Confersation on RCD's

[TexasHogDogs]

This may be of interest to some.  Others may careless.

Real RCD's.   You know I always had some pretty ruff dogs but I never really ran what you would call a real RCD.

Me and my buddy T-Dog was talking this morning about real RCD's.  We were talking about this Cracker dog I got here so before we get started let me say this is not to be doing no bragging on the dog as some people on here will surely have a smart ass remark but because he is the only dog I have like this are that is around us in general .  Anyway about the Cracker dog because  T-Dog got to see him in person on a big toothy Boar he seen the whole deal up close as I have yet to be there when the action has gotton started and seen what is going on in person at the first hit .  Anyway I was telling him once I put this dog in the pack all the running stopped with these big boar hogs.  Now I had , had dogs that thought they were plenty bad in the past and they were but they were not real RCD's but damn great dogs,   as I was talking to T-dog about this Cracker dog he said there is a big difference in that Cracker dog and other dogs that are call RCD's.   T-Dog was saying the difference was that the Cracker dog when he gets there are is there ,  there is no doubt in his mind what he is going to do .  He is in fully committed to handing that boar hog his butt in a sling , there is no hesitation ,  he is bringing the heat,  am gonna mount your big ass and that's just all it is to it and its either you gonna kill me are am catching your big butt with no back up atall .  T-Dog was saying that is the difference between a great RCD and a wanna B RCD that are real bay busters.     We were also talking about him not being cut besides just a couple little scratches as of yet and he was saying that a dog that will fully commit and has no doubts about what he is doing is less likely to get cut and killed of course we all know it can and will happen at any given time but a dog that knows what he is going to do and will  fully commit seems to stay out of trouble a lot more than a dog that has doubts in his mind.

Anyway it was as always a interesting conversation with T-Dog about hog dogs because I sure do respect what the man has to say and a lot of times talking to someone like that they see things that another person may not see .  I have learned over the years this is a great great way to see things I might have missed and threw different eyes and just a great way to evaluate good dogs .

I bred this dog to three dang good gyps with the hopes am going to hit somewere in the middle between him and the gyps.  So far mine are looking damn good .

[b.b.b kennels]

I agree on the RCD having to commit to the straight catch if they are going to work. Like it's been talked about before, if the dog bays for a few minutes and then grabs on when the opportunity presents itself, that's a rough dog but not a rcd. If the dog's gonna bay, then I want him to bay the entire time until help arrives, be it a catch dog or me with a gun . The bull dog crosses that I've seen that slow down and maul a boar have a much shorter life span than the ones that fully commit and will straight slam a hog. A bayed boar is assessing the situation just as much as the dogs are, if the shut down dog gives him a chance, he'll figure out what he needs to do. I guess what I'm saying is "Hesitation Sucks".

[Shotgun wg]

I agree with both of y'all. I run a RCD and he is comitted. Only seen him bar 2x once on a sounder once on a big hog in a briar patch with his nose stuck out. He would bark and hit it on the nose trying to get it to charge so he could catch. The rest of mine are real gritty. I thought they were catchy until I took him out of the race for a couple races. They bay till he hits then they catch. If a man is gonna run a RCD I think he needs a whole pack of dogs that will help catch.

[TexasHogDogs]

Agree with both of yall.

Shotgun,  I tell ya getting that Cracker dog it helped my dogs big time and in turn they have helped him big time.  I think you need both that all work together,  he was the missing ingredients to stopping a lot of these big bad runners.   Because mine are ruff but not RCD ruff they would try a big one but sometimes could not hold him and with the addition of the Cracker dog boy that put them over the top.  Because now they got a sho nuff hoss with them and when he cracks the whip they are all right there with him on top of the big hog and its a pile drive party .  The same as the Cracker dog he needs help sometimes just like all dogs do at one time are another in their lives and they help him by all pileing on and each getting a holt .  Also when all are on top of the big hog with each a mouth full it helps control the big hog as far as the damage he can do . 

[b.b.b kennels]

Excellent Point that you both brought up. After having it handed to me a couple times this summer and many times before that, I've come to think that on a hog that really has the ability to throw a pack and run, it's the Second and Third dogs to make contact that make the difference. If you have a freight train, no wait- type dog that's going to slam everything hunting with a pack of loose style dogs that aren't going to grab and anchor, then you get dogs smashed.

