This was my experiance, and Im a newbie so take it for what its worth:
From what little I have noticed and gone through with my dogs, if they dont catch on the ear the first time, its ok. They will quickly learn that its the quickest/easiest place for them to latch on. Letting your catchdog watch other dogs catching for a few seconds before releasing him/her seems to help a bit if they are'nt too sure whats going on at first, it also gives the pig time to start squealing, which seemed to help as well. Also, put your hands on the hog and handle him while the other dogs are on the hog. My male was a pure pet for 2 years before he ever saw a hog, and he wasnt sure what to do with a hog at first, but when he saw me put my hands on it and handle it, he started to understand that it was OK to engage, and he started by biting the rear legs. I know biting the rear legs isnt great, but on the next hog he went to the shoulder, third went between shoulder and ear, and on the next two hogs he went right for the ear. He went from not knowing what a hog was, to starting to catch in 4 hunts. From what I have read, a lot of dogs know exactly what to do on first hunts, and catch ear first time out, and thats fantastic, but dont get the idea that if they dont catch the right place at the right time on the first catch, that they arent worth investing in. Mine took 4 hunts before he got a really good hang of it, which is a lot longer than some other dogs. He is by no means a true catch dog yet, but we are on our way, and it just goes to show that it can take a little time, and not to be worried if they arent grabbing ear on the first hunt. Time in the woods with hogs will teach more than anything else.
Best of luck to you with your training, Im interested to read what you did and how it went.
