"big" hunting dogs ?

[buddylee]

Anyone running "bigger" hunting dogs ? By bigger I mean 75lbs. and up and not a RCD help dog. I mean dogs that find hogs on a regular basis. I am curious as to who is doing so cause I really like the idea of a "bigger" straight catch strike dog. PLEASE DON'T TURN THIS INTO AN ARGUEMENT ABOUT BIG VS. LITTLE DOGS.

[Purebreedcolt]

My ridgeback crosses are in that range have three catch dogs over 75 pounds

[5150hogdogs]

My buddy has some hound crosses he runs like you sayin big and does pretty good in ms with them but in the marsh they tend to bog down a good bit what kind of terrain you huntin

[TT]

Got a Ybmc round 90 lbs.  That is alil slower than rest of em bust will strike on his own and before others often. And no bark

[buddylee]

No marshes here. Wooded swamps, timberland and some farms. My 90lb. dane/pit doesn't seem to have problem in my swamps but I imagine the marshes are a lot softer muck.

I am trying to hopefully breed up a bigger hunting dog that hunts within several hundred yards, hot nosed, good endurance, and straight catch.

[boarwild]

i have a bully/dane that is about 80 pounds and still a pup but coming on fast.  i have a catahoula/dane that is about 90 lbs that will strike and is the fastest dog out of all of my friends, he will bay sometimes and will catch most of the time(he has struck about 30 pigs and is 14 months old).  I have a catahoula/mastiff that is my second fastest dog that will strike and catch (has a very hard bite).  Other then that i have smaller sized bay dogs.  I run those three on the ground at all times and we have had less pigs that run far on us since i have started running them.  These dogs are roaded for 3 to 4 hours a night and still keep good stamina and strength throughout the hole hunt.  i was a non believer for a long time, but as hunts started getting easier i have become a believer.  I think that is probably my size limit though.  i wouldn't go up much bigger.  I hunt in thick black brush, open crop fields, mesquite thickets, white brush, black jack sand country, and they work just fine in all of them.  If i were you i would try going with a cross first.  Anything with mastiff, dane, or some other type crossed to a cur type dog.  I have seen some big bull dog/curs that did well too in the 80# to 90# range.  Just my opinion though.

[5150hogdogs]

No marshes here. Wooded swamps, timberland and some farms. My 90lb. dane/pit doesn't seem to have problem in my swamps but I imagine the marshes are a lot softer muck.

I am trying to hopefully breed up a bigger hunting dog that hunts within several hundred yards, hot nosed, good endurance, and straight catch.

Why don't you wait ima breed something like that after march it's gonna be cat/pit x abd/mastiff I think you'd like that lol

[coyote hunter]

i run a cat lab mix thats about 70 plus lbs  fast and leggy and will shut down a runner then sit back and bay 

[buddylee]

5150, that sounds like a good cross. I did a breeding a little over a month ago and I think and hope it took. I breed the same dane/pit to another female in September and it didn't take so who knows about this time.

 This time I breed my dane/pit to a 1/2 Campbell cur 1/2 pit. A Campbell cur is basically a pointer/pit cross. He weighs 90 lbs. She weighs about 50 lbs. Both are straight catch. The cur was an outstanding hog dog that was a great winding and trailing dogs. The pit in the dam was also an oustanding dog. Was told she would regulary trail hogs for miles. My dane/pit hasn't found yet but will go with the curs as far as they go and has the energy and wind left to catch whatever.

The point of me posting was to see who was running big dogs and to see how they are working out.

[tuskbuster]

yote hunter whats your name ,i probly know ya if ur from the G town

[5150hogdogs]

5150, that sounds like a good cross. I did a breeding a little over a month ago and I think and hope it took. I breed the same dane/pit to another female in September and it didn't take so who knows about this time.

 This time I breed my dane/pit to a 1/2 Campbell cur 1/2 pit. A Campbell cur is basically a pointer/pit cross. He weighs 90 lbs. She weighs about 50 lbs. Both are straight catch. The cur was an outstanding hog dog that was a great winding and trailing dogs. The pit in the dam was also an oustanding dog. Was told she would regulary trail hogs for miles. My dane/pit hasn't found yet but will go with the curs as far as they go and has the energy and wind left to catch whatever.

The point of me posting was to see who was running big dogs and to see how they are working out.

Try taken her to the vet and get a pregnancy test I did that with my pit I just bred and she was it only cost like 35 bucks but beats the heck out of guessin you know but you and I are in the same boat on what kinda dogs we wantin

[uglydog]

I don't really believe its neccesarily the size of the dog that hiders endurance as much as it is when folks breed for size they get the bulk and sloppy confrmation in the dog. The dogs joints must be able to handle the weight it is carrying on them, fluid movement is key, and balance in structure.
Face it alot of the larger breeds have the crap bred out of them to look cool and tuff and not as much emphasis on the health and ability of the dog. The smaller dogs can usually carrier their weight and have the strength for agile movement, because they are not as "bulky"

The larger dogs will usually have more joint and health issues, because attention is not paid to breeding healthy hips and joints, they are not put to any kind of endurance or agile, or duration test before breeding them.
The thick American Bulldogs are a good example, for short distance they are really strong, but they are two thick and heavy with not enough lenghth of muzzle to get enough air/oxygen through them to go for endurance.