[TexasHogDogs]

b.b.b. ,  Since I got this Cracker dog and put him in the pack that I have and I ordered him a really good vest and I got one for my other dogs these vest are in between a 6 ply catch vest and a regular ole bay vest so in other words these vest have four layers in the chest and three on the sides and they are long vest I don't like short vest leaves to much open area . The cut collars are attached to the vest.   All dogs wear a vest that I run so far knock on wood and threw all the big boar hogs that they have been threw this year with the Cracker dog nobody has been bad cut.,  nobody.

I think it is due to what we just talked about him helping them and them helping him and to the new vest I ordered from P&P.

Also I would like to say.  That everybody thinks you just got to have one hell of a ruff pack of dogs to do this sort of thing its not so much ruff as it is smart type dogs that can adapt .  What I mean by that is this .  Adding one certain dog in a pack such as the Cracker dog can make the other dogs ruff when they are not really that ruff with out a dog like him in the pack dogs that adapt .  In other words I can leave this Cracker dog home and my dogs go back to the way they were .  Ruff to Semi Ruff they will catch what they can and back off and try to hold a big rank boar hog .  Add the Cracker dog to the mix and boom you got a pack of T-Rex's that all work and catch no questions asked .   So this is what I like about mine anyway.  I wanna go hunt with somebody that ain't got so ruff type dogs leave the cracker dog home ,  Wanna go hunt with the T-Rex kinda people come on just add the Cracker dog .  I love it myself .   One dog can change the whole complexion of a pack of dogs .

[b.b.b kennels]

Yes! Absolutely nailed it about too many people wanting a rough pack of dogs over a group that can adapt. A group of dogs that are smart enough to know who's on the ground, who's going to try first, and when to help out is a group that will put down big hogs consistently. When there is a dog like your Cracker dog which will be looked upon to make the first move and he's hunted over a period of time with dogs that are smart enough to realize when he's not around they need to loosen up, then you've got something. If the guy with the roughest dogs caught the most pigs, everyone would be running half bulldogs. It's all about having a pack that can read each other and know when to adapt the game plan. When you hunt a pack a couple hundred times together with the same line up, a dog worth their feed will find their place and they learn to read each other. Dogs who keep exchanging hands and going to a new yard never find their role. That's how you end up with a super rough dog in a bad situation.  A smart line up of dogs that has been hunted together for a couple years and know each others' style is the best answer for bad boars. Not a bunch of buzz-saw type dogs working for themselves.

[TexasHogDogs]

I have always tried to tell folks that each dog has a job .  Not every dog is the same in a pack they all different in someways .  Some not so much different from the other ones but there is differences.   That's why I said when I got the Cracker dog I don't care one damn bit if the dog will find a hog which now I know he will but that is not why I wanted him I wanted him to add the stopping power to these dogs but I needed a dog that would stay out and hunt with my lead dogs so that he could be there on the intial strike and stop the run before it could get started not one that sit on his ass at the wheeler till the strike  .  I don't think a lot of folks realize how important it is to stop the running before it gets started because once it gets started then everything goes to hell .  Number one ,  the hog breaks he runs 300 yds stops and fights that is 300 yds of hard running to get him stopped the dogs are that much more tired.  Then the hog breaks again this time he goes 400 yds and hell to get stopped well there you go dogs are getting more and more wore out and less and less likely to stop the hog each time he breaks not to mention a tired wore out dog is gonna get his ass killed are hurt real damn bad,   the odds go up and up and up each time the hog breaks.  These dogs of mine already had some stopping power but they just needed the real deal stop dog that would stay with them to be added ,   once it was added to them then they added back to him each in his are hers on way.   They all like you say look to him and with no hesitation he is gonna catch as soon as his mouth gets on the hog each dog grabs and after so many hopefully the hog is controlled and that is not to mention soon as I hear a bark am turning a Freight Train loose that is coming in at break neck speed so ,  RCD catch, other dogs Catch and by that time the Fright Train is there to mop up and we are right behind him .

Just me man and what I have learned !

[TexasHogDogs]

Want a different set of dogs want to hunt the old way strike, bay and they catch what they can and if they can't they try and hold it till the catch dog gets there .

Adapt!

 Because let me tell you if I have one of them kind that cant adapt and understand and trys to catch everything will not back off when he needs to,  a wanna B,  he is outta here same way is if I got one that aint gonna help the Cracker are RCD  when he is in there ,  he is gone faster than the bay buster !

