How did you decide on the dogs you hunt

I acquired my passion for hunting & working dogs as a kid. My dad had two friends that were both like uncles to me. One was a coon hunter, the other was a greyhound man. I worked for the greyhound man cleaning pens, feeding & watering dogs, & helping start them in the field and on the track. This man made his living with his dogs and was really ahead of his time on facilities & dog care. I learned a lot about how to handle & care for a dog from him.

I hunted with the coon hunter as much as my parents would allow during the week and on most weekends. He ran grade walker hounds that were tailgate to tree hounds. You opened the dog box, got out of the way, then sat on the tailgate and listened to em work a track or run a race. No tracking systems. Learned alot about how woods dogs work from this man.

Both of these men impressed upon me that CONSISTENCY of Performance was the most important trait a dog could possess.

We had game chickens back then and for some reason always had a bulldog around. Looking back, I’m not sure why we had the bulldogs. They were high drive dogs that would kill any animal that hit in their chain space. Can’t imagine how many times I broke them off of stray dogs, neighbor dogs, and everything in between.

Got into football, girls, & partying. Had my son at 20 & didn’t have time for hobbies. Went on my first hog dog hunt in 2009 and it rekindled the flame. I was fortunate to be able to tag along on quite a few hunts with every type of dog /pack you can think of early on pretty much all over North, East, & West Texas.

I realized that I enjoy being part of the hunt with the dogs. I did not like rough dogs or dogs with endless bottom but no bay stopping ability. I really liked dogs that handle well. I learned to appreciate how cur dogs work with you, not for you. I was also aware that my hunting spots were relatively small 500 to 2000 acres on average. I also didn’t want to feed more than a few dogs. These experiences led me to the short/medium range stockbred cur dogs that I hunt now. I walk, road, rig, & horseback hunt these dogs mostly. I hunt em solo or in pairs for the most part. Occasionally put a third dog down if I’m bringing a pup along. They will hunt pretty hard out of the truck but I want them with me until we get in sign or I send them. I can send them into a set of woods and they will hunt it 300 to 500 yards deep and check back in if there is no sign. Dead silent until bayed, capable of trailing or winding. They have miles of bottom and relay consistently. They handle well and can be toned in at anytime. Their baying ability & willingness to stay bayed is their best attribute. Definitely not the type for everyone, they would probably get exposed in free casting/thin sign scenarios. They ain’t gonna keep burning the woods up in no sign. I’m ok with that.

I have ran the gamut on catch dogs. Pits, AB’s, Dogos, staghound crosses, etc. I prefer an athletic catch dog that handles well, first shot accurate, with the wind to recover between catches. I like them to be able to catch hogs in an open pasture or as a lead in. I’ve seen outstanding dogs in all of the breeds. So far, I like small framed AB females & the 3/4 bulldog, 1/4 stag hound.

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