Message #45329

[crackerc]

I know EXACTLY what you are referring to Wmwendler. I have never heard it called "finesse", but I know what you mean. There is often a very fine line between being gritty enough to get a hog stopped and bayed and keeping it bayed, and being too rough and causing it to break. I can't tell you how mnay times I have seen 1-2 dog have a hog bayed and as soon as another dog or two got there, the hog breaks. Or when one dog gets too agressive and bites the hog after its bayed, but doesn't catch. You can't "fight" a bayed hog and keep it bayed.

To me, thats the beauty of a dog like my old Dixie female. She could bay a hog like no other dog I have ever seen. She could keep a big boar hog bayed, by herself, for hours. We rarely had a hog break with her baying it. I don't know why she was different but she could keep a hogs attention on her. Many times the hog would never even look at us when we led the catch dog in, it was totaly focused on her. She had a way of going back and forth in front of a bayed hog that just seemed to keep their attention on her. Even if the hog came to her and she had to get away from the hog, she would go right back, stop the hog and start again. Whatever she did, worked. We caught, cut, and released 43 boar hogs with her as the only find and bay dog, and her littermate brother Rock, as the lead in catch dog in one two week period. We usually averaged 100-150 boar hogs a year with those two dogs for about 6 years. That doesn't count sows and barrs.

Monkey is not in the class with my Dixie dog (but Dixie is 11 and retired) but he has the same ability to keep one bayed by himself. Thats why I hunt him a lot. He usually isn't going to get overally aggressive on a bad hog by himself, but will put teeth on one to stop it and is very fast. If a hog breaks he can stop it pretty quick.

So, like I said, I have seen the "finesse" or what ever you want to call it, work. I have also seen bays broke and hogs get away by dogs that didn't have it too.