Catchdog Etiquette

[M.Peitz]

you talkin about all them heartattack hogs ?? best fun i had was when i had them cataracts and couldn't hardly tell a dog leg from a hog leg . them was fun times . and i couldn't put most of em on here cause them young uns would call me a liar !!

ill bite... if you get the time id like to hear a story or two, you can always just pm it to me, i love reading stories that would make me mess my pants.

and i want to know bout the hat trick, is it all in the wrist or what?

x2 a good story is hard to beat! just write a book!

[jon]

for me sometimes we dont use catch dogs... that gets kinda interesting lol but whenever we do it's normaly one lead in (mine) and for me the best part of the hunt is the catch.. i love to watch that dog run in there with no fear and just jump up and grab on... point is i have never turned my cd loose on one i couldnt see JMO

good subject

[Bump]

Bump: absoltely agree that a hog is handled better with 2 cd's, hence minimizing damage. Where I see the problem or issue is... Does hauling and carrying around 2 cd's everywhere you go for that 5 or 10% chance that you'll actually bay a hog that needs the extra help. Weighing all the pro's and cons of how much we hunt, the number of hogs we catch and the number of bruisers that need 2 cd's I just feel that one is enough.

That being said we don't have 20# bay dogs lol and most of the time 1 or 2 cur dogs will have the other ear

Understood...Im sure the amount of hogs I catch which really need two catch dogs is less than you. But I am a puss and always wanna make sure. In my area I can most likely drive near the bay and very rarely do I tie...so hauling two dogs isnt as big of deal.

Good topic

[dub]

and i want to know bout the hat trick, is it all in the wrist or what?

Sneak up behind the hog when the dogs are bayed, throw a hat in front of him. They will usually try and bite the hat, when they step forward, grab some tail and hang on! But, this little move will backfire on you eventually and get your ass hog caught! Make sure there is a tree handy to climb lol. I've also done this when they are bayed up underneath a blowed over tree to get them to come out where you can get a rope on 'em.

Sometimes, when you don't have a CD there is nothing you can do if they are bayed in the wrong spot. I've sat up in a oak tree for an hour trying to talk the dogs into catching a boar hog in a clump of small cabbage trees, nothing I could do about it except listen to the music and go back to catch him another day.

Now that ain't how I heard it. I heard you just run in there, toss the hat, grab the 5,000 lb hog toss it up and slam it down so hard the pine cones fall off the trees in Maine. I heard that is what really shook the North East but they blamed it on an earth quack so you would not have to pay to fix the Washington Monument

[sfboarbuster]

Dub, I was TRYING to be modest, but ya caught me.

[T-Bob Parker]

I'll tell you what catch dog etiquette is to me. This is what I want, good level mannered pit who catches smart and holds like its got a brain. Between 35-50 lbs. Unstoppable desire to catch a hog, but calm cool and collected. This is where etiquette comes in, no matter the type of catchdog, it should be quiet, walk properly on lead, act right in the truck or atv and know all its required commands. A catchdog has to be around its handler alot, so why put up with headaches cuased by an uncouth dog.

[TColt]

All depends on situation. I like a versatile dog for a cd though. I have dealt with alot of runners in some of the areas I hunt. But I take so many things into consideration before I turn a cd loose or run them on the ground. Soco is goin on five years and still kicking, he gets the crap hunted out of him and is used any way you could possible used a holding dog, but I spend as much or more time in training my cd as I do a cur. My opinion it's a much more thorough building process for my cd than my cur dogs. I wouldn't ever just got take a year old cd with no experience and put them in the woods. Soco for example was strictly lead in for the first year of his life. Honestly, he is the one who opened my eyes to see that he could do more.

Anyone who knows me on a personal basis knows that my soco dog is probably the most important thing in the world to me (besides Lindsay and my family). He is pretty much my child lol. As hard as I hunt him, I calculate the risks tremendously. I know that any day could be his last. So many things go through my mind, that it's hard to put into words, before that dog ever comes off a lead. Have a 7 mo up and comer that I plan to eventually run side by side with soco to take some of the work load off him, so well see how he ends up. He deffinetly has the potential.

[BIG BEN]

 I perfer a couple 50lb pits but we do have and use alot bigger pits than that. I want to be able to see my bay dogs work the hog and the CD hit when he catches. We have never sent a cd to a bay over 50 yards away and the less time a CD is caught the less likley there will be damage to the dog.

[make-em-squeel]

I'll tell you what catch dog etiquette is to me. This is what I want, good level mannered pit who catches smart and holds like its got a brain. Between 35-50 lbs. Unstoppable desire to catch a hog, but calm cool and collected. This is where etiquette comes in, no matter the type of catchdog, it should be quiet, walk properly on lead, act right in the truck or atv and know all its required commands. A catchdog has to be around its handler alot, so why put up with headaches cuased by an uncouth dog.

