EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Just because I've seen it brought up recently. What is your expectations of a lead in catch dog? Particularly I'm interested in your definition regarding distance. Are lead in cds limited to 25, 50, 75 yards? Do you have a different term if you're releasing from 100, 200, 400+ yards?

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

Depending on how the hog bayed is my distance judge.. If he's baying and breaking I'll send from a 100, if they bayed him in his bedroom and seems like he's settled I'll close the gap up to 50... As far as expectations they are gonna have to hunt a ear up 9/10 hogs. I don't play the nose or leg catching stuff. If they missed several good hogs in a row for me they won't be on my feed bill. If a hog breaks before the catch dog has the opportunity to get a bite on it they should put in on the race as well til he's caught.

To me cd is just that a dog that catches the distance has no bearing on what the dog will do when faced its foe. I have no problem sending a cd from 500 or beyond. The terrain is the biggest factor on the distance the dog is sent from and what dogs are on the hog. Knowing your dog will dictate what you and how you do it 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

about 50 yards for us but we try to be close as we can ..... we just don't want to break the hog before the catchdog has a chance to catch ...

Depends on the bay. If the dogs get settled and are just blowing up in there. We've sent wheezy from 620 and 460 I know for a fact on 2 occasions. And many many times over 200. But there are times where I like to be within 100 cause the hog doesn't sound like he's sat all the way down


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is how I do it also.

we cut and release ...not only is turning loose way out ruff  on the dogs  its  ruff on the hog ..... most hogs caught for a while die ...... I just couldn't imagine sending from 400 yards out .....

One factor in sending a cd from distance for me is if my rough dogs are caught or fight hard I will send from good ways out. Another factor is if your young and in good shape. When I have both my boys with me further out if just me or one guy with me get closer. There ain't no right answer to me just the right one for your self.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I try to get 50 yards or closer with my lead in bulldog. He's short legged and 7 years old. I don't like him being caught too long at this point. I've been 12 yards from a bayed hog and not cut him loose because of briars. He will go with the bay dogs on a busted bay as long as they are still on the hog. I have had the best results by running him and a straight catch hound cur cross together. I cut the bulldog first on a solid bat and cut the cur after he is 20 yards or so from us. If the bay breaks, the  straight catch cur usually runs the hog down and catches it. If the hog won't take a bay, I'll cut the catching cut in to try to stop him. One of my bay dogs will catch with him. The straight catch cur catches most of our hogs. Really only use the bulldog on big boars these days.
-
I also expect a lead in catch dog to be quiet on the lead and not pull my arm out of socket on the way to a bay!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Shotgun66 I do what you just said a lot always have. It ain't for every one but it works pretty good


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We don't lead our catch dog he follows if we are on foot or riding the mules, I usually catch him and lead him from about 75 yds then  send from about 20 yds or less,  the catch dog I have now is 3 past and have had him since about 9 or 10 mths old,  one time he slipped off to the dogs that were bayed while we were unloading the mules and closing the trailer etc he went a little over 500 yds.  We cut a good boar(200 lbs on the scales)  off last winter that had ran up in the teens for miles and saw him angling towards us about 150 yds out headed for the road, the catch dog went down the road cut the hog off and caught him. Long story short he will go a long ways but I rarely send very far.

For me, 200 yds is about max I would comfortably send.

It all depends on the situation and the terrain.

I can see ups and downs on all folks responses here so far...
Thread and the responses really got me thinking...

It's a hard question with lot of variables... For me

I'd love to walk em in close as I can...can't tell ya how long it's been since we got to actually see much less film a bulldog slam a hog.

That is what I would live to do but stuff got line up just right for most places we hunt....lot pressure on these hogs we run in some thick country.

Also good point is what dogs on ground. We got rough dogs and loose dogs, open or closed or semi make diference too when sending bulldog to me as well, in case it breaks.

How the bay is looking on GPS and sounding audibly is a definate factor.

I've spent an hour to crawl 600yfs to a bay and 20 mins for depending on terrian.

Every one is its own call.

Does depend on the help with ya...maybe good to send young experieced fella with cell phone that sont gone break bay ahead sometimes quietly to call back and give details to help decide. We have done this before...

If its silent then all of a sudden is blowin up and don't move on GPS I say send em if it a running bay here and there its just keep up and try and run em out gas and get closer for me.

Then another thing was mentioned was about do you want bulldog to join race if bay breaks before you get there...

I'm kinda split on this.

I've had bulldog that would come back if bay busted and was most times happy they did. Only because on some of same bays another had a bulldog that rolled out and went bfe and spent hours chasing bulldog in all dif directions while baydogs got out of pocket. Also sent bulldogs that rolled to Loose baying dogs over n over again and spent hours and hours all night chasing bulldogs instead of hunting.

That kinda brings it back to knowing what kinda find dogs you running at the time.

If the rough and silent unless the on ones with the will to stop it i wouldn't be opposed to sending a Rollin type cd to their bay even if it breaks but conversely if it a open loose type dog that if bay breaks I wouldn't wanna send a Rollin type bulldog to but one that would come on back.

Lot of variables..

What isn't a variable, with me personally is a leg catching dog, don'tind snout too aweful much, would rather ear for sure, but sometimes rough curs got the ears hemmed up. But a leg catcher is not even caught.

