Biggest mistake besides not seeing the dog in the woods is talking! don't talk, listen. (this advice works on most things in life) You call Joe Blow and tell him your looking for a dog. "What are you looking for?" well, i want a dog that does 500yd circles, checks in, bays loose, named charlie... "Man i got the dog for you!" ask him what he has BEFORE he knows what you want.  But as with most things in life, people dont want to work, and i venture to say poundin the pavement looking for the dog you want is more work than hittin the woods and MAKING the dog you want...

 Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.
  -Lord Byron 1808

calibrate compass, from the main menu. Do this often!

That anwser depends on where you hunt. I hunt a lot in northern Oklahoma so I want a dog hussling and covering a lot of ground. If there were more hogs where I hunted I would prefer a shorter range dog, long range dogs are kind of a pain! It's easy to get centered but different circumstances take different dogs

On page 1 I laid out how I get a dog to range far. One thing I didn't mention thst I see a lot- when you are wanting a young dog to go- you cannot be the center of his universe. I make sure I don't have a real connection to a dog until it's hunting the way I want. I see range as an issue of confidence, independence and pack order.  I think ALL dogs have it in them to hunt a half deep if that's what you want.
Bottom is more on the dog, I didn't say you could train for bottom, I said your actions can affect it! Usually in a bad way.
I have seen so many crossed up stray dogs make outstanding hog dogs that I am forced to the nurture side of the debate. Of course, like rueben pointed out you can't nurture a Bassett into being faster.

On page 1 I laid out how I get a dog to range far. One thing I didn't mention thst I see a lot- when you are wanting a young dog to go- you cannot be the center of his universe. I make sure I don't have a real connection to a dog until it's hunting the way I want. I see range as an issue of confidence, independence and pack order.  I think ALL dogs have it in them to hunt a half deep if that's what you want.
Bottom is more on the dog, I didn't say you could train for bottom, I said your actions can affect it! Usually in a bad way.
I have seen so many crossed up stray dogs make outstanding hog dogs that I am forced to the nurture side of the debate. Of course, like rueben pointed out you can't nurture a Bassett into being faster.

You have to start with a dog that has a chance.  Once you have that, you still have to know what you are doing!  Blood dont bay hogs.  I can make ANY dog range the way i want them to if i have that pup from weening age, no whispering involved, anyone can do it.  A capable dog in the hands of a trainer that dont know what he is doing is going to be WORTHLESS!  Where a capable trainer can take a 'trash' dog and make a hogdog out of it.  Bottom is another topic. but yeah, ill go out on a limb here and say that bottom is about 50% training as well, or more accurately - your actions around your dogs can effect their bottom. Like someone said earlier, dogs are not computers.  Like kids, we do our best, but they are living breathing things with a brain and make choices.

Lol! Good point... I stay away from bassetts and greyhounds

Reuben, I get what you're saying about breeding. I have had great results with dogs picked up off the road, accidental breeding  and mutts from non hunting stock, actually better luck than with so called high nerd hog dogs. In the nature vrs nurture debate I land on nurture side. I think WHAT a man does with a dog has a bigger influence on making a dog than  WHAT the dog is. Not trying to stir pot just discuss

Heres an article i wrote about this, originally appeared in the August 2013 issue of Tuskers magazine


