Message #165333

[Wmwendler]

How many times do "rough" bay dogs cause a hog to run that otherwise would have stayed put?

In my opinion its more than some people want to admit.  Some times it takes 10 years for guys to see the've been in denial about this subject all allong.  Some will always swear by rough dogs no matter what.  Its easy to get sucked into the "rough" dog frame of mind when you hop on the internet as a bigginner and start reading things that should be taken with a grain of salt.   I've seen it time and time again. I've hunted with all kinds of dogs since I was a kid.  And I see the same thing in cow dogs as well.  Some rough dogs will make more livestock run, so they do more harm than good in those cases.

There are dogs that will be hard on a hog that runs and pretty much convince the hog its better for them to stand at bay than it is to run.  THAT is the ideal that rough dogs are based upon.  But its not just that simple.  The second part to that equation is backing off when the hog actually does stand at bay.  And thats were most "rough" dogs ive seen fall short.  They stay rough and the hog starts off running all over again.  Then you have that "rough dog" that will "catch anything under 200 lbs".  OK thats all fine and dandy but the first time I see that dog catch a 60lb shoat out of a group of hogs thats standing at bay will be the last time I care to hunt with that dog again.  Just my 2 cents.  

In my opinion it takes a well bred dog that comes from a livestock background and a good bit of luck to consistantly produce dogs that can pull off the "rough dog" thing and do it the right way.  There is a whole lot more to it than "just add a little of this and a little of that to put some gritt in there"  It may work for some people but it don't work for me.

Waylon