I agree with you here. But have a ? for you. Have you ever seen a pit hold clean? I like pits and have caught plenty of hogs behind them, but there typically not the breed you want for a clean holding style. Despite owning a few good pits and being around many more I have never seen one that wouldnt shake out the bite....they were line bred to kill for 100's of yrs not hold. There typically a shorter dog as well and as soon as there feet go off the ground its like a dish towel in the wind 
Good topic

[skunkhounds]

i have never had a lead in catchdog and dont want one if you cant  take the time to trash break the catch dog then he must not be worth haveing .

[t.wilbanks]

i have never had a lead in catchdog and dont want one if you cant  take the time to trash break the catch dog then he must not be worth haveing .

Are you saying that a lead in cathdog has to be lead in because its not trash broke??

IMO, its just another style and in most cases has nothing to do with the dog not being trash broke... 

[Strike Dog Kennels]

     TShelly I feel ya brother.  In our neck of the woods it works best with 3 catch dogs to turn aloose in increments.  We use a RUFF cur dog and bull dog combo.  We run garmin collars on all of them.  We do not like the catch dogs that will run with the curs.  I try to keep a short range catch dog.  If the hog breaks they will make a short run at it and come back.
     A couple of years ago we bayed one off a cow feeder down in a creek bed.  It was dark so we got in as close as we could and turned two large american bulldogs loose.  They caught a boar that weighed around 350 with 3 inch cutters in a wash out in a creek.  I'm talking about 10 foot banks and only one way in there.  That night I was thankful for two large catch dogs.  That hog was fat and feeling good due to all of the high protein show calf pellets he had been eating.  That hog was big enough to swallow one small catch dog.
       I think some of the problem is the type of cut vest people run on their dogs.  My old vest is 11 years old.  I've retired 2 catch dogs in it and am currently seasoning my young dog in it.  It has only been cut through twice, and both of those have been in the last two years.  I will retire the vest at the end of this year.  Nothing pisses me off more than to see a catch dog with a phony vest on or without a vest. 

[treeingratterrier]

Everybodys different but for me i rather have a lead in catch dog over one running with curs, after a while seems like they will try to start striking and catching on there own and that seems like its a wreck in progress when they get seperated from the pack and try to lock up on a dog killa by themseleves, I hunted tons with one red blackmouth cur and 2 or 3 pit bulldogs, always held them back and let the cur strike off the hood or front of the truck, if he barked he was looking at the hog and then dumped the dogs or lead them in to him depending on how far from the truck, nothings worse than finding 3 dogs locked up on a easy fat sow or shoat and then start looking for the remaining catch dog and hear him getting wacked solo becuase he split off on the way to the bay up, but this was on ranches with lots of senderos and thick heavy brush, got tired of the catch dog deal when one got after my fence jumping mule out of the blue after riding in the truck bed with him for 4 years, go figure, until it happens to you its hard to figure when one snaps like that out of the blue with no warning, stuff happens when we hog hunt thats for sure, you never know what to expect really, I think thats the draw, no hog hunt with dogs is ever the same!!!!

[SwampHunter]

i have a 42 pound pit , listens good , catches good, good around other dogs , broke off livestock , leads good the only thing i dont like is he gets excited a squeals when he thinks he hears a bay , im gonna have to start runing shock collar on him so maybe he will learn ,i like him because i can turn him loose an he will go hunt , so if i see pigs close by an the other dogs are off i can cut him loose an he will go an try to wind them ,

perfect catch dog in my eyes would be about 45 - 50 pounds , hate hogs but still gentle  an calm with other animals around the house , good with dogs , livestock an , ride on atv or truck , listen pretty good , know how to sit an not pull on the lead i dont like big huge catch dogs they are hard to lift over fences an stuff , IMO bigger catch dogs will get cut deeper because of weight when the hog hits they pushing against more pounds

[make-em-squeel]

i have a 42 pound pit , listens good , catches good, good around other dogs , broke off livestock , leads good the only thing i dont like is he gets excited a squeals when he thinks he hears a bay , im gonna have to start runing shock collar on him so maybe he will learn ,i like him because i can turn him loose an he will go hunt , so if i see pigs close by an the other dogs are off i can cut him loose an he will go an try to wind them ,

perfect catch dog in my eyes would be about 45 - 50 pounds , hate hogs but still gentle  an calm with other animals around the house , good with dogs , livestock an , ride on atv or truck , listen pretty good , know how to sit an not pull on the lead i dont like big huge catch dogs they are hard to lift over fences an stuff , IMO bigger catch dogs will get cut deeper because of weight when the hog hits they pushing against more pounds

Were all intitled to our own opinion but yours is wrong. I do agree that the above described cd is a good one but the last part of your post has no validity

[TColt]

The law of physics would say that you are right, a bidder catch dog is a great force agains a cutter therefore the cutter can go deeper and this wOuld be correct if the dog was an object that could not manipulate its own  movements. Where a bigger cd strives is when they can keep their feet on the ground and get side to side with a hog (there has to be some holding style also of course), and therefore can stay away from teeth.