Adapt ! are be gone !

[b.b.b kennels]

Can't put it any better than that. Agree with you 100%.

[Muddogkennels]

VERY TRUE I AGREE ..

[Justified]

I posted these in a earlier topic wasn't specifically talking rcds but it applies even more so to the
 IMO.
I want the dog to lock anchor and roll with the hog pull/tuck into the body when it's a spinning match . When he does end up in front I want him holding not fighting to drag the hog around or trying to shred his ear. while he is holding he still need to move offset with the hog as it moves keeping his body as far away from the head as possible.

[Reuben]

b.b.b. ,  Since I got this Cracker dog and put him in the pack that I have and I ordered him a really good vest and I got one for my other dogs these vest are in between a 6 ply catch vest and a regular ole bay vest so in other words these vest have four layers in the chest and three on the sides and they are long vest I don't like short vest leaves to much open area . The cut collars are attached to the vest.   All dogs wear a vest that I run so far knock on wood and threw all the big boar hogs that they have been threw this year with the Cracker dog nobody has been bad cut.,  nobody.

I think it is due to what we just talked about him helping them and them helping him and to the new vest I ordered from P&P.

Also I would like to say.  That everybody thinks you just got to have one hell of a ruff pack of dogs to do this sort of thing its not so much ruff as it is smart type dogs that can adapt .  What I mean by that is this .  Adding one certain dog in a pack such as the Cracker dog can make the other dogs ruff when they are not really that ruff with out a dog like him in the pack dogs that adapt .  In other words I can leave this Cracker dog home and my dogs go back to the way they were .  Ruff to Semi Ruff they will catch what they can and back off and try to hold a big rank boar hog .  Add the Cracker dog to the mix and boom you got a pack of T-Rex's that all work and catch no questions asked .   So this is what I like about mine anyway.  I wanna go hunt with somebody that ain't got so ruff type dogs leave the cracker dog home ,  Wanna go hunt with the T-Rex kinda people come on just add the Cracker dog .  I love it myself .   One dog can change the whole complexion of a pack of dogs .

Jimmy...x2 on what you said...one dog goes in and the rest pile on...and ideally the dogs will be smart and protect themselves from injury as much as possible...

[Reuben]

hog hunting is a tough sport...sometimes it's dam of you do or dam if you don't... 

[rdjustham]

Texas, Have you tried runnin cracker one out?  PLease dont take this as bustin on your dog cause i surely aint.  It been my experience with these Fl dogs, that if they have anything there with them they turn into bulldogs, but you run theem one out they will catch most hogs under 200 but bay the bad ones, until somethin else gets there to help.  The other thing ive noticed is the older they get the less they tend to catch on their own. 

My 8 year old Jack dog used to catch EVERYTHING, help there or not.  The older he gets the more he waits for backup.

To me a RCD will anchor anything everytime, regardless of havin another dog on the ground, which is the only reason i asked if youv run him one out.

[TexasHogDogs]

No have not got to try it yet.  After I got him and didn't really know a thing about a Fla cur at all at that time.  After I hunted him,  watched him and all this played out,   we stopped quite a few big boars big tusky boars with him I knew it was no accident are just luck,  it was just to much and to many to be a coesidence .  I then verified his breeding with Mr Partin .  Then as it got into the hotter months he had some trouble with the heat and that's when I found out he had got into a pretty big bind with a big rank cow and had some pretty good heat exhaustion and some other injuries from that ordeal .  I knew right then that was what the breathing problem was in the hotter weather.  So I put him up for the summer and bred him to three of my good gyps before something happened to him cause I figured I would never get my hands on another one after finding out how hard they are to come by n the first place.

I have no doubts this dog can find a hog am sure he has found some already he is always with the find dogs  right there every time, as far as stopping and catching aint no doubt about that he has done that a ton of times and big hogs.   The thing is he never barks only time I have heard him bark is here on the yard if somebody he dont know walks around back there are in his chain space,   he will flat out eat a man up and D-bone your butt if he don't know you serious serious dog,  hunting anybody can handle him.

It gets the cooler months I will sure nuff try him out at that.

[rdjustham]

No arguement on these dogs being catchy.  Everyone Ive ever been around will catch, and most of them the younger they are they more they catch.  It takes age and gettin a woopin a few times to get them to back up and bay and wait for the cavalry.  Now a few of the ones ive had would catch a 500 pounder with 10 inch razor sharp teeth if a miniature poodle showed up to help them out, for the most part they all just naturally figure out what they can handle alone. 

