And let me also say, that I make it a point to talk with neighboring land owners as well. I do not dump my dogs out on land that is not mine. All of the land I drop my dogs on I have permission to be on... BUT there is that chance that they will start a hog on this land, and finish it on another... so like I said, if that happens the best way to deal with it is go talk to the landowner if you can, and we have gotten a couple spots this way; if you cannot, call the GW and they will more than likely be helpful because you are trying to do the right thing. But if all else fails what then?
There are some bad apples, I agree, but... if you do everything in your power to keep a dog on a piece of land and they still go onto another piece of land, are you the bad apple for trying to get your dog??? I don't think so... and anyone that owns a pet would do the same thing. I understand that it’s all hearsay in court, but that doesn't make it right. We have rights too, and I think that since Texas is one of the biggest hunting states, our rights should be written into law as well. You would think with all of the laws in Texas about hunting and fishing that this would already exist. I battle with this a lot because of the plots of land out where we hunt. We don't have a choice but to talk with the surrounding landowners... but the fact of the matter is still that the dogs will go where the hogs are.
The reason I am so adamant about this is because one of our spots where we have a good 600-1000 acres is right in a honey hole bottom. BUT on the back side of the land and the side of the land is owned by a guy that doesn't want it dogged or hunted at all. We were hunting it because the land manager gave my buddy permission to... but when the landowner called the GW on us for being there, that turned out to not be true. So we got a ticket, I was in the wrong, I admitted it, and went on my way. BUT I tried to get in contact with the landowner through his business, and through the land manager. The land manager doesn't want us to talk with him because he doesn't want them to know he gave us permission, and loose his rights. So we asked if we could just have permission to get our dogs off his land... The guy told us that if we are caught on this land again we will go to jail. So this is all from one time being caught on the land, and that was because of a misunderstanding. He will not let us retrieve our dogs, so what to do then. 1000 acres is a big piece of land, but if the hogs run off of it my dogs will follow. So tell me… is this piece of land not to be run because they “might” strike a hog and run onto another part of the property? For now, that’s what we have done to let things cool down, but I do want to run it again.
Sorry for babeling but this is a subject that really pisses me off... We should be able to do something.
Even if you take every precaution, and take short range dogs, and try calling em out, ect... there is still that chance they might not come or hear you esspecially if they are looking at a hog... Then what? Are all ya'll with these priceless dogs telling me that you are not going to get your dog? I don't think so... So I do everything in my power to do the right thing, and if that fails, I'm going to get my dog and get off of the land As fast as possible. This makes me a bad person?