Lot of game dogs have tendency to do this. The catch first thing they come to and stay in that hold. It's all part of a genetic fighting tendency in some. But catching and controlling aint a fight. It's catching and controlling. Fighting is another thing.
Seen good rough and semi baydogs get shreaded because bulldog instinctually is wanting to fight a hog whike they understand its a game of subdue and catch instead of a war of attrition  which some bulldogs programmed to play it like. Lets face it. It ain't a dog fight where you work the stifle until your opportunity to move to the top like some game dogs play it. Not that they are curs it's just a dif game. Those dogs are culls ti me

That's where it takes intelligence and a dog to know what the game is and be on the right page.

A dog like that, to me, is invaluable.

And of course they have to have the tools physically to make it happen from however how far they sent and the brains to know if they beat and it's better to let the trackers do it again for em, basically they know their job.

Last thing I want is a bulldog caught in summer a mile off in and impenetrable briar thicket getn itself and the bay dogs killed.

My way ain't right for all but that's how I look at it for myself.  

This forum doesn't have a like button, so this is as good as I can do.

(http://i65.tinypic.com/jztfrb.jpg)

I try to tote a bulldog at all times unless the property owners don't let us and where I send one from usually depends on the dog's I'm running.If I'm running my rough dog's that catch I turn the bulldog loose as soon as he hears the fight 99%of the time he's not even needed but I like the insurance policy of a bulldog on the ear especially if I have kids with me.If I am running looser baying dog's I try to get as close as possible within 100yds usually the closer the better.In the winter months I don't mind running one catch dog loose with my rough dog's but I know that ain't for everyone.

I'd be screwed three ways from Sunday if a property owner ever told me to leave the Bulldogs at the house.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd be roping everything over 150lbs lol

That's what's great bout a catching cur dog


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Judge your not lying. That's crazy. I think if someone asked me to hunt their place and right after told me I'd have to leave me right hand man at home. I'd have to respectfully decline. Catching curs are great but I haven't got to see one yet that provides the insurance policy a good bulldog does. But I haven't seen many, bottom line I don't own one so it's either bulldog or find someone else to hunt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Many folks down here don't even own a bulldog and catch many many big rank hogs I own two but I'm the exception not the rule as far as the hog hunters I know and many have a catch dog but it's just another cur lol.

Y'all have them dogs out there though that have been bred to do what they're doing for a long time. We just got some south Texas rough dogs around here. They more or less fight a hog than catch him from what I've seen. Only know of one good rough cur in my area that catches like a bulldog and I have the pleasure of hunting behind him often.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Slim there plenty tx curs that are lock down dogs. I was once told that they are a dime a dozen and on every corner but idk. I know I have a few


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I try to get as close as I can for different reasons,...I like to watch a good bay, don't know if it's one hog or a group of them, don't know what he's bayed up in, some of my cur dogs catch with the bulldog, and my thinking is the longer somethings caught the more chance something can get hurt or killed.usually a bulldog isn't caught more than 20,30 seconds on a hog. I like to catch hogs, but I don't like dogs getting hurt more, especially when I can help it. And always send two bulldogs on a good hog unless there's no other way around it.

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6560 using Tapatalk

Now that would be incorrect judge lol.  Definitely not a dime a dozen. Most people who say they run rough dogs, I don't even think have dogs that are that rough. Only one guy from around me I know has been real successful with pretty catchy black mouth dogs. I hunt with him often and he runs a damn solid bulldog. If Amos can hear the fight he's gonna get there. But this guy trust his lead cur dog blue to catch 99% of any boar hogs you'll come across


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So Amos is really used as back up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There out bubba I use my pits as back up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My little brother and I have never lead a bulldog in we cut them from the box or we run the on the ground they keep up with our strike dogs that's just the way we hunt but I hunt with alot of guys that lead bulldogs in and they do really good with them but it's different when we  run the catch dogs on the ground we are hunting at a ranch in the corn and grain fields we cut the from the truck.

We do everything we can within reason to put our eyes on the hog before we turn a cd to them. I personally like to be right there with the dog when it hits, i think it minimizes the chance of both the cd and the currs getting hurt.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Your right justin. The main reason I send mine from a distance is my dogs might only bark once or twice. Been many a hunt where you ain't hear nothing but squeal or grunt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You know. 2 of the last 3 hogs we've caught haven't made a single sound once the catch dog hit. And both those hogs that stayed quiet When the catchdog caught, the curs didn't jump with. They stayed back and bayed. Which is the first 2 times that has ever happened with me. It was so surprising that both times, we thought we just sent the bulldog to a group and got him killed. I say that to say this. When we finally walked up to both these caught hogs. It was the 2 calmest caught hogs I've ever walked up on. The first time we sent from about 150 yards and it was about a 175 lb boar he hardly knicked the cd. And he was caught for atleast 20-30 minutes before we finally found him. Curs left him caught solo and ran the rest of the group. 2nd was about 150-165lb sow caught in pretty open area. We sent weezy from 460 and he was caught for probably 5 minutes. No curs caught with everything stayed back and bayed and weezy was just bodied up with the hog both standing calm as ever. Those finder holder guys might not be making EVERYTHING up lol. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

my expectations typically depend on the bulldog or bulldogs we have with us. then add in the terrain and the dogs allready on the hog/ makeup of the pack you are huntin. with the majority of the bulldogs ive had  for many years we used 2 bulldogs if we could as  sometimes they were all the dogs that would be holding on a bad hog. nowadays my partners pack is ruffer and one small bulldog is normally a deal sealer  if the hog isnt caught allready. and as someone else posted allready..... im fat, out of shape and 61 so  if we dont have a kid/fast runner with us we turn a bulldog loose only once we are pretty damn close.  and each hog can be different too. but if you start hearin dogs gettin hurt then the bulldog is sent. idealy i turn in the bulldog so that a person can get to him in 30 seconds or less once caught.