What makes a dog that yips or barks on track worth any amount of $ ?

[coyote hunter]

i like closed mouth dogs  my hogs r experienced with dogs  they run at the sound of dogs in any form

[matt_aggie04]

I was under the impression that we could put opinions on here so I put mine.  I also put my preference, not to change anyones mind but to simply state what I like.  If there are "big names" among us I would like to know who they are haha. Open works, there is no doubt in my mind that it does, but at the end of the day you feed what you like...But I would agree that you should choose what you like based on what you see over a period of time not what you hear from others!

[ktchemwcurs]

I can understand back before the technology of a tracking system why you would have a mouthy dog. But now with today's tracking systems, I prefer a silent dog. You will catch more hogs if the one you are catching isn't running in front of a dog barking. My preference is for my dog to bark only on site. Even if he is right behind the dog and starts yelping, then I know the hog is running. But my dogs will shut up and catch up before they start barking again. I don't want to run the other hogs off. If the dogs shut up before they run up on the hogs then you have a better chance of not running the other hogs off and can backtrack where you struck the hog and 99% of the time, catch another one. But if he runs very far your dogs are going to be to tired to run all the way back and catch another one. Just my opinion,Hope no one is affended, if they are I apoligize!

[Mike]

I don't mind a dog that opens after the hog breaks and they're right behind it... lot's of "dead silent" dogs do that. By then the race is on so to me it doesn't matter.

What I don't care for is a dog that opens when it hits a track. I've always looked at it like this... you turn a dog loose at daylight and the hog is bedded say 1/4 mile away. The silent dogs trail him up to his bed and the open dogs are going to let the hog know they're on the way. I've bayed and caught plenty of hogs this way, right in their beds. That's how i've always looked at it... and yes, i've hunted with several wide open dogs over the years.

[t.wilbanks]

Most of the guys on here havent hunted long enough to see a good hog dog.Let alone a good open dog,and a good silent dog.They hear all the big names that post on here alot run down open dogs.Well if ole HollywoodHoghunters says its so it must be so.They can spot a open dog right off the bat,thats one fault some green rookie hunter cant miss.Bam,he dont like that open dog.    I argue about how good a silent dog is to all the hound guys.So dont think that I am for one or the other.I just cant stand someone that throws out blanket statements about either.Both dogs can catch critters.Dont close your mind to either one.Matt, I have seen some real good open dogs.The men that owned them would have considered them culls,had they been very quiet.

  So out of the 1729 members scattered across numerous states, how many of them do you know that have hunted long enough to see a good dog?
In my opinion we are just like our dogs, there is no "TRUE" finished hog dog or hog hunter. There is always something new to learn and a better way of doing things. How do you train young dogs? You send them with the older dogs that know what they are doing to learn from them. Same way with new hunters, they are going to base most of their opinions and decisions on what the " Big Names" on here do, because evidently, most of them have been doing this long enough to halfway know what they are talking about.

[Randy_P]

I think that ALL of us posting are hard headed and are going to do what we want to.  Opinions are great just dont try to push yours on someone else.  Its a discussion not a trial to see who is right and who is wrong.  I do think that most people that you hear talk down on open mouth dogs on here or elsewhere have never hunted with a GOOD open mouth dog. They are speculating......but i guess I am to by making this statement.

[t.wilbanks]

I think that ALL of us posting are hard headed and are going to do what we want to.  Opinions are great just dont try to push yours on someone else.  Its a discussion not a trial to see who is right and who is wrong.  I do think that most people that you hear talk down on open mouth dogs on here or elsewhere have never hunted with a GOOD open mouth dog. They are speculating......but i guess I am to by making this statement.

Randy, i think we all know that you are speculating, especially if you are talking about any of YOUR dogs! 
You would have to come hunt with me before you can say you hunted with a GOOD dog!     

( Just Kidding!! I know my dogs are FAR from being what i would call GOOD dogs  )

[Beejay]

I for one know that everyone I hunt with has never owned an open dog or really gave them a chance.  They hear that silent dogs are better and I believe this persuades there judgement without them ever giving anything else a chance. JMI

[WestTexasCurs]

Adios

[Bigdog]

here n okla wher i hunt not alot of hogs.i hunt mostly hounds but have a hound rite now that is slient and i luv him dont bark till bayed.i have had him trail hogs up to a mile an bay them n there bed. i can bay hogs with open dogs or slient. i just  like a hog dog show me a hog at the end i dont care how we got there.but i understand sum of u guys luv for a slient dog.i mite add that i have alot of country  to hunt so it dont matter how long or short a race is.but slient or open just show me the hog n ill feed it.we mite ride 10 to 25 miles a day just to bay one hog so we need a dog with a good nose to trail or work thru old sign thats the main reason i hunt hounds plus i use my dogs on bear.

[lchunter]

look im the "kid" that asked why the dog was worth 400 i did not mean it in any bad way i was juat asking why this guy thinks his dog that yips is worth 400. I  dont like a dog that yips, i understand if they are bayed and the hog brakes and they bark one or two time thats fine but i dont want a dog that hits a fresh trail and goes to barking i did not mean to cross this man or anyone on this board over asking why the dog was worth 400 sorry to all i might have made mad.

