EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

 when i got home from work today my dad's ranch hand called and said he had seen a hog behind my neighbors hog pen( he has a couple domestic sows).
 i told him id go check it out, i had been seeing a couple shoats up by the timber the past few days . so i loaded up some 5 mo. old pups and drove up the road, from the road i could see the hog about 1/4 mile up in the feild looked like he could weigh around 200#.
i turned around and went back home and loaded my catch dog and my BMC, so i went back up to the feild and drove up where i had seen the hog, dumped out my cur dog and the pups ,wasnt just a few min. i had a bay,this was the pups first time to the wood,( they where baying good in the pen.)
 this place is grown up real thick with a creek wandering around thru it.
so i unloaded my catch dog and was working my way up to the bay,i wanted to wait til the pups got to bay alittle before i sent in the catch dog,i was easing up thru the woods listening to the pups, i coulnt see them but i was real close so i sent in the catch dog and i followed her in, as soon as i got where i could see i was looking at a 350#'er with 3"teeth, he had slamed my catch dog and she was cut bad just behind her vest from the inside of her back leg all the way up into her flank and up under her vest,she was dragging her back end around so i caught her and then all i could do was stand and watch the bay, the hog was sitting flat on his butt.
he finally saw me and broke. JR and the pups went with him and i called my buddy to bring some dogs. the pups came back pretty quick,i got everything loaded back up and drove around the section, where my buddy was waiting . a few min. later JR came back in he must have crossed the highway cuz thats the way JR came in from.
i called the vet and took Hattie up to get stiched up ,this was a little more than i wanted to sew up my self.
 when i unloaded my pups at home i noticed my best pup was limping so i looked her over and some how her back leg had gotten broke down she had a real small cut insde her back leg he had cut that back tendon.
 what a freak deal.
 so im on the hunt for a catch dog i need something quik my dogs gona be out awhile.

I am sorry to hear that Craig, is there anything you can do for the pup with that tendon being cut like that?  I hope you can get everything healed up quick.  That is a prime example why I hate to hunt without some iron on my leg.
Matt

the vet said  if i wanted to spend alot i could take her to tulsa and get her fixed might work might not, im just not a gambling man ill see how it heals on its own might make a brood gyp.

 im not much on shootin hogs over my dogs but i think i would have this time.

 THAT HOGS DAY WILL COME SOON.

Thats a bad deal,  I hope it turns out ok for you.  I had my best dogs rear leg get a similar cut earlier this year it suckedl.

i pick her up from the vet tommorow ill  give you an update.

I hate to hear that Craig, I hope they heal up.

It's a bad deal watching that happen without a gun in your hand... knowing there's nothing you can do.

Sorry to hear about it - sounds like a bad deal.  I hope they heal up quicker than you expect.  Bet you'll get that big un next time...

Tim

Sorry to hear about the dogs craig.

Craig if you are not willing to do whatever it takes to help your dogs maybe you shouldn't turn them loose. Those dogs depend on us just like we expect them to risk it all to do our sport you have to step up and be PREPARED to save them. Shooting over your dogs has to do with saving them and being a good responsible hunter nothing else.If you don't know how to train your dogs to shoot over them ask somebody there are plenty people that do it and its plan B just in case.You don't wear a sit belt or a life jacket for nothing just in case.I hope your dogs heal up ok.

I have a friend whose puppy got its tendon below its back knee cut recently. He took it to the vet and the dog was good to go in 4wks. Hope your dogs make it and you catch the hog.
 Hank

That's all fine and good... but there's tons of places people hunt where firearms aren't allowed. Most of mine are that way. I've only needed a gun twice in ten years... it's gonna happen once in a while.

Mike once again that is true but if thats not the case in my opinion you have to be prepared to save your dog I think. If i couldn't have taken a gun to where the hog was with no ears that killed yalls dog then what would have happened. It looks like here we go again.I have shot maybe 3 hogs this year but I saved my dogs.I don't have good dogs but they are all I got I am saving them and its just a opinion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you Des, if I had gun I could have easily killed both the hogs I was refering to... that no eared hog was one of them.