What is the longevity of the breed of dogs you are crossing in? Can they still run 10-20 miles at the age of 6-7 years with good speed and still good the next day with out being sore and stove up?
Great Danes are not known for long life spans, usually the greater the size of the dog, the shorter the life span, and the slower the maturity age, so when it comes to breeding dogs for size, It would be a great assett to consider the particualr dog you are using to cross into the line as to "are you breeding a dog that will be a dog that has a shelf life of hunting for only two to three years before it has reached its potential and then past its prime?"

Personally I feel after feeding and raising one up to a year of age, then put another year of grooming them into a top dog, and then I want to see them excell for several more years after that before they are the downhill slope.
I like a big dog, but over 80 lbs I think you are more likely to get less longevity of a career from a working dog.

[make-em-squeel]

These are some examples of big dogs getting it done.

http://www.boardogs.com/Bull_Mastiff_Cross_Great_Dane.htm

http://www.boardogs.com/Boardogs_Pig_Dog_Supplies.htm

[Dogojones]

I've had exp. with both small 25lb (Patterdale Terrier) and large 80-100lb (Dogo). Each has their own strengths and weakness. I can't cover as much ground with the larger dog but once they get there that's where I see the differance. I hunt one pack of dog breed that are able to find and hold until the hunter gets there. I like to see more dog on the hog than the other way around. I kow some say size doesn't matter but that depends on who you're asking. Back in my bar days all the bouncers seem to be large men with tight shirts on. Didn't see many bouncers under 200lbs. Doesn't mean there any tougher but sizes helps just like in football speed kills.

[treeingratterrier]

Real big dogs (over 100 pounds)usually are mastiff or danes or some other show dog breed that can not keep up with a running boar over a 1/2 mile, plus they get to0 hot in the summer as well, i dont know why people think a big dog is the best, they usually all have bad hind joints and not bred for anything but size, plus they are so large they get hung up in brush or sink in mud or rivers or fences, buy a cur or hound and forget the big dogs, they only find easy hogs in grainfeilds down here after a 5 minute race.  I rather hunt a cur, hound , lacy type catahoula that can road all night in front of the truck and then strike and bay all bay after a 2 mile race, to heck with all of those giant dogs that have to be hauled on a 4 wheeler to a bay up or show them a hog with a spotlightlol  I have had terriers go miles and bay up with matiffs falling out of the race after a mile and never catch up, they were my pards dogs and i never let him live that down lolhe did have a 1/2 great dane leopard but it was silent and slow too. 

[M Bennet]

all my bmc and cat catch but there only 55,60 lb

[boarwild]

Real big dogs (over 100 pounds)usually are mastiff or danes or some other show dog breed that can not keep up with a running boar over a 1/2 mile, plus they get to0 hot in the summer as well,  I rather hunt a cur, hound , lacy type catahoula that can road all night in front of the truck and then strike and bay all bay after a 2 mile race

My exact words two years ago until i got my own.  Now mine are half breeds and i will not own a full breed mastiff or Dane. they will go any distance they need too in any weather and any brush (i live in south texas and hunt it all) although it normally ends quick with them.  I got tired of running long distance races with pigs, and i found a solution.  No it doesn't always work that easy but i have seen a huge difference in our stop distance. My dogs are still pretty young though so i can't vouch for them getting old too fast, that may be my complaint.  This is just from my own experience.  The pigs where i live are dogged by to many people and first instinct is run run run, and i got sick of it.  Call me lazy, fat, or whatever you want but a mile race or more is nothing to be proud of in my book "anymore".  Proud to me is shutting a runner down within a few hundred yards of where it was standing.  Not trying to argue just stating why i like my dogs "big." Buddylee keep at it if you think you like the big dogs, eventually you will see the advantages.

[kbar]

ok...if i remember right you said you didnt want an argument started on this thread about big vrs. small.....so lets just comment on what large crosses or full blooded dogs we run.
 
all the dogs i run are over 60 lbs up to 80lbs besides 1 or 2 that are about 50-60lbs. i run 3(used to be 5) big cats, one bmc, one ridgeback, and i just started two ridgeback/pits.
were i hunt we like our dogs to have a lot of leg, speed, and they have to be able to tolerate the heat.
my dogs are not HUGE dogs but the sure can stop a big hog.

[buddylee]

Thank you KBAR. APPARENTLY PEOPLE EITHER DON'T READ OR CANT READ.

5150. I took my dane/pit to the vet the other day to get checked out. He wouldn't give the vet a "sample". I didn't know they could test a female that cheap. I thought they had to x ray them and I figured that was real expensive. I will call my vet tomorrow.

[W-tate]

buddylee i have the litter mate  to boar wilds bullydane i think  mine is a little bigger   but i really like him i am starting to run  him with my other dogs on the ground   he went out a mile   first time on the ground    never lost a step wasnt even tired was just huntin his but off     i am intested in  hunting the types of dogs you mention