EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Hello all. I am new to the hog doggin game and have some questions. I have been out hunting with some friends several times and needless to say I am hooked and now looking for some of my own dogs. My questions involve what kind of obedience everyone looks for in their hunting dogs. I come from a schutzhund dog backgound where proper OB is an absolute must. That dog had better sit, heel, down, or out the first time you tell it to or else you will be docked pints. But with the guys I have been running hogs with, it seems like OB is not as important.  Their dogs more or less mind them, but not to the extent that i am used to.  Do most hog hunters want absolute control of their dogs, or just want them to come to them when called? Not to knock anyone I have been hunting with, because we have caught hogs which is what I am after, but the dog control is just what I am not used to. And having only hunted with the same group of people and dogs,  I was wondering how other people go about it. Will too much OB training kill the desire of a dog to get out and hunt? Is wanting a dog to run out and hunt, yet do what they are told to do when they are told to do it too much to ask? I don't want a dog that hangs at my feet all the time looking to me for direction, yet I don't want dogs that act like a jacka** while they are out there hunting. Any opinions or advice is appreciated. Thanks.

That's pretty much personal preference. I know people that can't make there dogs do anything including come to them. I spend lots and lots of time with my dogs. They go to work with me and I talk to them just like people. The more time you spend with them the more they learn. A dog can learn quite a bit if you want them to. I think the few impotant things include being able to call a dog off a hog or anything else, telling them to load up and stay. A lot of people think you need to tell a dog to "get ahead" or sic 'em or whatever but I'm not into that. Mine know it's time to go huntin when you go to the woods. If you start telling them to hunt they'll sit around waiting on you to tell them.

had a CD i ran some that was off leash and wouldnt go to the catch till i said so, it also took me 3 years of 2 hour sessions a day and im a registered dog trainer.

 Thats one of those damn if you do and damned if you dont kinda deals, depends on the individual dog, too much handle can effect the dogs desire to hunt by the dog always needing direction from the master rather than the dog making its own decision on what to do. Me personally really only care about 2 commands Come and load. If I wanted a dog to follow every kind of command and do tricks Id get me a Jack Russel or some other very intellegent type of dog.

Most hunting dogs are cur types or hounds types, these dogs were bred to be independent and work for themselves more so than for you, yes they can be taught and yes they can do obedience, but WHY? They want to get that reward for themselves in the "work ethic & drive", even if they do not produce game, they got to hunt and that was the reward its not always the prey drive to motivate these dogs.
SAY you spend alot of time training the dog to be an obedient dog and the very next hunt it dies, then you start all over, that time could be spent doing with the dog what its natural instinctrs tell it to do "HUNT" instead of trying to "TRAIN" or modify it to be something different.
Many folks want a good "Handle" on their dogs, meaning they have basic manners, others want the dog to do nothing more than hunt, RAW natural talents, not influenced by anything that could shape or change the dogs natural talents and instincts ineven the slighttest sense

Are you hooked on the catching of hogs or the hunting?

Alot of people just enjoy the dogs ability to trail and work and thats why they hunt others have an obsession to catch and are not having any fun if they don't catch, and are ready to quit after months of non producing hunts.


Plus do you have your own proprties to hunt? if not then you don't need to get dogs.


X2 except JRT are hard headed! I would say a GSD, Aussie, or Lab

Now if you are talking about a CATCH DOG, then YES OBEDIENCE IS GREAT TO HAVE

x2 no need in keepin a strike dog, or a trail dog near you unless you know exactly where the hog is

Thanks for the replies. Like i said I am just curious as to how others go about it, since I have been with the same group of guys every time I have been out. I am just trying to learn all that I can from as many people as I can. To uglydog, I am hooked on the whole experience. We have struck out more than we have caught hogs the few times I have been out. But I just enjoy getting out there, riding my horses and also watching the dogs work. I was involved with shutzhund dogs for many years, and enjoyed working with those dogs. But my dog cannot compete any more due to an injury, and most of the schutzhund crowd really arent my kind of people. Looking to hog doggin as an oppurtunity to still work with dogs, and getting outside and hunting something year round instead of only during deer season. I have already got a few properties of my own to hunt, and am always looking for more. Also I am hooked up with a great bunch of guys that let me go with them whenever I want and they said they will help me with my dogs.

To me it is about the relationship I have with my dogs. I do not control my friends but there are rules. Good luck getting an obedient cur dog. I don't think I want one. I expect my cur dog to not trash on domestic animals. That protects them from getting shot by a rancher. I don't want them to trash at all. They are supposed to find hogs not other junk. I don't like my dogs to jump on me. But I can't get curs to stop. My expectation for curs is all about hunting. I embrace who the dog is. Catch dogs are another story. I don't want them pulling on lead. I want them to walk with me. Now when a bay is going I would prefer them not to pull but if they catch and hold I can forgive them. I do not tolerate people or dog aggression at all. They can be protective of my house and truck but it stops there. As far as sit, stay ... That is like chrome on a truck. It looks nice but it serves no purpose when hunting.

I handle my pups up to the point that they start baying and hunting with the big boys. After that I cut all contact from kids wives and general petting. They are matched with an older dog and praised and petted upon accomplishments that they produce. I know sounds lil bit harsh but I don't feed pets or house dogs. It helps make them more self reliant and hunting for themselves instead of worrying with impressing the master. If they make it to a ripe ole age that gets them retirement and brood stock rights they get petted everyday and can hangout on the porch eating biscuits.

I like to have control but I can get all the control I need in a hog dog with a basic handle.
I let em hunt but they better listen when I have something to say. Don't expect me to win an obedience class at the local dog show though. I don't bother to put buttons on them that will never get pushed.

As for wanting a dog to hunt? Well, you can "want" a dog to hunt all you want to but it aint gonna hunt unless it wants to.