Pregnancy Hormones?

[Hunt the Grunt]

I have a 3 year old female bird dog that this time last year was unstoppable. She was my number one dog and had endless bottom. I got her bred to her dad who is an even better dog and only 2 pups lived. After she had that litter she seemed set back a little but picked up where she left off after a short while.

Well, she came in heat a few months back again and she slipped out of her pen and got bred by a dog I did not care to have pups from. None of the pups made it…

She now acts like a completely different dog. She gives up and  booger barks after only running hogs 10-15 minutes unless there is another dog there, but I use to could take her by herself and catch plenty. She will still find and bay a hog but she’s not the dog she was last year and should be getting better instead of worse. 

Have any of you ever experienced anything like this? Could it be pregnancy hormones out of whack or something because she didn’t get to nurse the pups?

Any advice?

[Judge peel]

Pups take a lot out of a dog most need a little time to recoup some never do so need nothing. I would say if the dog was good a one point it will be again 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Goose87]

I've known several old timers that wouldn't breed their best gyp until they were done hunting her due to this. Ive seen it happen on occasion to. The line of dogs I'm working with now all go back to two litter mates a male and female, old man wouldn't breed their littermate sister because he didn't want to set her back, she was one of the best dogs to ever wear a collar in these parts, not saying I agree with him but they were his dogs, old gyp wound up getting killed and he never got a pup off her, we have several pups grand pups and great grand pups off of her two siblings that were crossing back and forth on one another now.

[Reuben]

 I Would check for worms and possibly take her to the vet for a check up...

I don't have much experience hunting hog dog females because I usually quit hunting them once they proved themselves but the few I hunted a few times hunted the same...one was a hunting machine that I kind of hated turning loose...

[l.h.cracker]

My buddy had a female that was jam up he bred her and she totally stopped hunting. He got rid of her prematurely I believe that she was lacking something like Judge said and just needed some recovery time. I saw a female get cut down and almost die after that for a whole year she wasn't the same she was scared of a hog I even saw her hide from a big boar in some switch grass but my buddy loved that dog and stuck it out now she is striking again great only difference is she bays a hog now and before she was ruff as a cob.I think that if its in the dog give it time and she'll come round make sure that there are no medical issues parasites like worms,heart worms,ear mites etc. and I bet she'll come round.

[Hunt the Grunt]

Well took her the other night and she's back to her old self. I did worm her a few days prior so that could have been the case but showed no other signs of being wormy. Her mom was weird after she had her first litter too. She went from being a very loose baying dog to an in your face, run if you want to type dog. Who knows...

[l.h.cracker]

Got a pic of her is she full bird dog?

[Hunt the Grunt]

She's 3/4 bird 1/4 FL cur.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[l.h.cracker]

Good looking dog I've got a gsp pup I'm about to start and was wondering how yours started and how she hunts.Wind,trail is she gritty or loose?

[Hunt the Grunt]

I’ve got 3 full blooded and 2 crosses. All of mine started pretty early and were fast learners. The ones I’m running now are med range dogs with good bottom. They hunt nose down and probably better at tracking than winding, even though a bird dog should probably be opposite. They wind a fair share but I mostly track hunt.. By themselves they’ll catch anything under 120 or so. Together they get a little grittier, but they bay from 2-3 feet and will eat up a rear end to stop one.

I had a Birdbull that got killed back in March that was the best I’ve owned. I got her off the side of the road and she was as skiddish as they come for about 2-3 months. Got her to come around so I showed her a pig in the yard and she bayed from about 15ft lol. I put her in the hog pen with a sow about 150 and she never barked, went from one side of the pen to the other and slammed her. Took her hunting that night and she trailed a group of hogs around 500yds and caught a small boar. She got better every hunt from that point on. Before she was killed she turned out to be long range, very consistent, no quit, gritty, and a dog you could count on to pull through when the rest had given up. She was the type you let out the box and just sit and wait for her to bay. The day she died we turned loose on a big track leaving a peanut field. She cold trailed 1.7 miles the way the crow flies from the field and bayed the boar in his bed. She got beat up and cut bad and didn’t make it through the night. I can’t wait until I have another dog like her and regret all the time not getting her bred when I had the chance.

Sorry, kinda chased that rabbit way off topic....

[liefalwepon]

really cool dogs, bummer you lost that female, sounds like she was somethin special.
I have to three month old bird bulls that Im really excited about, mine are only a quarter bird

[l.h.cracker]

Sorry to hear that dang sure ashame you didn't breed her.