What do you expect out of your dogs?

[justincorbell]

I want mine to hunt 300-600yds out making wide swinging circles, not straight lines.
I also want them to be just gritty enough to stop a hog but I do not want dogs that I am constantly having to doctor after every hunt. Bottom.......I use to be one to say that I didn't want a dog that wouldn't stay with a hog no matter the distance but now I  know better due to the fact that I no longer hunt large properties........if my dogs cant stop a hog in under a 2/3 to 3/4 a mile I want them to come back, I don't have the luxury to hunt large blocks of land anymore and I don't want a dog that is going to go for miles and miles on a hog.......may not make sense to some but its how I want my dogs and in most places it works for me.

 

[wine6978]

Man I know I am kinda new at this still, but after cullin a few dogs I have an idea what I want.... To be honest it is simple to me. I just want a HOG DOG. No bull. Go as far as they need to, stick with em as long as it takes, be as gritty as needed to either keep a hog still or catch the smaller stuff, I dont care what color, the quickest thing ill dump a dog for is aggression. As long as they call off when I holler and get ahead when told and find hogs I'll feed em!!!

[Curcross1987]

My lead dog range out as far as I lead them they must keep my feet warm during the winter they must not get out of sight and I love a bugger barker

[sdillard]

DRIVE!!!! they have to have the drive to keep on keepin on. i dont care if its a loose baying dog or a rough dog he better not stop hunting until i go get him or call him in.

[Reuben]

well...I am starting to see some good topics...the kind I like... like this one...

EXPECTATIONS...my expectations of the dogs I have right now are set quite a bit lower than my old line of dogs because I don't really have a choice at the moment...but I will talk in the present tense about my old pack/line of dogs that I hope to breed back up one day not too far off in the future...  

I like having the confidence that my dogs can hunt with any top ranked hog dog and look as good...What I consider great dogs some folks wouldn't want because of the never quit kind of dogs I like...Jesse Paul hunts the type I like...

If I see fresh sign I guarantee the dogs will find the hog...if it is a big place and a hog is in it the dogs will probably find it...but part of making these dogs excel has to do with proper handling and guidance... like knowing the place and hunting where the hogs could be and hunting cross wind or into the wind...and giving the dogs every opportunity to line out the track by stopping the 4 wheeler and waiting for them to strike or come back...this teaches the dogs to work colder tracks...

I like the dogs to track a fair distance to bay or jump the hog and then run the hog as far as needed to stop and bring it to bay...Like Wilbanks said...In the summer the dogs might get out ran because of the heat...Winter time is a different story...I like quite a bit of grit which is a fault of mine but I like it...one dog of this type can stop many hogs and 3-5 can break a bay in the thick briars but caught hog in the open country...

I expect the dogs to go deep in a thick thick briar patch to locate and bay a hog...not to quit in these briars and look elsewhere unless I call the dogs out...

I like a medium to colder nose but a dog that prefers a hotter track...I encourage the dogs to take a colder track and work it out...

I like a dog that runs the track fast with his head up and looking and listening for the hog...I like a long range winding dog...and one that makes a quarter mile circle to the left and comes by and looping back to the right side...If I don't move the dogs will keep going to find a pig but as long as I keep moving they will keep hunting with me...

I don't like a dog that wants to keep reminding the other dogs that he is the boss (aggression), I don't like a dog that hunts way out there for himself and I don't care for a dog that doesn't pack up...

BUT I BELIEVE AN HONEST DOG MAN EVALUATES HIS EXPECTATIONS ON A REGULAR BASIS...if a certain dog is not hunted for a while and it quits because it is over heating then this is not the dogs fault...just one example of evaluating expectations...the dog is out of shape because it is not hunted enough or because it is over weight...


I like for a dog to open 2 or 3 times when it locates a good track to draw in the pack and then shut up until the hog is bayed...

[M Bennet]

i expect them to hunt and be happy. 100% health and happy means they will hunt good. range is no big deal and the weather is good smelling conditions are right it makes for a nice hunt. i make sure they are working the air back and forth as we drive along and show me there hunting thats about all i can ask for when we hood hunt , i love it when a young dog lays on his or her chest and puts the front feet on the bumper , i beleave it means their trying hard to wind a hog.

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

Independent.  Doesn't care if I am in the woods with them or not. 

A dog that truly hunts for themselves. 

Articulate on track and thorough... making continuous loops when losing track and dedicated enough to picking it back up with complete follow through no matter the timeframe.

As for baying...like both kinds.... loose and tight but under the same umbrella and intelligent enough to make the decision depending on the situation themselves. 


Uhhhh one other thing I am having trouble remembering ................O yea...and YELLER! 

[easttexasoutlaw33]

Independent.  Doesn't care if I am in the woods with them or not. 

A dog that truly hunts for themselves.  


Uhhhh one other thing I am having trouble remembering ................O yea...and YELLER! 

wouldnt you be hunting the wrong breed then? I thought curs where more one owner dogs that hunted to please there master where a hound is the breed that hunts for themselves

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

Independent.  Doesn't care if I am in the woods with them or not. 

A dog that truly hunts for themselves.  


