EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Hey guys / gals. I am new to this site and I'm very excited about what it has to offer. I have been hunting hogs for many years and yesterday I was browsing the "dogs for sale" section. I noticed there were several "finished" dogs for sale in there for around a thousand bucks! I have NEVER heard of finished dog for sale anywhere near that price. Most finished dogs I have been around money couldn't touch. I was wondering what the def of a finished dog is here. I am not trying to start a war on words...just trying to figure out the meaning of the term.

You may want to PM the guys selling the dogs and than talk to someone who has hunted behind them. people sell dogs for all type of reasons. IMO a finished dog is one that can come to yard and fit in with your pack no dog /human aggression. When you drop the tailgate he should be able to do as seller said.
I don't think I would ever sell a finish dog those things are hard to come by JMO 

(((I'm not speaking for the whole group))),,But the last "finished" dog I spent good money for.. was a waste of money,time, and food and I culled him instead of passing him on to someone else.  So in that case "FINISH" ment the seller was [finished] with him, but that was just my expirence with a few finished dog I paid for,,, JUST MY 2 CENT... 

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very well said alot of dog selling very little culling if dog isnt good enough for my pack why sell him to someone else. Sell a dog because have to many or need the money or to help offset cost but to dog jockey is what to many people do and dont care about what they sell. I try my best to make sure everyone is happy or they can bring back to me even if sold as a pup

I will have to agree with DAGERZONE,  IMO,  a dog is not truely finished until he is around 4 yrs old. I have seen 2 year old dogs make puppy mistakes, and 1000.00  want touch a finished dog.

Jmo but I don't think there is such a thing as a finished bay/find dog they like humans are always on the learning curve honstly I see it nothing more than a sells gimic.

Thanks guys! I was wondering about the whole finished concept and must agree with everything you guys have said. I have an 11 mo old 1/2 bird dog 1/2 Cur that no amount of money can touch and she is far from finished. I am new to this or any hog dog forum and I am very leary of buying a dog from anyone other than my hunting buddies. We pay a lot for good dogs but at least we know what we are getting. That being said my son is 16 and ready for his own dogs. I let him hunt mine for the time being but it would be much better for him  to have his own. You guys seem to think like me on "finished dogs" so if you know of any reputable guys that may want to decrease the number of GOOD dogs they have....please let me know. I live in East Texas in Nacogdoches and know there has to be some around. None of us have anything we want to sell and all the pups are still too young.

I can see where one would see that , because a dog does not or should not stop learning the tricks of the prey he is after. however I believe some dogs do reach a level to where they have gone as far as they can mentaly weather that be the dogs fault or mine due to poor training.  but you are exactly right about some people using the word finished as a sales gimic,  but then there are people in the world of houndsmen that when they say a dog is finished I know the dog is solid. but just like kid's , at the right place at the wrong time, a dog will make me look like a fool, and some times i laugh and some times i get to learn a thing or two. which here latly happens a lot...  JMO 

I did not look to see who was selling a finished dog so I am not necessarily talking about anyone. In my experience when I got a finished do I would have been better giving my money to a man on the side of the road. At least then I would not have vet bills and a higher feed bill. I do know I have heard of someone that does sell a good dog. But I do not remember the name and I have not seen any of his dogs. I only want free or cheap puppies. That way I can know how they work early. But if a dog does not work for me I ain't selling it. If a dog does work for me I ain't selling it. Now that does not apply to Dogos. But even those I would not sell to the general public and you will never see them on the dog trade section. Now I do know someone that has good dogs that sold some. They were described as "the dog will hunt." I run when I see "finished." But I do not know the dogs in question and am in no way talking bad or good about them. Just my two cents.

What makes selling a Dogo different than any other dog?

Just wanted everyone to know that I am not calling anybody out about the finished dog for a thousand bucks comment. I was just very curious about what people consider finished and why one would be so cheap. I pay double that for good dogs around here that are far from finished. Thats why I was asking...I am looking for good dogs to buy my son so I thought I would give the dogs for sell a try. There isn't a dog I feed that I will take a grand for.

 ??? DOGO's eat and poop just like the rest of them!! ;)
 The piles are just bigger!!