Seems like a lot of folks are talking about range these days, and all too often I see range confused with bottom. So lets start by getting our terms in order. Range is how far a dog will travel looking for sign of a critter to give chase. Bottom is how long the dog will chase that deer. Lol. Not the same thing. If you want to see a dog's range, it's pretty easy, take the dog to a place where you know there are no hogs, not even a week old track. The distance that dog hunts, looking for sign, is its range. Some dogs won't leave your feet no matter, and some dogs will be in the next county, running, who knows if they're hunting, but they are running!
     Everyone wants that long range dog... 'til they get him and wear out boots and truck tires chasing him all over god's green earth! Everyone's got a different idea of what long range means. To the guy whose boot toe smells like a dog's rear end, long range might be 100 yards. For me when I say long range, I am talking about a dog that gets out hunting 1000 plus yards. I call medium range 300 - 500 yds, and close range is 100 yds or so. As for what is best, well that depends on how you hunt and the terrain, property size, how gritty your dogs are, and so on. I prefer a medium range dog, but I have yet to own one, seems the medium range dogs always end up getting talked into going long range by the older dogs. Tracy and I hunt long range dogs for the most part, and they are loose baying dogs. I have seen long range rough dogs, but with the high price of dog food, I'll pass! Besides, where you gonna put the dog box when the whole bed of the truck is full of staple guns?
     The next big question I hear all the time is, "How do I get my dog to range out?" Again, a lot of the time this is a confusion of terms, and what is really meant is "How do I get my dog to hunt?" If you want your dog to range out you first have to start with a dog that has the drive to hunt. Once you have a dog that wants to hunt it is just a matter of teaching the dog to hunt the way you want him to. But you can't put hunt in a dog, so there is no sense is banging your head against a wall.  1. Don't start the dog too young. You don't want a pup out there just running, trying to keep up, and this often leads to babbling. 2. If you have a long range dog already you can kennel this new dog with the dog that hunts the way you like. They'll be running buddies. 3. Keep your mouth shut! When you are in the woods don't pay the dog ANY attention if its hanging around making sure a hog don't ambush you. I try my best to not even make eye contact with the dog. With a new dog

I will tolerate this hanging around for 5 or 6 hunts. I call them free hunts. 4. You've give the dog some free hunts to hang around, you've ignored him and grudgingly accepted the slack your huntin' buddy gave you. Now it's time to get this dog out of your sight and get your buddy's mouth shut.  This works best in the spring when the sap is up, you get you a fresh green sappling like grandma whooped you with and you brush the fleas off the dogs backside with it. Don't try to kill the dog, just let him know you are less than pleased with his effort. This may seem obvious, but I've seen it, don't call the dogs name, or pet him and then get him with the sappling! Lol. If the dog has any sense he will get away from the big ugly man with the stick. He may just sulk in the brush, barely out of sight, that's fine, leave him be. Everything is going according to plan if you can't see him. We usually give the dogs a "GET IN THERE" when we cast, so as the dog is running away from you give him a command that he will learn means get out of my sight and find a hog. I guess it don't really matter what you say, you could tell em to "GET OFF THEIR TWINKLE TOES". After one or two "treatments" all you usually have to do is hit your leg with the sappling. 5. You need to cast your dogs! So many times I see guys just open dog box doors and let dogs pile out. One goes over here to empty out, one marks the tire of the truck, one is still asleep in the box, two are over here jump starting your breeding program, and one went hunting but the other dogs didn't notice. When you take dogs out of the box and snap them, you have control. You can take those 3 dogs that know how to hunt and point them to the creek bottom where you think there are hogs and cast them. This gets all the dogs going at once, hopefully in the same direction, and the likelihood of that new dog going with them is greatly improved. Number 6,7, and 8 are patience. Patience means giving the dog a chance to learn, but it don't mean wasting time and dog food. Dogs are like people, (just slightly more admirable). Not everyone can be good at everything with practice. I could practice dancing with the best coach for the rest of my life and still look like I was getting stung by bees.
     So I hope if anyone out there is wanting their dog to range out this has helped a bit. I'm no expert, these are just a few of the tricks that were taught to me, and a few that I learned by ruining what would have otherwise been a great dog in more capable hands.

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I ADDED A AIREDALE X PLOTT TO MY PACK, AGAIN, NOT GRITTY, BAYS BUT WILL STOP A RUNNER, AND STARTING A AIREDALE X WALKER THAT IS A 100MPH, HUNTING SOB.  SO FAR THE PUP AINT GRITTY EITHER, BUT WE WORK ON MAKING THEM THAT WAY.

yep. kelpie x cat

http://tuskersmagazine.com/articles/impact-injuries-by-monica-wheelus-from-the-june-2014-issue-of-tuskers-magazine/

This is the article on neck injuries

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We are wrapping up the April issue of Tuskers magazine, if anyone wants to submit pics, stories, an editoral, training tips, anything, just email me ed@tuskersmagazine.com

Thanks guys, glad you like it! Email me your stories and pics, all our content is submitted by everyday hunters. ed@tuskersmagazine.com

im happy with 4R an ive tried a bunch

i liked southern cross, and still have a bunch of it. Thing is, the business keeps getting bumped around like a cull dog going from owner to owner.