Uhhhh one other thing I am having trouble remembering ................O yea...and YELLER! 

wouldnt you be hunting the wrong breed then? I thought curs where more one owner dogs that hunted to please there master where a hound is the breed that hunts for themselves

Nope ....wouldn't be the wrong breed at all.  (For me)  Guess thats why i like a good cur dog.
You get a wide assortment to choose your personal tastes and the ability to build upon what you get.
I own a few hounds currently and plenty in past years.  I just break them out when I want to tree something, or hear a good rabbit race.   Lol

[brandeek1]

We get handle on our dogs first. They come off hog on command. They get behind bike on command. They stop hunting on command. They come when called. Takes longer to get tht done on some but that's why we only hunt one young dog at a time with 4-5 older dogs. They seem to learn better by example. I know I will prolly get some feedback on the coming off hog on command, but we like that. We have hunted some crazy crap and could not get to them in rosé hedge. Have to b able to call them out. We mostly hunt open prairie now and rice fields. All four wheeler accessible. We like to enjoy the hunt and not really have to work so hard at it. I love to watch the dogs work. Nothing greater than seeing that moment a young dog turns on and figures it out. Not sure how far our dogs range out so I guess they go as far as they need too. LOL. We have been hunting for over 20 years and we are just not that mad at the hogs anymore. It's about the dogs now and how they work and progress. I have a Pitt now that I'm working with to have the handle our other dogs do. He runs on ground and does pretty good. Hits like a freight train. He's gettin there. Just a personal challenge for us I guess jut to c if we can do it. LOL.

[magnuml]

I run two stock bred, close range, rough cur dogs. If there are hogs within 300 yards of where I am standing, I want them to be able to wind, find and stop them . Once I get to them, they need to attempt to hold(any hog) as well as get out on my command. If hog breaks and they get beat bad(more than 300 yards), i want them back. I mainly walk hunt these dogs. I expect either one of my two to attempt to accomplish what I have stated above by themselves.

X2 except i like mine to try and catch anything with two there as opposed to just one..

X 3. I like mine just like rdjustham. mine have to get along with all dogs on the ground and in the box and have a good handle on them. I am not chasing dogs!

[halfbreed]

dang boys quitters is quitters and i wont feed a quitter . it's just as easy [ well maybe a little more work ] to have your dogs leave a hog on command and not on it's own . you don't want them staying with a runner get a handle on em and call em off , don't let them quit on their own . that does nothing for the breed . don't wanna hurt no feelings  [ well maybe i do  lol ] but keep breeding for bottom and train them to come in when called you'll be much better off in the long run . and so will the breed . just my perspective on the subject , ever wonder why these hogs have took to runnin ?  mainly cause they been run before and the dogs in pursuit quit em . hogs is smart as all get out and it don't take em long to figure something out . have fun out there and run em to death lol

[magnuml]

Well where i live and hunt( Florida) we don't really have any wide open areas and we have thick palmettos and lots of swamps. with that comes water. Down here you will catch more hogs with dogs that are short range, Quiet and rough. ( Fact) Any dog that can't stop one in a decent amount of time will lose that hog anyway because i don't know many dogs that can track thru water.. I want my dog to have enough sence that when he can't pick that scent up after they get smoked to start looking for another hog and they usually will check back in and see where i am at because we walk hunt mostly due to the terrain...Different style. I think that comes from running rough dogs and they get use to you being their for help and walking.. I don't need 5,6 or more dogs on the ground. 2 to 4 max and that is usually because 1 is a young inexperienced dog. I have watched people try and run hounds and long range dogs down here and they catch hogs once in a while. They also spend all night and day chasing their dogs. dogs that are now back tracking old tracks they just ran but got smoked on because they lost them in a swamp to begin with. I don't call theses dogs giving up, Giving up is when a hog is whooping their aZZ and they come out. That is a quitter! With a short range gritty dog comes a nose that is not as cold. That is why they hunt the way they do. Maybe in Texas a long range dog that will take a 3 hr old track is great and needed, But i bet if you were to bring some of those long range cold nosed dogs down here they would not know how to handle the terrain as well hunting at night and you would get very frustrated fast. Seen it more than once.. My dogs won't quit a hog if they can see him and can smell him so i don't see that as giving up. Just like the campbells when they went to louisiana, those dogs and they were like fish out of water. " Not saying they have the best dogs but they work" The same might happen with a dog from Florida being hunted in Texas. Does that make it a bad dog? No. But i do think i could go anyplace and if their was a hog with in 300 or so yards from my dogs they could stand as good a chance stopping it as any.

[Mike]

Magnum, most of the property I hunt here in Southest Texas is just like you describe. Thick, wet, alligator infested swamp land... palmettos so thick to can't poke your finger in it. Everyone has this misconception that Texas is wide open prairie because of what they show on tv. When in reality, any type of terrain you can imagine is here.

[rdjustham]

Magnum, most of the property I hunt here in Southest Texas is just like you describe. Thick, wet, alligator infested swamp land... palmettos so thick to can't poke your finger in it. Everyone has this misconception that Texas is wide open prairie because of what they show on tv. When in reality, any type of terrain you can imagine is here.