And I have started carrying one, where I can, because of that. It's a bad, helpless feeling watching that happen to your dogs knowing there's nothing you can do.

Mr HG
 if you dont think i wouldnt do what ever it takes then you need to talk to some of the guys that have hunted with me. i have been hunting for 12 years and have never needed a gun. until last night. the thing is a hog like that is rare as hens teeth up here, and i usually have 2 catch dogs with me. i was just a litlle short on dog power on a short notice hunt and like i said i would have used a gun if i had one.
 

Not trying to throw fuel on the fire but thats we always carry atleast two catch dogs....sometime three. Shiot does happen and sometimes there is nothing anyone can do about it. Show us some pics when you catch him.

thanks alot. 
 i know all about the unexpected and your right.
i would much rather have an extra catch dog or 2 than carry a gun.

Whats so bad about carrying a gun?  I never let the dogs hit the ground without a pistol on my hip.  Whether I am hunting them or just running them. The only catchdog I have right now is 12 weeks old. Most of the places that I hunt dont allow any guns but shotguns for waterfowl, but I take my pistol anyways.  I just wear my conceal and carry holster so nobody else has to see it.  But I guarandamntee you that if the owner of the property were there I wouldn't hesitate to pull it out and use it to protect my dogs.  PROPERTY COMES AND GOES, GOOD DOGS DO NOT.

Des, I am 100% with you.  My dogs are risking their lives for me, I will do what it takes of me to keep them alive.  I think some of these guys have too big of EGOS, if they are going to go into the woods without a catchdog, or a pistol, but frankly to me that just sounds like  you better be ready to hit that hog like a catchdog, or get yourself stuck in a very helpless situation of watching your dogs get beat up.

This is my OPINION ;D

Craig I hope your pup turns out ok.

I agree i never let my dogs out without a pistol on my hip regardless. I have had to shoot several hogs to save my dogs lives and wont think twice about doing it again.

each to his own i guess
 but im not here to impress anyone, just seems that all anybody ever tells is the good storys.
i told my story to let some of these young hunter know what can and will go wrong.
 everybody has had a wreck or 2 but their EGO wont let them tell it..

 my dog was cut in the first few seconds of contact with that hog the only thing that could of helped her is another catch dog.  if i would have had a gun all i could have done is shoot him after it was all over he was staying bayed he wasnt attacking my dogs, and yes sir if that catch dog would have caught him i would not have hesitated to grab a leg , done it plenty.

 i dont want to start a gun or no gun battle.

Craig all i have is one catch dog and a bunch of gritty curs. When the catch hits all the others catch never had the need for more than one catch dog.

Guys, it's got nothing to do with ego's... y'all can drop all that crap now. 95% of all the hog hunters i've ever met or hunted with don't carry guns.

Plus, like I said earlier... there's a lot places folks hunt where guns aren't allowed.

Craig, the EGO comment wasn't directed towards you, it was directed more towards a couple of guys that I occasionally hunt with that think they are tougher than nails, and think that you arn't hogdoggin if you bring a gun.  If youve been running dogs for 12 years then I am very confident that I have lots to learn from guys like you.  Regardless I hope your pup turns out ok, and I expect to see some pics of that hog here in the near future.

Mike I am not trying to talk trash to anyone.  But this is a matter that I believe very strongly in.  Some of us (ME) dont have as good of a filter on what we say sometimes.  I hope I didn't offend anyone.

thanks alot ,i know what your saying.

Mike
 Thanks for stepping in.

craig i hope your dogs are okay...

i know a gun would've been the best option but could you have got a rope on him?

clint
 i thought the same thing, i have roped a few hogs when im horseback, but i was on foot.
 i had a 40' rope in the pocket of my quick track,but id just as soon let him run off instead of taking him on with my catch dog out of commision.

