EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

whats a good age to start a catch dog and how do you?

at about a yr or older  and put him in a pen  he will either catch or wont   if he dont try makin the hog squeal either by twisting its ear or puttin a cd on it that will catch     they will either catch or they wont jmo   and i use pits  they r usually more prey driven than most i think but i have seen curs that r straight catch   no disrespect to others that use ab or dogos   

Why do You say pits have more prey drive. Just curious on how you're defining prey drvie. Is it how soon the breed
/dog bites, how long it searches, or is how soon it goes after game?
  

Calm down! I prefer the Dogo but it is all opinion. Everyone gets an opinion. I will not bash pits or anything else. I will hunt with them too.

But training a dog to catch is more like just letting them learn without getting hurt.

Thanks for the advice I have a pit and a American bulldog that are a lil over 2 years old but I don't know if they would be good and if my fiancé found out I'd probably be dead man but I recently just got a 9 week old pit x presa canario and I'm wanting to try her when she gets older

I use pits also because of the way they bite idk about a higher prey drive cause i also have an abd and she's he'll to but the way and age I start I wait till about four months and introduce they to a dead or hobbled one not lettin grab or snatch just smell and get the sent  because their adult teeth are not in do this a good number if times then at about six months I tie them out the pen and tease the heck out of them but that's it adult teeth are still not set and a catch dog anit worth two cents without teeth then at about eight months I turn bay dogs loose in the pen to get him use to the bay by this time your catchdog should be goin absolute nuts but it still is not time due to teeth at a year like said above is a good time to turn him on get another catchdog ready set the bay up with the dogs turn the finished cd loose and let him catch then turn the one you've been workin with loose and I gaurtee he's gonna catch pull the other dogs off and do again with out the other cd and he'll do it again promise if he don't catch on the ear get you a shoat about 60 lbs that you can handle by yourself or friend and tie him to a tree by one leg and turn that dog at his head if he still don't catch one the ear then break him and put him there repeat until he catch on the ear everytime it works for me and takes a Lil time but an ole time taught me this and it works that how I do mine and never had trouble  jmo but it works

 Maybe Im a rough type when it come to CDs but I put a dog in a situation where they have to do something which involves a small confined space and a pretty rank boar hog. As for age about a year old, I wouldnt want to start one earlier than that.

I've done it both ways that yall have talked about.  I have let the cur dogs bay and let the catch dog get excited on the outside of the bay pen.  Then I put the dog in the bay pen with the cur and turn it loose when the hog is facing the dog that way it will catch on the head.  I have also put one in a trailor with a boar hog that met her at the door and she didnt have much choice but to catch or get knocked around in there lol. 

ive done this with pits that just dont want to turn on. not always necessary, but when it is it works everytime. rough hog with no teeth that will mop him around. i agree with at least a yr old.

Dub I wasn't trying to come across as someone who was choosing sides with breeds. If they catch I like them. I was wondering how the term prey drive was being defined. I know people have different opionins on what they want from there CD. However I can see what 515 is saying as far testing prey drive wilh a smaller hog.  I've heard some people say that dog aggression was a sign of prey drive or if a puppy is chasing something that will increase his prey drive. I've spoken to guys that say theve started them as young as 3 months and some at 2 yrs old. The best luck I've had has been at 6 months and it took like six tries.   

I was more worried about how others might read it. I love Dogos but every time I talk about them some people get all up in arms. So I was just trying to stop this thread from going crazy. I got no problems with what people post.

 We use pits for catch dogs and I don't know about prey drive but a pit is deffinately driven. And what I mean by that is, in my experience when you show a pit a hog that another dog is barking at, they want it. and when you turn them loose they go get it. Then they hold on with everything they have and you have to choke them off or use a break stick to get them to release. After the first time they do it, its all they live for. It seems like they focus entirely on catching and holding on to a hog.

 My experience may differ from others but we have never really had to train a pit. Just show them a hog, let them at it and then start taking them hunting. Now for their first few times to the woods we always have a more experienced catch dog to help just in case the new one misses or something. But that rarely happens.

As far as age, as young as 6 months and as old as a year.

dont get offended plz  i just like pits or a cross of    dogos and abs r good dogs too  i just like the way the pits ive had hate hogs  thats all

Make sure that, that dog your are wanting to start has absolutely no dog agression. "Hook up with someone with trained dogs. One you have a hog caught lead your bull dog to the hog it should be grunting or squealing. Let it go. He will either show interest or he wont. I am for one alot different than lots of hunters i like to take a pit/ dogo / ab any dog i am wanting to make a straight catch dog to the woods at about 8 months old and see how he acts. hope he catches and then take him about once evry 3 weeks until he is about a year then take him on a regular basis. Another way i have got a pit to turn on is by letting the bay dogs bay a hog on the outside of the pen. Let him go bay with them he will want and want bad but cant get. When you turn that hog loose you see what happens.