[johnf]

her in upstate sc. silent dogs are harder to find i have recently bred some plottxbmcs that are pretty tight mouthed.my strike dog and my buddies are open track.they both find hogs consistantly.these dog backed up the by  cross dogs and a maybe a rcd our longest race was about600yrds most less."in my opinion" if you got mouth you gotta have speed and little bite and it all will come out in the wash.

[coach]

You didn't make anyone mad made for good learning and good conversation. Bottom line we all like hunting thought I could help you out easily, but that wasn't the case. Oh well no blood no foul. Just thought I would like to know and knew it would come out that some peoples dogs yip on track and lots more after the hog breaks which was the case of this dog. But it never got asked guess thats what I get for being truthful without giving to much information.

[setexasplott]

 i have a couple of open hounds and the rest of my yard is silent . i do not hunt the open with the silent it just seemed 2 confuse my silent ones . my open dogs do find and bay hogs every time i bring them  but it seems like the hogs run farther with the open hounds opposed to my silent dogs but i hunt alot of open feilds with small thickets here and there .that being said i have sold open dogs b4 to folks that hunt mainly woods and they love them .

[BULLMASTER]

Those guys in Florida run alot of open mouthed dogs and they sure catch the hell out of hogs,its just something I cant deal with.

[BarrNinja]

I like silent dogs for no other reason than I don't like to be teased, I want to know when I hear a bark that my dog is looking at a standing hog.  I will say this about open dogs, I have never seen an exceptional dog that was open that the owner didn't wish was silent and I have never seen an exceptional silent dog that the owner wished was open.  It is a trait that most people consider undesireable no matter how you dress it up.

Hmmm. That about sums it up for me!

It aggravates the crap out of me but I have a dog that opens about half the time (depends on the bitch's mood  ) that ain't going nowhere. She is not in my "exceptional" category yet and maybe never will be but I really, really like everything else about her. Maybe I can breed it out of her pups .
I have culled a dog for it when I was a lot younger that turned up in the "exceptional" category. I dont want that to happen again.
I think you can and do have hog dogs in the "elite" category that opens, bawls, cries, yips, and screams like a banshee on a track but I still dont like it. It dont mean I wouldnt learn how to live with it for one of those elite dogs though.

[buddylee]

If a dog that yips on track can find and stop hogs consistanlty then why not. They better have a ton of bottom and be fast to hang with a hog till he stops. I prefer totally silent dogs but whatever catches the most hogs works for me. I hunt small properties so a silent dog works better but on large properties why not.

[Buck]

Its a personal preference, I prefer a totally silent dog. Although there have been a few (very few) oppertunities that a dog that would yip, would give you a clue as to the direction they were headed when they broke before I had the Garmin.

Top 3 Reasons I don't like a dog that yips on track-
#1 lets everybody know they are coming including the hogs, gives dog smart hogs a head start
#2 might/has pulled another dog off a track/scent that it is trying to work out
#3 A dog that is young and goes to a dog yipping on some scent, that pulls the other dogs to it, and the dog is not yet close to the hog, those other dogs learn to not honor that dog

1. All game including hogs know that a dog is coming whether it is barking or not. This sneak up theory does not hold water.
2. The problem with this assumption is not the open mouthed dog it is the other dogs in your scenario that lack independence to seek, find , and account for their own game.
3. I am not quite sure what you mean here but if a dog barks and draws his pack mates to him isn't that a good thing? Now if the dog barks at nothing that could cause dogs not to honor it and then that decision is easy.

I find it interesting that I know a man that hunts a big fully open mouthed walker and he catches more than anyone I know. Some of you open mouthed dog bashers should go hunt with him for a few days.

[curdogsforhogs]

My lead strike dog is open on track but will find the hogs if they are any where around the area, I like hearing her open cause I know it will be just a short time before we get to stick a hog..run a silent BMC with her and he puts the hogs brakes on...I realize the hogs that are constantly dogged get smart but I have seen hogs lay down and let dogs run right by them trailing a few that were still up and moving..As long as it is consistent at finding hogs in the mountains like JohnF's plott Jade and Speck my cat gyp, I will buy them for 400 all day till my money runs out, which by the way is about one dog...oh well

[tnhillbilly]

Its a personal preference, I prefer a totally silent dog. Although there have been a few (very few) oppertunities that a dog that would yip, would give you a clue as to the direction they were headed when they broke before I had the Garmin.

Top 3 Reasons I don't like a dog that yips on track-
#1 lets everybody know they are coming including the hogs, gives dog smart hogs a head start
#2 might/has pulled another dog off a track/scent that it is trying to work out
#3 A dog that is young and goes to a dog yipping on some scent, that pulls the other dogs to it, and the dog is not yet close to the hog, those other dogs learn to not honor that dog

1. All game including hogs know that a dog is coming whether it is barking or not. This sneak up theory does not hold water.
2. The problem with this assumption is not the open mouthed dog it is the other dogs in your scenario that lack independence to seek, find , and account for their own game.
3. I am not quite sure what you mean here but if a dog barks and draws his pack mates to him isn't that a good thing? Now if the dog barks at nothing that could cause dogs not to honor it and then that decision is easy.

I find it interesting that I know a man that hunts a big fully open mouthed walker and he catches more than anyone I know. Some of you open mouthed dog bashers should go hunt with him for a few days.