Backwoods in my mind if a dog is at the point they can't learn anything ele they are nothing more than a help or a me too dog.  Not saying they can't find hogs on their own and I know what u mean I have had one for a while but she just never paned out for me

   Theyre like unicorns.  I thought you knew that.

im not talking about anyones dogs either but what i have learnt from buying a dog off the computer, i always thought finished was suppose to be "trained", good,ready to hunt and does what the seller says, but i have been badly mistaken, finished apparently means that thier finished hunting this dog cause it is not working out for them, lol, i have done alot of thinking on this, and come up with this, if it was such a good dog it would have never made it to the internet to sell, someone from that town would have been done bought that dog if it was " finished"

I don't buy finished dogs because most finished dogs I bought years ago were culls. Now I buy a good well bred female pup or two and then breed the best one to a high powered male out of the same line. It takes a little longer but then you get what you want... and what I like is to evaluate the whole litter and select from that after testing the pups.
I have never been dissapointed doing it this way.

I've seen plenty of dogs in the woods that people were hunting.  They referred to them as finished.  I agree with them, I was finished hunting around them.  

As for the question, I have seen some good dogs get sold because the owners were getting out.  The dog was still legitimate, just found a new owner.  "High" price is very open.  Someone that hunts free dogs, would say $2000 is a lot for a dog.  Someone that spends $600-800 on an 8 week old pup, would beg to differ.  Different strokes for different folks.  Find what you like and hunt it hard.

To me a finished dog is one that goes out and gets it done consistantly.  Not a dog that finds one here and there or a me too dog.  I know my "finished" dog knows what hes looking for and burns up the woods til he finds it or gets in the truck with a "hey stupid there aint nothin here" look on his face.  But a thousand bucks wont get him out of my kennels.  And the gyp I had 3500 didnt get her either. 

x2   
I would rather buy a young dog with a ton of potential than a so called decent finished dog.

A star hunting dog is born not made. :)

Dont take this wrong fellas but people do sell FINISHED dogs sometimes bc they get in a bind or others just like to raise and work pups, rather than have a good dog sit on the chain they sell it. Ive never sold or tried to sell a dog on here so no one can say it must be this guy salein the $1000 finished dog but i know they do get sold. And i do agree that $1000 for a finished dog is very cheap but it happens.

I have seen dogs sell for 150 dollars that regular joe sold that was as good as any I have ever seen.

Then I have seen where the same type of dog go for 2500 dollars and I am sure that dog could sell for twice that much to the right customer.

Because I can't get a free Dogo. So I will not give the puppy away. I plan to sell two puppies one day because I will have bought two puppies. Then I will be even and just out dog food like any other dog. I only plan to sell as many puppies as I buy. After that I will not sell a dog. I do hope to use them to get some better bay dogs but only so nobody gives me a dog without getting something. Right now I just don't really have anything to offer some of you guys that have the rock star bay dogs. I still do not want to be a dog seller but I have to be honest that one day I will ask for money for two puppies. After that only hog doggers can get their hands on them.

I dont think nobody that hunts is going to sell a finished dog. Maybe if they are getting out all together they might. I mean who culls from the front end?

Those that have a dog that no longer fits into their long term plans or breeding program. There are honest people left, you just have to do your homework.  ;)

To me a finished dog is usually 3 years old sometimes older but mainly they are as good as they will ever be. They are matured and either hunt short range, medium range, or long range or stand beside you and wait on another dog to bay. Mainly they are as good as they will ever be and that is what I mean when I say FINISHED!!

For me if I raise a dog to a "finished dog" i would think to much of him or her and would never get rid of it. I think to much of my dogs and they will die of old age on my hill.

I agree with Cutter Bay.  I have sold and gave away couple of good dogs for cheap. They just didn't fit my style of hunting. They either trail barked , hunted out to far, or wasn't catchy enough for me.
I been doing this for about 20 years & have never paid $1,000 dollars for a dog.

Both of my "finished" dogs were give to me.  Both from different people who were getting out.  They know i take care of my mutts and they were hunting buddys and are friends.  there are still honest good people out there and people who will help a young hunter (my first hog dog was finished) and help someone in need (my current "finished" dog).  If i ever throw in the towel, id make sure my dogs went to someone who would give them the thing they live for.  Now as far as price?  Id prob give them away to a hunting buddy who will do with them and theirs as I have.  but if im still chasing nasty boars through the woods a finished dog dont have a price tag.  But then again theres those who see the almight $ over everything else.  but i wont and havent paid for a dog (all be it give someone the cost of shots and a few bucks for the feed thats gone into them but never amounted to more than 50 bucks or so)  just my .02

