getting outran!

The areas I hog hunt will not allow me to relay so I get outran a bunch. I can live with being out run but the dogs quitting won't work for me. If the dogs in question are quitting I would probably "cut bait" pretty quick but if they are getting outran then they are just showing they are normal IMO!! Now when I think about a dog getting outrun I'm like Cajun, I look at the terrain first. Some terrain I think its nearly impossible to bay the real hard running hogs without relaying dogs but in more dog friendly terrain it comes down to track speed, and lots of it. I have had a dog or two in my life that could run a hog like they were tied to him and wouldn't let the hog get out ahead too bad, which in turn lets the dog really make up the ground once the hog's initial burst of energy was used up. IMO a hog out runs a dog in the first mile of the race in most cases. If in the first mile the hog has a half a mile lead then the race is essentially over unless the hog just flat stops somewhere but if the dog is still within a couple hundred yds of the hog and is still able to run him with his head up then the hog is usually a caught sucker. You see the bigger the lead the hog gets in the beginning then tougher he is to run, which makes the lead just bigger and bigger and once the dog is so far behind he is trailing and no longer running, its over. There is a TREMENDOUS difference in "trailing" and "RUNNING" a hog and once they get so far behind they are no longer "running" and have to start "trailing". Its not uncommon for me to catch my dogs off a hog at a road crossing and when they come to the road they have their noses on the ground and although still moving at a good pace I know they aren't "RUNNING" him anymore and are basically "outran". The moral to my little story is: a dog has to "RUN" a hog to catch him, and if you have ever seen a dog that could really "RUN" a hog then you will understand completely but terrain has a tremendous effect on how even the best dogs can "run" a hog. Don't give up on them if they are getting out run because they ALL get out run, just be careful that they aren't short changing you in the effort department.

Good Luck