Is this type of press bad for most hog doggers?

[BigAinaBuilt]

OK, we have hunters attacking hunters. I am not sure why the post was put up, but it seems that it was a personal attack. When the rats are eating each other's feet off who is gaining from this (we all know the answer)?

I think it's funny you compared him to a rat!  Secondly, When you ask for publicity and beg for a spot light to be on you. You have to remember that it is alot like giving your significant other in high school a risky photo of yourself and it only takes a few weeks for everyone to be talking about your extra nipple or your short comings. When you post anything on the internet the chances of someone judging it is multiplied by 100 and you can't cry once it's out there!

He wants or needs publicity and pushed us down in the mud to step on us to get in that light. Some people don't mind being stepped on but there are alot of others who want you in the mud with them. Which is what is happening in this thread!

[Eric]

You know folks, Josh is a friend of mine, I want to say that right up front. I have read the article and I don't find anything wrong with it at all.
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I do feel posting this was a cheep shot at Josh, and just hunter bashing hunter.
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I do believe that  running finder/ holder style dogs in small numbers is the future of depredation/ contract hunting here in Texas.

I am disapointed with Josh that he would result to this propaganda and I am VERY disapointed to see a Tdha BOD defending it. Then again... that is politics for you. Makes me wonder what that $25 is being used to support.

[TX HOG]

if they have they time to drag all those hogs out of the woods and give the meat to charity there is no way they are catching more hogs than people using packs of dogs. either way, he shouldnt have to bad mouth people that hunt differently.

[cward]

Well I do not no this guy and looks like I don't need to!! The way I understand it looking back at his post he always argued and debated one out VS packs..Then  ask to be removed fron ETHD because the debates over the one out VS pack!!  PLEASE corect me if I am wrong and I will apologize!! It just all adds up to him being a lizzard!!

As far as who get's dogs killed and who can feed them!!! Thats a bunch of BS you can't make the good pay for the bad!! catch the bad and punish them!! I have a crap pot load of dogs and they are all in good shape!! 

[WAARHEID]

I used to know of Josh only from his posts on this and other boards/forums. I'll admit that based only on those, that I thought the guy was a self deluded, self absorbed, shamelessly self promoting douche bag.

When I went to Bremond I had numerous folks come up to me and tell me that Josh wanted to meet me and talk dogs with me. I politely ignored the requests. I figured that if he wanted to meet/talk with me so badly, he could pull himself away from his L3 billboard on wheels (his truck) and come find me. I wasn't hiding, and everyone else seemed to be able to find me to tell me, why couldn't he just come talk to me himself? I walked away from the bay comp convinced he was even more of a douche than I had originally thought.

A few weeks/months later I got an email from a friend of his asking me to call him. I thought, "Man, this guy is like a bad rash, but... what the h___, I'll call him, then maybe he'll leave me alone."

So I called him and an funny thing happened... I found that I liked him. We talked for a few hours. What I realized was that he wasn't the obnoxious blow-hard he seemed to be on the forums. He wasn't a shallow braggart. What he is... is a true believer. He not selling anything... he just really believes it, that strongly. In person he's actually quite humble and contemplative, he's just enthusiastic about his work.

He asked me if I'd be willing to help him with something, and I agreed to try. I've been working off-and-on on it for a few weeks now and just recently found I had hit a wall and won't be able to help as I had hoped, but the point is that I made a serious effort because he really won me over to thinking that he is actually a good guy that has some good knowledge/insight on dogs and doggin'.

So after reading that article/interview, the only thing I can say about it is that I am so very disappointed in him.

I'm still inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I still think that he's basically a good guy... but giving those interview responses showed a serious lack of judgment at best, a betrayal of his fellow responsible doggers at worst. In all likelihood it was an unintentional betrayal, but a betrayal all the same.  

[WAARHEID]

Josh is a grown man and I wouldn't presume to tell him what to do. That said, I think it would go a long way if Josh would apologize and formally retract his statement, making it clear that:

1) There are one-out hunters and pack hunters every where... we find both types of doggers in the US, Europe, and Australasia.
2) There are many different ways of removing feral swine, including trapping, airborne gunning, dogging, etc.
3) All removal methods have varying degrees of appropriateness and effectiveness depending on many factors including sounder size, natural and man made terrain features, prevailing cover, food sources, water sources, human population densities, the presence and types of domestic livestock in the area, etc.
4) Within the hog dogging community, there are more than two ways to hunt. Some run one out, some run pairs, some run packs. Some use rangy scent hounds. Some sighthunt. Some use RCDs. Some bay, catch and tie. Some bay, catch and stick. Some bay and shoot. All of these can be done effectively, all of these can be done ethically and all of these can be responsibly.
5) You can find examples of people that keep their dogs poorly in any group of dog owners... this includes some working dog owners and some pet dog owners.
6) How well someone keeps their dogs has nothing to do with how much money they make, how much land they have, how many dogs they keep, or what type of activities they do with their dogs. It boils down to their ability to make realistic and responsible choices.

I suspect Josh knows all these things, it would just go a long way if he would put them out there to correct the misinformation he put out in that interview.

[Hogboy]

Just to throw it out there.....

The TDHA supports, promotes and aims to protect ALL forms of hunting with dogs.  The TDHA in no way promotes any one form of hunting or condoes the bashing of another.  We thank every member for thier support and we hope to unify all dog hunters in the fight for our rights.  

In my short time visting message boards I have learned there is one cardinal rule to dog hunting.  There are many methods and strategies that people use when hunting.  All can be successful and each individual can use their preffered method.  But the instant anyone claims what they do is the best, they have just started a $hit storm they cannot win.  There has really nver been one method that is "the way" in any form of hunting.  And when it is dog hunting there are several breeds out there and each of them have thier strengths and weaknesses.  It is always best to say "My preffered method" or "The Method I have had the most success with".  And even though some points may be valid it is best to never belittle another method.

I have met Josh and his wife and have talked to both.  Both are very nice people and they have always been friendly to me.  They are both very business minded people and they market and promote their product well.  I hope that it was not either of their intention to dog any other form of hunting and merely trying to promote what they do.  I am sure a mistake was made by the reporter or the words taken out of context.  I hope no true sportsmans would publicly say these things to hurt any form of dog hunting.  There are many times that I have seen things taken out of context on a message board due to the fact that once you type something you cannot explain it or you dont know how the words were intended.  It is much harder to get your point across typing that it is talking.  

This is a good lessaon for all dog hunters.  We must all conduct ourselves in a manner that will only promote our sport.

Thanks again for the support of TDHA and I hope this post gets some closure soon as I hate to see this horse get beaten to death and left out here for any more ammo for the anti's.


Ron J Branyon