I am Not arguing or picking sides.  I believe you can work with a dog, but you can't train to catch or hunt.

Every post I read will work, but don't be afraid to cull.  Make a decision, before you get too much money tied up, and settle for an O.K. dog.   I lost a once in a lifetime trail dog to an O.K. pit that I raised.  I don't know how many pits I have owned, but I have only owned 1 perfect trail dog.  Bulldogs and Pits can be a lot of trouble and I won't put up with any of it.

I have 3 pits, 2 very good catch dogs, and 1 pup.  They will all hunt with or without the other dogs (RCD), and they will go to a bay (walk-in).  My catch dogs are hog crazy, but show no other aggression.  The two older ones will run between cattle or horses and not even look at them. 

thanks for everyones advise yall have really been a big help

I hear everyone sayin not to keep a pit that has ANY dog agression, but some of the best catch dog that are pits are GAME dogs. One of the best catch dogs ive seen in my short time of hunting would not let any dog come anywhere near him while he was on his chain but you could put that same dog in a box and not worry about him. I mean he was a once in the life time type of dog that you could let go from the box as long as you could hear the bay and he would be caught type of dog. Just wondering what yall thoughts are on a dog like this.

Please dont take any offense to this, its only my opinion. Which isn't worth much. lol

Our pits are "dogs that you could let go from the box as long as you could hear the bay and he would be caught" type of dogs and they don't have any agression towards people or dogs. I don't think that, that makes them once in a lifetime kind of dogs. I think that most pits are that way, but good strike/bay dogs are much harder to come by, so why would I risk my bay/strike dog being injured in an attack by a Dog agressive  pit that is easy to come by?

that makes sense i wouldnt want to turn my best bay dog loose and have to worry about a dog aggressive catch dog getting a hold of him and injuring or killing him, i have a pit myself and i wouldn't suggest turning him loose with a dog he doesnt know. he gets along just fine with my other bulldog but thats only because they were raised together. but thats just my opinion im not one to tell someone how to run their dogs

PITS.. they are tuffer, quicker, and have a harder mouth.. tha last ab/dogo cd i hunted around whinned all nite on tha box, and was just a pain in tha butt..and if u get one killed pits are a dime a dozen and easy to come by..

I will only own game bread pit Colby craver ole family red etc. My ole family red is one of the best I ever own I can put him in the box with the baydogs have cats around him and nothin calm as can be I had a time where my cat/pit was dishragin him in the box and he just sat there no growl or nothin so if I were you game bread is the way to go with pits

 Not to be a smart@$$ but a pure game bred pit, which are very hard to find would jump on every animal around and try to eliminate it as fast as possible. I got one straight out of Mexico fom a long line of fighting(Game) dogs that was guarenteed to catch a hog but didnt tell me he would rather catch a dog , cow, horse, anything. I believe this dog was a shipment protector that came across the border.

I agree with you but when you start crossin game breeds is where you can knock that dog aggression out like you said a full game breed will jump on anything but it's all in how it's raised I've got a buddy that has a 15 yr champion blood Eli and he has to feed her with a pole that's something I won't have on the yard but I do have alot of luck crossin my ole family red with my craver/colby gyp I have a litter due Jan. 31 and I will guarantee no dog aggression or anything else just straight catch
(http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/x428/5150hogdogs/bf7d2485.jpg)

Above is our gyp and this is our male
(http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/x428/5150hogdogs/c7186ce4.jpg)

 Thats a good looking bulldog right there. Im not a big bulldog person just know a lil history on them and dont raise any from pups so for me and the guys I hunt with its a toss up on what we get when we get a prospect. That pit I got wasnt on this earth very much longer after I got him.

Thanks man lol yea good ones are hard to come by but that's all we try to breed You should try gettin a pup and raise you'll be surprised what you can make out of them

I agree, too many non dog agressive pits out there that are jam up catch dogs to worry with one that is dog or human agressive. Wont have it on our yard either.  :)

I can tell yall now that all pits wont go a couple hundred yards to a bay bc i have one now that u have to walk him in to about 50 yards of the bay, i dont know if he was trained this way or not bc we bought him off of here but he is a good catch dog that will hold, not the type of dog i was talking about eariler but still good enough to keep around for me.

 Maybe he dont hear too good lol, My type of dog especially if it dosent drag  you till your 50 yards away

X2 I done sent mine 500 yrds but don't do it any more cause he tends to get a Lil more toren up that way but 150 or so I find is a Lil better for me never have I had to lead my dog to the bay I think it's all in training what you want jmo