EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I just inherited a redbone and a walker both hog dogs from a friend who is dying with cancer. Well I have always hunted catahoulas or ybmc's.. Opinions on why a hound would be better over a cur. Just wondering

  just the nose and leg  about it . 

Different more than better. Gonna be a different style of hunting, lol. Ready for a race?  ;D

If I don't like them I can always give them away!! Maybe instead of getting out run they will  put a hog at the end of the chase now!!

Swamphunter added some hounds to our pack...I don't notice much of a difference... are races don't last any longer than they already did...our curs and hounds work good together

It will depend on the hound and cur you are comparing

? No difference? The hounds are PROBABLY going to be open.
If a mans never hunted behind open dogs before, lol, it's going to be different.

I can say I've never hunted behind open dogs before. I know they are rough. I am used  to 400 or 500 yard dogs. Supposedly these dogs check in every hour not every 20 minutes like I'm used to

Yes they are open and still doesn't make much difference

Ok  ;D

It's all about speed , how fast the dog can move a track if he opening up an Anit moving then you gonna have a long race but if the dog opening up an moving a track fast , faster than some cur dogs can ;) then you Anit gonna have a problem , 

If you decided you don't like them opening let me know ,

Main difference in a hound that you will prolly notice
1. Most likely open
2. Doesn't care bout hunting with you or for you , he hunting for him self
3.will prolly have better nose not always though some curs have cold nose an some hounds are hot nosed
4.more bottom most of the time not always there just as many sorry hounds as there is cur dogs
5. If you get a good hound you an hunt with it you will love it ,
6.cur dog or hound who cares open or not who cares as long as they putting hogs at the end of the track !

My friend says that when the walker was hunted regular he was as good as he had ever owned and the redbone would be with the hog if you didnt get to him until the next day. They haven't been hunted in over a year. I've used them to start pups in a pen and the flat hate a hog!!

Track speed is all that really matters.  If an open dog can "run" or "push" a hog fast enough to sprint the hog will stop.  
 
Generally speaking a cur runs nose up and a hound nose down.  A fast open hound can bay just as many hogs as a silent cur.  No matter where you hunt.

Hounds vs. curs is mostly a regional thing and nothing to argue about.  The Individual States dog hunting laws have had a big influence where there are more running hounds available or not.  

Swamphunter,
I saw the red warning but didn't read your post.  I started typing and came back and clicked post.  We agree!

way back we tried a few cats and bmc and didn't like them...at least the ones we tried...well we weren't catching many hogs at that time so my brother got a redbone he called bone...bone was a pain in the butt because he always wanted to fight other male dogs...but when he got on a hog track you could bet your last dollar on him finding and baying a hog...heck, as soon as we unloaded off the boat he opened on a track that the other dogs ignored and a few miles of cold trailing and a few hours later he jumped the hog and by that time none of the dogs would go to him...but he did what I was looking for in a dog that the other dogs weren't doing for us...he got in after that big boar in a thick 2 acre briar patch and he kept at it until he bayed that hog and when the airedale showed up it was a caught hog...hence the mt. cur idea was born...somewhere in the middle...but todays cur dogs used for hunting I would bet have a touch of some kind of hound...and to me that is a good thing...

Dan, we sure do

If I had any advice for you it would be to hunt these dogs and see what they will do. They're no different than any other type of dog, they may be open, might not be. Doesn't matter either way if they get the job done seems to me. I always had hounds up until about 7 years ago... I got a couple if curs and I like them, like them a lot.... but my buddies in TN almost all have hounds, I hunt my two silent curs right with these open hounds.... works fine. None of our dogs are gone for an hour looking for a track.... they make 250 yard loops and check back in..... which is just right to me. Give these hounds a chance.... you might actually like hunting with them.

The absolute best hog dog you will ever find will be that once in a lifetime cur dog, but they are just about as scarce as an 18 yr old virgin.  I hunt and raise plotts, and very few curs can hold up to the standards that these dogs have set for me.  For any kind of dog, you have to set your priorities in order of importance and see if they stack up.   I have heard alot of quotes that just make me laugh,  "he has a dang cold nose for a cur dog"...well ok, does that mean he is cold nosed or just medium nose?  "My cur dogs will run one for 3 hrs"...ok so will my year old puppies.  I really dont want to start a pissin match caause I hunt what I like and everybody should do the same.....and I have been to places where there were alot of hogs and my hounds jumped one hog, ran it for 2 hrs while cur dogs caught 4.....and I have seen some great cur dogs that could get it done anywhere at any time......but it seems to me most people get excited when a cur dog does what I EXPECT my hounds to do.

I like what you said...some of the best hog dogs I have hunted with were curs with some hound in them...lots of good ones in the old time mt. cur...

KevinN I assume you have lots of experience with hounds. What did you run?

Fa la la la la, la la la la.  ;D

I currently have Catahoula's a red  curs and I have a Cat/BMC that I think has Plott in her but she is suppose to be Cat/BMC (Is a good dog either way) but I hunt with a guy that has a Red tick that is silent until he is looking at the hog and he teams up really well with my pack and is fun to hunt with. If it works it works if it doesn't then it doesn't. That's how I have always kind of looked at things.

Well, it's kinda like this...

If my curs can't hang in a race with the hounds and hound crosses I hunt with... they don't stay here very long.

If my hounds and crosses can't move a track and keep up with my curs in a hard race... they "won't" stay here very long. I say "won't" because my hound ownership only goes back the past year and a half... but I know what's to be expected out of this line of dogs. What the hounds do bring to the table is a colder nose... which I like.

Most all the hounds I've hunted with over the years have been super slow, nose in the dirt, bawling every step of the way...

I have hunted with lots of hounds down here in Brazoria county and will say that the ones we have had and one other guys hounds would move a track fast and had really cold noses and tons of bottom. We ran plots and running walkers and really enjoyed hunting behind them. I lost a plott gyp this summer and she was really fast and had a good nose but she was grittier than most plotts that we have owned and that was what got her

As far as open dogs go, no, not lots of experience. Ive hunted behind silent Plotts and semi-open Walker Crosses and a Red Tick cross. The silent plotts and semi-open dogs would locate and then were silent until they saw the hog. They were all good dogs. As far as open dogs go I've had limited experience with Walkers and Red Bones/Crosses. I didn't enjoy the open dogs that much (but I don't think they were quality hounds).

I hope no one misinterprets what I'm trying to say. I may have not communicated my thoughts clearly. I was not in any way bashing hounds. I was simply stating that the "experience" of hunting behind open dogs is different than hunting behind silent dogs.

An open dog has to be fast. A closed mouth or semi open not as bad. All the walkers I grew up with were fast. Never kept a slow one cause they couldn't keep up. When our walkers ran they ran head straight out tail straight out and would flat out move. We ran what my dad called saddle back fan tail walkers. They opened every other time their feet hit the ground. Their is few sounds sweeter than a half dozen walkers stretched out singing a tune. If a man added all of them bayed with a good bawl and some chop mouth in their that would be unreal. I grew up hearing the races and I miss hearing those races and will probly get a set of dogs at some point just to hear the races with the old man. He thinks silent dogs are boreing.

i want some dogs like this. i love the sound of a good bawl echoin through the woods