Building back up

[CutNShootHD]

I lost one of my good dogs a few years back and I have been trying to get my pack built back up. At that time I had 3 dogs: her, and my other two original dogs. Plan was originally to breed the lost one with my male but it didn’t get to happen. I’m having a very hard time finding what I want. I feel like I have a bar set too high now knowing what I did have. I’ve had some people tell me lower that bar a bit, and I’ve had others tell me never lower your expectations if you know what you’re looking for. I’ve gone through a LOT of dogs one way or another. Currently have the 2 originals, 1 decent, 2 probably ok but didn’t hunt much this year to give them a chance to show me much, and several young ones that again didn’t get out much this year. Question is: if you’re almost “starting from scratch” and you have these expectations and a bar set ... do y’all lower it and try to build from there? Or keep you bar set and go through what doesn’t work and keep trying? The two originals just turned 9 and yes I probably waited too long to get pups but at the time of loss they were all about 4 years old.

[Cajun]

 There is nothing wrong with setting the bar high and trying to achieve it. When you have had a really good dog most others seem to fall back towards mediocrity. One problem with having dogs that good is a lot of times they dont reproduce it.  Another problem tho is you have to hunt them to give them thier chance altho the really great ones just have it, if you know what I mean. Also I heard that one breeder said never to cull a dog unless you have something better to replace them with. That makes sense to me. Good luck.

[Shotgun66]

My advice would be to focus on hunting the dogs you have now. Find out what they do well and try to help them succeed. Scout hard and put them in fresh sign. Do a couple mock hunts, etc. Give them a fair chance to make dogs until they take the fun out of hunting for you or you find something better. It can be very rewarding to watch a dog with average ability make into a consistently productive dog. Comparing them to exceptional dogs of the past will only set you up for disappointment. As Cajun stated, they spoil us. Yesterday is over, gotta move on!
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I have been in your shoes. I’ve bought outside dogs and trained my own. Any outside dog that can help you will not be cheap. You will also more than likely go through a break in period with them. They may not perform as well with a different owner. I would save my $ just in case a good opportunity came along that would really push my pack forward. In the mean time, I would hunt the pads off the current dogs. I know it can be tough to get excited to hunt inconsistent prospects but it’s what you gotta do to make em better. It takes a lot of woods time & swine to make dogs.


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[t-dog]

My opinion is this...knowing what potential a dog has now that you have had a really good one is a benefit. You have to be realistic though. Your great dog may have started out doing really well out of the gate but he wasn't a great dog the first few hunts. It took consistent hunting and exposure. Some dogs come out of the gate on fire and then end up hitting a plateau and never getting any better. Some come out and just get a little better every hunt and before you know it they are pushing the old dogs to step up their game. To me, the great ones never quit getting better. It's like just when you think you've seen everything from them they do something else to amaze you. If you have a young dog that you think is doing pretty good in spite of not being hunted correctly it tells me they might make a hand if you focus on them. You're fortunate to have the older dogs to help educate. I like to put my young dogs out first once I know that they know what they are there for. Give them  the chance to think they are lead dogs. If they find hogs then I will send the old dogs to them and each time after that I wait longer, it's all about confidence. The other thing is to start with dogs that are out of dogs that are as close to what you want as possible. Have your old male collected that way you don't totally lose him. A lot of people get too many young dogs at once and either end up having to rotate them or have too many youngins on the ground at once. In my opinion one is just as bad as the other. Unless you are hunting every day then the same young dog needs to be hunted every trip. Consistent hunting and confidence are key. In making good dogs. You know what you can tolerate and what you can't. If they have the you can'ts then don't waste time on them. I'm like Cajun, I like the more natural dogs. I want hustle and try every trip. I'm not gonna wait six months or a year for a dog, no matter what age, to start showing want to. I don't expect stardom that soon but I do expect try. Don't lower your standards but understand that a couple of good dogs are a whole lot of fun.

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[hoghunter71409]

I'll use an analogy for my 2 cents.  I'm not sure if you are a college football fan or not but, there is a pretty amazing thing happening right now in college football.

Two of the highest rated players coming out of high school the last couple years in the QB position were Ohio St QB Justin Fields and Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence.   I believe they were the #1 and #2 picks in the 2018 class.  They have both been front runners for the Heisman.

Kyle Trask was rated as the 2,266 prospect in the 2017 class.  I think I have the years right but anyway...Trask is currently leading Fields and Lawrence in the eyes of many sports broadcasters.

My point is, we should all set the bar high but, if you don't ever give others a chance, you may pass up a "Heisman".

I would always try to accept quality and see what you can make out of it.   A good houndsman can grow and develop a dog to be something special.

[CutNShootHD]

Thanks y’all, I knew in my heart I didn’t want to lower the bar. I never knew it would be this difficult to rebuild. I never thought of collecting and storing the male, going to look into that. We used to do that at the previous clinic I worked at, must have slipped my mind. I probably do have too many young dogs at this point which, like mentioned is hurting all of the them not getting enough consistent exposure.  Hopefully next year will be a better one to get out n hunt more. I really appreciate everyone’s input, I’ll do my best to get things going the right direction. Thank y’all again!!