[Florida Curdog]

I hunt my Bentley dog solo.  He's  100% trail & catch.   I like being able to load one dog and g oput swine on the ground

[Reuben]

I have always tried to tell folks that each dog has a job .  Not every dog is the same in a pack they all different in someways .  Some not so much different from the other ones but there is differences.   That's why I said when I got the Cracker dog I don't care one damn bit if the dog will find a hog which now I know he will but that is not why I wanted him I wanted him to add the stopping power to these dogs but I needed a dog that would stay out and hunt with my lead dogs so that he could be there on the intial strike and stop the run before it could get started not one that sit on his ass at the wheeler till the strike  .  I don't think a lot of folks realize how important it is to stop the running before it gets started because once it gets started then everything goes to hell .  Number one ,  the hog breaks he runs 300 yds stops and fights that is 300 yds of hard running to get him stopped the dogs are that much more tired.  Then the hog breaks again this time he goes 400 yds and hell to get stopped well there you go dogs are getting more and more wore out and less and less likely to stop the hog each time he breaks not to mention a tired wore out dog is gonna get his ass killed are hurt real damn bad,   the odds go up and up and up each time the hog breaks.  These dogs of mine already had some stopping power but they just needed the real deal stop dog that would stay with them to be added ,   once it was added to them then they added back to him each in his are hers on way.   They all like you say look to him and with no hesitation he is gonna catch as soon as his mouth gets on the hog each dog grabs and after so many hopefully the hog is controlled and that is not to mention soon as I hear a bark am turning a Freight Train loose that is coming in at break neck speed so ,  RCD catch, other dogs Catch and by that time the Fright Train is there to mop up and we are right behind him .

Just me man and what I have learned !

Jimmy...you are 100 percent right...I have seen hog doggers think that all his dogs in the pack are awesome but someone else might see the truth...take out the strike dog and the pack will not find hogs... or you take out the stop dog and most hogs are breaking...it is good to be able to analyze each dog correctly and honestly from within the pack...it is good to know these things and be thinking about acquiring more than one of each...a great pack of dogs can be a mix just like a football team...if all the players were built and played just like the quarterback the team would be in trouble...same with a hog dog pack...and like you said...the more the hog gets to break the more exhausted the dogs get and the thicker the brush where the hog gets to hide and rest...this is how I see it as well...

[TexasHogDogs]

Yeah Rueben its just plain tuff trying to breed and get everything just right .

I like well rounded dogs Nose, speed, quickness, staminua , wind, hunt, brains, grit, power.  But its hell to get all this into one dog all you got to do is just look around on the board you will see people talking about all of this .  Now what is the number one thing everybody is complaining about.   It is without a doubt the ability to stop and keep a big bad hog in one spot.  Stop and think about it , it is almost impossible to do it if the big hog wants to run and I don't think we gonna have much arugment that most hogs do want to run and if he wants to run you better have something that is gonna get on his head and stay there with other dogs helping till the catch dog and you can get there are else you are going to the next county . Also its not hard to see that this is what the hogs are evolving to as we speak.  We can talk about great nut dogs and great assend stoppers all everybody wants to but they are as rare as frog nuts !  If not then why is the board full of people talking about running hogs till the cows come home and big bottom dogs are needed to run them till their lungs pop.  Noting at all wrong with big bottom dogs that is a great great thing noting wrong with that at all, unless you are like me and don't want to chase them all over the country and back and do not have the land to do it . I would not want to do it and would not even if I had the land but that's just me and everybody is different and has different opinions.  So what do you do ?  These super nut dogs assend  stoppers are as rare as frog nuts and as hard are even harder to breed and get as great great find dogs.  Well I say you combine all this .  You combine well bred and long blooded dogs that are known for their stopping power and other things to the dogs that come from well bred long blooded lines that are known for great finding and athletic ability.  Then you fine tune it !  This is real work, time consuming blood sweat and tears and nobody wants to do it are have no ideal how to even start doing it .  Everybody these days seem to be fast lane aint got time for this are that and the here and now people its just not like years and years ago when peoples lifes were dedicated to figuring out these sorts of things,   but it can be understood because the world is not like it was 50/60 years ago .

Am working on mine only father time will tell if I can even come close to getting it right !