EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

As Reuben said on another thread... what you do with a dog, once you have something that is showing interest, is where it gets interesting...

So.  You've got yourself a nice prospect... interested, does the minimum of what you might expect from a young dog.... now what?


Personally, this has become my favorite aspect of hog hunting... developing young dogs.  I just absolutely love it...

So, what do I do?  I WISH I COULD TELL YOU HAHA!!!  Cuz it seems every new one I start I have to start differently to bring out the best in each... no secrets... just lots of opportunity... some need lots of small hogs... some need a couple big ones.... lots of one on one time(I really want my hunting dogs to know me, my hunting partners, my family, and most importantly, what I'm talking about if you know what I mean...)  Socialization with me and mine is VERY important for my dogs, it helps in their understanding of reward by understanding who they're huntin' for.

I want my dogs to hunt hard, but hunt for me... which I develop by rewarding with praise when they try... 

Timing is everything... praise when they are sitting at your feet and the dog thinks that's what you wanted him to do... praise him after he's been out on a 1000yd loop and checking back in... he realizes that's what you wanted him to do... leave him when he ranges too far and he learns not to range so far... go to him when he bays one up where you want him to... catch the hog, pet him up and you on the right track!!!

Cross training, i.e. obedience, can do nothing but improve an animal's understanding of things... the more handle, the better for me...

I love talking training, let's hear what you got!

You bout covered it, correct em when they are wrong praise them when their right... Not spoiling them and makin em pets...dogs do have a brain and a heart, tap into that and unleash the real potential... To some folks their dogs are just a renewable asset they beat when they do wrong then they do worse then they cull em...don't get me wrong some need culling but in the early stages of training they need a handler and I've found that if they trust you they will hunt for you if they have it in them at all. Jmo

    PATIENCE

Noah,

I agree... :)and timing the reward or the correction is super important when training...and the dog must respect and trust you and not fear you even when correcting...

This is what I have done. I have made mistakes.
 Mistake #1- Got in a hurry and took in every free dog a hoghunter would give me. I also purchased a few started curs and a few pups. Not to mention the bulldogs. 23 dogs on my yard at once and not a single foot of hunting land. Freaking Genius; heard the grunt and went all retarded. I quickly realized I don't need that many dogs; and started testing and hunting them all against my Bull. 2 out of 5 pups remain.
 Mistake #2- Thinking I had it all figured out! I built a pig pen and bought coon trap. Started putting a shoat in the trap and oozin past it, and teaching the dogs to wind it and bay the trap. I increased the distance to the pig each time and changed locations. I also put a pig on a drag and let it go to teach them to run a track. The dogs learned to bay but not to shut down the runners.
 Mistake #3- Tritronics Classic 70 + Cattle = shankem getting dumped on cattle alot.
 Mistake #4- Underestimating the costs involved in maintaining a large pack. Not to mention time involved.
 Mistake #5- Lack of swine to hunt and time to hunt what's there.

 I only hunt one day a week; not nearly enough to make a dog in my opinion. It's all the time I have and my wife and daughter get the rest. I love them more than the dogs. I currently have 2 dogs striking hogs,2 dogs catching hogs, 3 dogs I take hunting, and a pup out of my Bull( I only kept one because she is a month older than my daughter) baying shoats in pasture.  I am hoping that my ol' gyp I bought can fill in the gaps I created; so far so good. Bug and Buster are showing improvement and gonna get their chance on their own this weekend. They are both around 2 and I have to decide if they are what I want in a dog. All in all; it seems like the more I learn the less I think I know. If that makes any sense.

 I am starting to believe hunting,hunting, and hunting is what makes a dog.

Makes more sense than you know...

#1 rule in training animals... just when you think you got it all figured out.... one will come along and knock you on your ear... same could be said for dealings with women  ;D

Go to the Dog Trade and buy the first jam up finished $300 dog that has to go you can find. No patience required and your sure to get a sure enough hog striking machine everytime.   ;D ;)

he passed the strike test. Caught 2 off the hood. He is almost 2 but i am happy. Bought him as a pup and been training him ever since.

I made this video a while back to help everyone understand the best way to train a hog dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf0T255i5fc&sns=fb

ha ha thats good neches ! i was watching a video on here the other day , when the hog started squeeling my pit pushed the door open and dang near knocked the computer of the table lol .

   jmize , you allmost owed me a new computer  >:D

   i have that movie so im gonna try that trainning method. should save alot of gas and time. thanks for the info