Mike i think what he is sayin is this, Im probably wrong but ill give my .02.

We dont have much land left here in South Florida.  Mickey and the damn yankees have taken it all.  There are few who have the priveledge to hunt large tracks of land but in five counties i know of three over a few thousand acres.  If my dogs run a hog more than 300 yards without getting it stopped and stick with it, they are on a major roadway.  No two ways about it, or on a agolf course.  The sad truth of it is where I hunt if i had a long range dog id wouldnt last long.  Someone would shoot it, or it would get run over.  I think thats what Magnum is talkin about, when he referes to wide open.  Ive never been to texas but from what i read and see on here yall are not as majorly populated as we are.

[magnuml]

Thats is exactly what i mean. Thanks rdjustham. I have a invite " Guest" right now on a 1600 acre piece and that is HUGE here. I am very lucky for that. Almost half is water.. And that has a boundry of 2 major hwys and surrounded with a city of 90+ thousand. Different world, Just like North Florida where Noah lives is totally different than the central and bottom half of florida. I realize not all of texas is wide open and flat, But i do believe most of the state is a lot different than Florida, except we have Bigger hogs. lol. JK.

[Mike]

Hell, you'd fit right at home at some of my city properties... they're just surrounded by a popualtion of 2 million plus.

But, I know exactly what you mean about dealing with roads and such. That's why a lot of our races get cut short because we have to cut the dogs off and call them out.

Circle C had a helluva spot several years back. It was nestled inbetween the Johnson Space Center, Ellington Field with chemical plants and refineries all around... you talk about throwing a telemetry system for a loop.

[warrent423]

dang boys quitters is quitters and i wont feed a quitter . it's just as easy [ well maybe a little more work ] to have your dogs leave a hog on command and not on it's own . you don't want them staying with a runner get a handle on em and call em off , don't let them quit on their own . that does nothing for the breed . don't wanna hurt no feelings  [ well maybe i do  lol ] but keep breeding for bottom and train them to come in when called you'll be much better off in the long run . and so will the breed . just my perspective on the subject , ever wonder why these hogs have took to runnin ?  mainly cause they been run before and the dogs in pursuit quit em . hogs is smart as all get out and it don't take em long to figure something out . have fun out there and run em to death lol
[/quote Where I'm from, we "build" what we call "Florida Curdogs". This is a type of dog, rather than a breed. Number one thing we breed for is the ability to "stop" rough stock. I'm not there to run anything to death, I'm there to "stop" them My dogs work off my command and can be called out, but having dogs that know when they are beat is priceless to me. With this being said, there is not a dog alive that is going to stop them all.

[RyanTBH]

Well, if I can add my $.02, then here it goes...

I will say this first; I like to hunt a range of different dogs on the ground at one time.  I don’t want all of my dogs to leave the country looking for tracks. That's not saying too many dogs either, that's just saying different kinds of "hunt". In my pack, I have two lead dogs that will find their own hog, and then some of the puppies that we will not speak of in this thread. My lead dog Fred will hunt hard making loops from 150-500 with hardly any sign on the ground, and when he hits a track he will not stop unless I'm close enough and have/need to call him out/off. My three legged dog Diablo is a short range dog that will stick semi close to you but will take a track and hunt out anywhere from 100-300 yards depending on sign. He isn't the type of dog to just go and hunt way off from you by himself, but he does hunt and take a track. Some would call him a help dog, but yet he will and has found his own hogs. Both of these dogs will honor a bay if not on their own hogs, and both of these dogs will catch with the CD; also both of these dogs, even the one with 3 legs, will put down anywhere from 15-20 miles on a hunt if in sign and on hogs. Hell, I’ve seen Fred put down 13 miles with no sign at all just trying to hunt for tracks. I like some grit, but just like what was said, I want them to be smart enough to know when to let go and back off. If I had to make it really simple, I would say that I want the dog to find hogs, be able to take to a handle and still hunt good, no aggressiveness, and not give up on a track/hog until they are about to kill over (bottom). I’d have to say that Bottom is the most important to me around where we hunt because these runners can take hours to stop in this thick crap, and even then sometimes have to call the dogs off and out.

My question is, how long do you wait for the pups on your yard to show you the specific criteria before you label them a “cull” from your yard?

[T-Bob Parker]

When it comes to the argument of " well, over here in my area, your dog better be _____ or you ain't catching these_______ hogs!!" I believe any one with that attitude to be full of ____ 

There's only a few people on here who know me in real life an know how much traveling I do for a living. I've hunted my dogs from west Texas to northern Alabama and over this coming winter and spring I've been invited to bring em to New York and Utah. They gets their butts handed to them just like everybody elses dogs do, but what I've found is good dogs are good dogs no matter where you take em. Mike, Lionandboarhunter, Cward, BigO and lots and lots of other actual dogmen could take theirs wherever they wanted to and still be measurably successful. I don't have any superdogs and I somehow still manage to catch a hog every now and again.

Hunt whatever floats your boat but always stay humble about it and don't get so caught up in thinking your way is the only way thats gonna work. My dogs cross roads, highways and even interstates every now and then, it's part of hunting.

Take care guys, no hard feelins