Example. My soco dog is no "large cd" he is about 70 lbs and built right. He was run on the ground the other day and we led a pit it (the hog that weighed 283). Soco was caught and the pit was sent in behind him. When I got there, the pit was not caught. He was trying to catch and having to jump at the hogs ear (hog was very tall for 283 but also short boddied, all weight was in height and upfront). Soco was stretched out pretty good but was able to keep all four feet on the ground and body up with this particular boar. Soco suffered minor flesh wounds (one bite through the skin on the neck below the collar), quervo, the pit, ended up dead from his wounds. From the looks of the wound in his side, he was caught at one point and the hog slung him pretty good and he got a good tooth to the ribs (just a guess), the. Many puncture wounds on the neck/shoulder from gettin knocked back.

I think different sizes all have advantages and disadvantages. You just got to find what works best for your pack and get a dog as much experience as you can without getting them killed. Soco was lead in, probably 50 yards or less, for the first year of his career and handled some good hogs that way before i slowly have expanded his horizon. Now I hunt him, not the way he wants to be hunted, but the way that is going to fit our needs that day in the field and still keep him as safe. Like I said, I take a lot into consideration before he comes unclipped.

[BIG CHRIS]

i have a 42 pound pit , listens good , catches good, good around other dogs , broke off livestock , leads good the only thing i dont like is he gets excited a squeals when he thinks he hears a bay , im gonna have to start runing shock collar on him so maybe he will learn ,i like him because i can turn him loose an he will go hunt , so if i see pigs close by an the other dogs are off i can cut him loose an he will go an try to wind them ,

perfect catch dog in my eyes would be about 45 - 50 pounds , hate hogs but still gentle  an calm with other animals around the house , good with dogs , livestock an , ride on atv or truck , listen pretty good , know how to sit an not pull on the lead i dont like big huge catch dogs they are hard to lift over fences an stuff , IMO bigger catch dogs will get cut deeper because of weight when the hog hits they pushing against more pounds

Were all intitled to our own opinion but yours is wrong. I do agree that the above described cd is a good one but the last part of your post has no validity

what makes his OP so wrong i can fully agree with what he says. i like a smaller catch and a large catch dog. i run both at the same time, both are lead in and turned loose at the same time. 8 out of 10 times the smaller catch dog gets there first. but both do there job well , and work great togeather. they cover what the other dog lacks, small dog better speed and agility, bigger dog over all bulk and height. SO small CD gets there to hammer a hog, big CD gets there to help seal the deal. and the CD are there for insuarence. we lead in as close as possible, no sense in send to 2 CD for what one and the CURS can handle. 6 out of 10 when the curs now where that close if they can catch out there goen to so we have had plenty of times there was never CD turned loose.

I'll tell you what catch dog etiquette is to me. This is what I want, good level mannered pit who catches smart and holds like its got a brain. Between 35-50 lbs. Unstoppable desire to catch a hog, but calm cool and collected. This is where etiquette comes in, no matter the type of catchdog, it should be quiet, walk properly on lead, act right in the truck or atv and know all its required commands. A catchdog has to be around its handler alot, so why put up with headaches cuased by an uncouth dog.

I agree with you here. But have a ? for you. Have you ever seen a pit hold clean? I like pits and have caught plenty of hogs behind them, but there typically not the breed you want for a clean holding style. Despite owning a few good pits and being around many more I have never seen one that wouldnt shake out the bite....they were line bred to kill for 100's of yrs not hold. There typically a shorter dog as well and as soon as there feet go off the ground its like a dish towel in the wind 
Good topic

T-bob u got it goen on for sure in what u want. and that is the CD i like to be around. as far as a pit not holding clean? sure there is alot the dnt wont and cant, just the same as any other breed. but just like our strike dogs, if u selective breed and strive for what ur looken for in a CD u can get the total package. This CD or pit is a dime a dozen theory is BS. why settle when u could go for greatness.

[T-Bob Parker]

Make em squeel and Chris, thanks to both yall, make em, yes I've seen a clean holding pit, not many but a coupl.

My current catchdog doesn't fit my ideal but she's close in some aspects. Two different pits I've seen that I would be honored to own were; Chances male leopard who I can't recall his name but that dog definitely had his mind right.

My personal favorite pit ever was owned by my good friend Jheffern and was hands down the greatest mannered dog of any breed I've ever had the pleasure to be around and just really dadgum smart.

You have many good points and I see how you've come to this conclusion. Weight is a big factor for me as well, I personally enjoy a lightweight catchdog and absolutely do believe that less weight equals a better chance for the vest to do its job.

[SwampHunter]

Not saying my thinking is right just what I have noticed is , all my dogs catch before or with the catch dog so the hog is kinda streched out So mayb that's why I like smaller dogs but who knows what ever works for you keep doin it haha ,

[halfbreed]

sqeel how can you say anybodys opinion is wrong it;s treir opinion not yours !! now with that said i prefer a small catch dog for the reasons swamp hunter i think said, a foarce against a heavier object will result in greater damage period just check out physcics and you will see what he's talking about . a small smart pit [like mine ] will do just as well as and a better job of catching than those big dumb hevier catch dogs will with less damage to the dog .