I'm still educating myself on the rules of the pen comps....but I gather that it is preferred that the dogs bay very tight?
If you have a dog that is nose to nose with the hog while baying, gives a bark a second, never takes his eyes off the pig.... No matter what. Doesn't let the hog drift and lays teeth immediately if the hog runs .... well.... If you have all that, then you have a PERFECT competition dog..... you will win A LOT!!
You can sometimes get by with less....
Nose to Nose....just as long as a dog stays within 4-6 feet you probably won't get a deduction.
Bark a Second....that's ideal but as long as there is not an extended break...say 5-8 seconds... Probably no deduction.
Never takes its eyes off the hog... Focus is big. There are lots of distractions in the competition arena. Combine that with crowd noise or a possible rough hog and there are plenty of chances to screw up. A "look out" is a deduction, a circle out is a BIG deduction. Even under a full blown charge by a rank hog... The dog needs to keep eye contact at all times.
Drifting.... Unacceptable. The dog should work the head of the hog... The dog needs to be in control....Holding the bay. It's better for a dog to nip the hog and make him set up then let him drift 30 feet down the fence.
Laying teeth...it's essential if the hog breaks. Again, the dog CANNOT let the hog control the bay. Some hogs are green, their rough and it's hard to get a good score. A dog that lays teeth and battles on hogs like this SHOULD get a better score than a dog that let's the hog cover every square inch of the pen while just baying. This is the part of scoring that can get....oh....kinda soft. It can differ from pen to pen.
Man I DO love the competition. I'm gonna have to get back in sometime soon