Adam, I know what you're saying... I've met a bunch of those types.

In most situations, all the gun is going to do is to give you the satifaction of killing the hog. Once those bulldogs are turned loose... THE DAMAGE IS ALREADY DONE. They are not gonna quit unless severely injured, over heated... or dead. And we all know, once the bulldogs hit, the curs usually follow... you can't shoot into a pile of dogs.

It burns me up that someone as well respected and knowledgable as Craig has to have smart a$$ comments thrown at him. If you don't have anything positive to say, don't say it... or try to word it in an understanding or helpful manner.

Very very well said.  I thought the same thing, but it wasn't really my place to say.  Sure like this website. ;D

Craig,
Most of us don't carry guns because like we all know some places you can't have a gun.
Sorry to hear about your dog and hope you had the pup you got from me there also.
Mine are growing and plan on getting them on hogs soon.

I'll watch out for something I would recommend and let you know if I find something.
Hog hunters should stick together with or with out a gun, things happen if you go enough.

real sorry to hear about this craig. tough feeling helpless like that. hope you get that hog and soon.

well said...

Let me rephrase my comment i was saying that if i cant carry a gun with me i wont let my dogs out. Sorry if i offended anyone we all must stick together and fight for the right to hunt with our dogs.

Amen to that Mike.

Craig sorry you ran across that situation, I consider you a very experienced hog hunter and have no doubt you would been in there to help your dogs without hesitation, if at all possible. I know alot of folks that talk that talk but can't walk the walk, you are not one of those kind. Anybody that does this long enough and hunts more than a few times a month will eventually run into one of those situations.
We rarely carry a gun either, I just heard about a girl that was shot and killed on her birthday hog hunting, a hog charged and the gunner slipped and gun went off, I rather loose a dog than a person.

P.S. Thomas wanted me to tell you he was sorry to hear about Earl, too.

sorry about your luck Craig.  Just keep doing what youur doing.  You know what is best for you.  I dont carry a gun, and if I did I probably wouldnt shoot a hog that was wrecking my dogs.  Hogs are just trying to stay alive, cant blame them for that.  Sometimes they win. 
I had a dog get a similar cut on her leg.  It was about a half inch long but it hit the right spot and crippled her foot.

sorry about your dogs

Not trying to jack the thread but let me throw this scenario out to share with you what changed my mind on hunting the same way.  I used to only carry one catchdog also, and my curs will catch once he makes a move.  I was hunting one day and bayed a group of hogs...catchdog went in and caught the nastiest boar in the thicket...curs rolled out to try and stop another and Zeus took a pretty good beating there by himself.

I came home that day in the marker for another.

What it really boils down to, is no matter HOW prepared you think you are sometimes things just go haywire.  Thats hog dogging!

Sorry about your dog, Craig.  Hope the healings fast!

Sorry to hear about your dog craig, I've been there.

It was not my intention to question your hunting ability or your charcter I was meerly stating and opinion for anybody. I personally turn pups loose where there are hogs at least 4 days a week.I don't put tracking collars on until they really start hunting but every now and then one will pull out and hunt when that happens when I have 10 collars in my truck I feel like a dumb _ ss. About 3 months ago I had some pups down with one older pup  they found about a 180 to 200lb boar I didnt have a catch dog I slipped in and shot the boar. All I was saying is be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. Before I met Scott about 2 yrs ago the people I hunted with did not use catch dogs we shot over our dogs.We would take 1 or 2 dogs they would bay slip in and shoot dogs pull out go bay another shoot our dogs got where they would get between you and the hog.I know when I put my dogs down anything can happen there is the brazos river,roads,RR tracks,burros, heat so a carry what I wil help me for must all situitions or try to think 2 steps ahead of whats happening but some times we get caught with our pants down still. Thats why most of the time we go look before we turn our bulldogs loose first unless we hear a squeal and even then we are not far thats how I saved Gitdahawg dogs from the no eared hog we went to look first and the rest is history.Good luck