I have wondered the same thing. I can understand being in a bind and needing money but a good dog is usually good for the person that trained it. Alot of people will go buy a dog and think just because it's "finished" it will hunt for anyone. Then they end up culling a perfectly good dog because they don't understand each other. I have never once "culled" a dog. I gave a good squirrel dog to a friend one time because I had 3 good squirrel dogs and he didn't have any. A dog wants to learn. You just have to spend time with them. A good dog has to be made not bought. I know a guy that bought 4 squirrel dogs out of some very good stock but he ended up "culling" everyone of them. They would have made anyone with a little common sense a great dog. I'm just saying, if every dog you get or the majority of them turn out to be "culls" maybe you should got back to square one.

i agree with rd and bobcat , almost all of mine were given to me or they are rescue dogs that was going to be put down ,they are not the best in world ,but i hunt them and have a lot of fun doing it  ;D  just my .02

I agree with Cutter Bay but you just have to be at the right place at the right time.

But it is real hard getting rid of the good ones...most of the time money can't buy them. One thing for sure is that money can't buy or replace the pleasure or excitement that a great hunting dog can give you.

When you lose one of these finished dogs it kind of takes the wind out of your sails for a while.

I have really enjoyed reading everyone's comments and it seems we are all pretty close on our views about this topic. I have paid a lot of money for  good dogs but only because my I have lost my best dogs and was needing something to teach my pups. I know have a 4 year old super fast plott that I would say is finished and there is no amount of money that could take her away from me. She has a lil 11 mo. old sidekick that is 1/2 pointer and 1/2 cur that is very eager to learn from her. Just go where you THINK hogs have been, drop the tailgate and sit back! Never have I seen a pup go like she does and I owe it all to my "finished" dog. If they can't hold it "tailgate" the cavalry and grab the hobbles!

BTW...working for a living sucks! I should be hunting today...instead I let my son and his friends go. So maybe I will hear a good story here in a little bit. Good luck to all yall that get to go this weekend!!!

Swampdonkey,

Will the 1/2 pointer 1/2 cur pup do it by herself now at this age?

Sounds like that plott you have has what it takes to get the job done...

i sold a catahoula to 817 hog catcher for 700 and she was one of my best finished dogs she was 6 yrs, hood or grnd dog and hes catching pigs with her

Sounds to me like he got a good deal...

I would definitely agree that dogs will make liars out of all of us. I too have seen more than once where a dog that just changed owners would not hunt like it was described, sometimes the owners were telling the truth and once the dog got readjusted to its new home it hunted fine again, other times the dogs are not given the time or benefit of the doubt and culled, more often than not though, the "finished" dog was not finished at all and just a crap eater...

Yeah Reuben the plott is all business...she loves it. The only thing is when she is hot on one she will open just a lil bit, but I can deal with that. She is faast as hell and haven't seen many curs that can keep up with her.  The pup, on the other hand, is with her step for step now and I am sure it wont be long she will be able to do it on her own. I have yet to try her by herself as I am afraid the puppy will come out in her, but it won't be long. My son went this morning with 8 other guys. Said he dropped them off (along with a leopard gyp of mine) in some pretty fresh rootin. About 5 minutes later they were bayin. They sent some more curs in and grabbed the catch dogs then heard it hit one on bay. When they got there the hog already broke and he could see the leopard dog was hit pretty good.  He eventually caught her and started giving aid. The other dogs left with hog. About 2 hours later the other boys curs had given up as the plott and birdy were way ahead. About and hour later the 2 dogs showed bayed on the Garmin. He said it took about 45 minutes to get around where they were at. When they got there they sent the bull dog and couple more rough curs in. This time they held and the boys ended up bladin it. He was a 200lb bore with those small razor tusk. You know the ones with the small cutters about an inch and a half that always manage to wreck a bunch of dogs. Well this one got four of em cut pretty bad including the good bulldog. He took it thru the cheek. I got a break from work and ran out there to sew some of em up. All the guys were speaking very highly of the plott and birdy pup. I guess it is always good to hear nice things about your babies...I know they make pops proud!

Dog sellers are like cops. A few bad ones make them all look bad. It is a shame too. I know most are good guys. There is one that if I see again one of us is going to the ER. So I get a bad taste in my mouth when people talk about buying dogs. Sorry to you other honest guys.

I agree, sometimes a perfectly good dog gets ruined by the new owner. Other times the dog will need to accept you as the new master before it will hunt. Mtn Curs are bad about this. It seems to be worse if the dog tends to be a little timid. These kind of dogs do not need harsh disipline because a little goes a long ways with these type of dogs.