I'm understanding what a good hog dog is!

[levibarcus]

The more I hunt and the more dogs I hunt with I am realizing the holes that my dogs have and the fact that not all hog dogs are created equal. Some dogs hunt out good and find hogs if they are in the area, some run a track accurately and fast, some have endless bottom,  some know how to work a hog once bayed to keep it that way, but I am realizing how very few dogs possess all of these qualities. I only have two dogs in the woods right now but they each have strengths and weaknesses. A lot of people, myself included, have dogs that find and bay hogs consistently but have some faults that also cost me hogs. It's just me thinking, what are ya'lls thoughts?

[jeskyn]

i think you hit the nail on the head.

[t.wilbanks]

you have to breed all those dogs together and hope those certain traits pass on to the pups, then you will have the " SUPERDOGS" !!!
 Should only take you about 50 years to perfect the line.. 



You said it pretty good Levi....     

[Reuben]

and then we have the dogs that hunt out good but do not find hogs consistently.

[uglydog]

WElCOME. now you recognize the difference. Still majority of people think that because you have dogs and catch hogs with it its a hog dog. I guess more or less yeah , buts its like the difference between wearing a cowboy hat dont make you a cowboy, and people call all the time wanting tobuy or have dog trained to be a "hog dog" and I asked okay "what do you want it to do?" If they tell me - find and catch hogs. I get so frustrated as I should have a questionaire printed by now as many times as I have to repeat2 million detailed questions to find out what this person has imagined in their mind what the perfect scenario of a hog dog is.

Levi, now you know you have to teach the others.

[TexasHogDogs]

Thats why when I run a pack of dogs together I try to make up the weakness of one dog with the another.  Not that the ones I run have many weaknesses but this is what I do .

[WayOutWest]

Jim  That is why us greybeards like to hunt with younger guys.

[levibarcus]

I have been at this for just under two years and there is a lot to learn in order to do it WELL. A fella like me has to sort through a lot of dogs to find any that have the potential to be well rounded hog dogs. Without having a proven genetic pool to draw from there is a lot of shooting in the dark. I have a couple of dogs that are satisfactory, but they both lose hogs at times due to their weaknesses. I see why people say you will only ever have one good woman, one good horse, and one good dog in a lifetime.

[Dirtydog]

I have been at this for just under two years and there is a lot to learn in order to do it WELL. A fella like me has to sort through a lot of dogs to find any that have the potential to be well rounded hog dogs. Without having a proven genetic pool to draw from there is a lot of shooting in the dark. I have a couple of dogs that are satisfactory, but they both lose hogs at times due to their weaknesses. I see why people say you will only ever have one good woman, one good horse, and one good dog in a lifetime.

Me too ! I'm realizing the exact same thing... I have dogs that find and catch hogs but not a superdog in the bunch. I am also realizing that a lot of people don't realty have superdogs either they just think they do...

[mod93dirt]

Thats why when I run a pack of dogs together I try to make up the weakness of one dog with the another.  Not that the ones I run have many weaknesses but this is what I do .

I have only been around hog dogs for about a  year, and am just starting out with my first two pups, so I realize I still have a ton to learn. But this is my ultimate goal with my dogs. I am looking for a well rounded pack who work together on each others stregths and weaknesses. The guys I hunt with, who have been doing it quite a while, said they have only had one super dog that could do it all in their time. Unfortunately that dog got its tracking collar knocked off, and was never seen again.

From what I have seen and read here and other places, that all around "super dog" is surely hard to come by. Thats why I am going to try to build my pack with a little bit of eveything. realizing I may never come across that one "super" dog, but knowing that i can still get the job done with a well rounded group of dogs.

[Reuben]

It is possible to have quite a few good dogs in your lifetime but one or two great ones in your lifetime if your lucky and sometimes none ...If you breed your own it is possible to have more than one in our lifetime...

Some hunters hunt a mixed pack of dogs and that can produce quite a few hogs...kind of like a good football team.

One thing i have seen is that one can make the mistake of thinking that it is a top hogdog pack until the strike dog is lost.