daylan (BrushRunner)  she's a real good catchdog as well. 

Jags momma was a mastiff AB cross

 I agree clay.    I got a rcd.  I thought was junk some people still think so.  If a big hog don't try to run she won't catch. Till she sees me or it tries to run  Any thing under 200 she wil catch asap. Can't cull a dog for being smart or I can't.  Some think it's a fault I don't    

I am 100% pit man. I like a dog that turns on quick. Most of the times when I am looking for a catchdog I need one that will work right then. As far as the comments about a pit not having the size, speed or brains or being able to hold a big hog and control it then you guys are not looking very hard.

Ill have to go with the pits. My grandpa has been hog hunting over 50 years thats all he has ever used. We have keep the same breed for over 20 years. I ride 2 pits in with all my bay dogs and after i catch a hog and get them back i can put two of my males on a double snap. And yes I have culled some but I have culled twice as many curs and other breeds for fighting! Theres to many of the fighting blood geting strown out and thats most of your smaller pits, from my personal experience stay away from the smaller beady eyed pits. ;) Ill say this and ive said it a million times anyone who dont know nothing about a pit does not need one!!!!!!!! ;)
(http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac79/TieEmUpOrLeaveEm/023.jpg)
(http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac79/TieEmUpOrLeaveEm/securedownload.jpg)

First we have a RCD that is 1/2 pit 1/2 lab and she is hog crazy....she has the heart and brains of a lab (which in my opinion you cant beat) and the pure strength of a pit

Second we also have a 1/2 dogo 1/2 pit pup he is only 3 months old and he is already crazy about hogs...we made this cross for again the brain and nose of the dogo and the pure strength of the pit...we have high hopes for him

I feel like pits have great strength and drive but i like them better when their mixed because i feel like they can be hard headed sometimes...don't get me wrong im not trying to say pits are stupid but i like to mix them with dogs that are known for their intelligence...JMO

We have tried other mixes including am bulldogs, pits, etc but these 2 are our favorite!

i had litters mixed up.  sorry, seems lance falzone owns a pup out of the litter i was talking about. 

UPDATE!!!!!

 My apolgogies, I found out Jags other litter mate is alive and well. I have not seen pictures, but Im sure he looks great.
Also, Im not sure where we picked Jag up at when he was a puppie (I wasnt there) and still dont know for sure who the mom is. She belonged to someone else in another city from someone I dont know.
However, I know who the dad is, Cotton (Krystals Amerigo), and I would get another puppy of his anyday. He has thrown some beautiful, hog catching, smart, sweet puppies.

Skunk (cottons puppy from another litter), Cotton (the daddy), and Jag
(http://public.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pF9RnNbZkA0sb17BOykfq8Et8xTkpgISO0ERCU_CiFTDy1_phZB-Zws-DcFjD6H_J4BaXdkRC5mR0s3FxSzJ7nw/three%20catch%20dogs.jpg)

I dont know who took the above picture but they deserve an award.  They cut off the ugliest part of this picture.  A foot higher and it would have ruined it.  LOL

I hope to one day have the opportunity to see this legend, "Cotton", everyone speaks so highly of, and his owner, catch a hog.


RJB

I thought the same thing Derek would have ruined that pic. ;D

pits mainly cause i raise em but out of all the dogs ive owned pits have always been the most loyal to me

Catdo, Pitt, AB, etc...

Easiest to get and cheap.

I like a Pitt myself. Talk about hold a hog. Easy to replace and start.

I also had a pit ridge back !!! I can promise you that was the smartest dog in the woods and at home ..........  !!!Great with kids and VERY loyal !! and would find a hog and hang on even itf the damn thing was as big as a house !!!

Really , the best dog ever . I ended up not hunting him anymore cause my neighbor poisoned all my dogs and he got it the worst! got sick and had grand mal seizures all the time and eventually i had to put him down !!  needless to say I do not have that neighbor anymore !!!   >:D


I run rcd catahulas now catch as hard as any pit ive had but have a lil more  stamina IMO

on breeds as a whole PITS, PITS, PITS, and i say agian PITS. now im not a rcd man by any means i want my bay dogs to stop it and hold it thats what they get fed to do so pits for me. i've never had any problem's out of em but ive seen gritty bmc, american's, mastiffs, and all crosses let go for another bite and lose the hog. my pit gets there he doesnt let go the hog has to scarifice an ear to get him off thats the kind i want

I was excited to see a couple of people talk about pit/lab catch dogs. I have a female pit that I was about to start when she got bred by the neighbors lab. The pups are three weeks old today, and are marked like pits, a couple of blue females, spotted, tan, brown, and my favorite, white with black ears and a black dot above his tail. There are seven of them, I'll be getting rid of some of them in a few weeks, but kind of want to see the bitch work before I do. She's seen hogs once in a trap, and skinned her nose up on the wire trying to get to them. If she works, I may keep a couple to raise for catch dogs. One thing I like about her is that she is really low key, and easy going, gets along with anything.  Anyone who has experience with this cross, I'd love to hear how they worked.