EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

To each their own for this quiz.  Just getting a feel for the current ETHD population views, since it tends to change periodically. 

This question is about your hunting dogs only.  Not your lap puppies or wifes yard dogs.

Who utilizes and has the point of view of your hunting dogs being :

Tools
Toys
Recreational Pets.

None of these categories include abuse or lack or generalized care for the animals!

Let's here what you prefer and a short explanation of why you prefer that category. 

Enjoy.

I see my dogs as tools.  Like you said it doesn't mean they aren't taken care of.  It's the same as I view a rifle or a pistol.  It is a tool but also taken care of.

Tools ...... They have a job to do

In our yard a little of all three depends on the dogs but yltimatly hog hunting is a hobby fun for me. Have tools pets and toys that all hunt and catche hogs

I'm not %100 sure what recreational pets means but I'm thinking that's me I think of em like a fishing pole or a hunting gun.

Recreational Tool?!!  They were bred and raised for a task, but...it doesn't feed my family, it has only ever cost money...its hobby, sport what ever you want to call it, its just a  recreation. More like a hunting partner than tool or pet though..

Kinda hate to break each category down into my own interpretation ...due to everyone has a slightly different version or outlook.  

But this is a short attempt.

Tool:  Utilized only for the purpose of its desired function.  It don't work it don’t eat...Here.

Toy:  A play around dog that you take hunting. It may be a great hog dog or only mediocre ..but it still gets fed...cause you like playin in the sport of hog doggin.

Pet:  Just that...you take it hunting..it finds some hogs...the rest of the time it lays up with you in your truck...your bed and your lap. Your kids and your wife play cuddle bunny with it and take family portraits together.

A good question to ask yourself to narrow the category down is this....If your particular dog were to be killed in the woods .....Would you be able to finish the hunt? Or would you be done for the day.   That will perty much answer alot.

Again only my perspective and its why the post was created ...to get everyones view.   ^-^

Me....recreational pets.

If I buy a tool, I can get a lot out of it, or...it could break early on and be unable to be repaired. It's possible that it doesn't really serve the purpose I bought it for so I might sell it.

Toys are short to intermediate entertainment. Again....I usually will get some entertainment out of them....then again they could break beyond repair....in which case they end up in the trash. Eventually the newness may ware off and I may tire of the toy...if its still functional I could sell it or give it away.

In the cases above...the tools and toys COULD end up in the trash just because they no longer suit me. This doesn't work for me regarding animals. I can ALWAYS find a purpose...or a place for an animal. Keepin the varmints off someone's farm or maybe just laying on the porch....someone else's porch  ;D but you get my point.

Recreational pets.....hmmm....lets see...in terms of sheer definition....

Main Entry: rec·re·a·tion
Pronunciation: \ˌre-krē-ˈā-shən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English recreacion, from Anglo-French, from Latin recreation-, recreatio restoration to health, from recreare to create anew, restore, refresh, from re- + creare to create
Date: 15th century
: refreshment of strength and spirits after work ; also : a means of refreshment or diversion : hobby

Ok...so...a hobby that refreshes your strength and spirit...I like that

Main Entry: 1pet
Pronunciation: \ˈpet\
Function: noun
Etymology: perhaps back-formation from Middle English pety small — more at petty
Date: 1508
1 a : a pampered and usually spoiled child b : a person who is treated with unusual kindness or consideration : darling 2 : a domesticated animal kept for pleasure rather than utility.

NO, this doesn't work.....

I think DOG works better....a highly variable domestic mammal closely related to the gray wolf.

Recreational Dog - a dog that is used to refresh or strengthen your spirit.

I can live with that.

And...as far as finishing the hunt....woooweee....with MOST of my dogs....I'm probably done.

Hahahahaha. Bravo   :laugh:


Now that's diversity for ya.   Very nice breakdown KevinN that's why I love these posts.   Usually get a 360 degree angle.  ^-^

See I am kinda mixed up on how I view my dogs. I use em for my job, so they are a tool. At the same time I like em, and appreciate the fact that the do what I ask of the even though it is dangerous (that is a big time putting people feelings into dogs right there!!!) It sucks when one dies, but I know it happens. I also do not hesitate to do what needs to be done with dogs that don't fit my bill. I don't sell em or pass em on. So they are a necessity for work and fun, and I like em but know that one day they will die. Whether it be old age or a hog. SOOOO they are like my favorite tool, I love to use it cause is makes my job easier and is fun to use, but at the same time when it breaks I'm sad!!!

recreation tool for me.
i use them to hunt and put pork in the freezer. but that is only so much
the rest of the time i use them for the sport of hog hunting. i am happy most of the time just baying the hog don't even have to catch the hog all the time. when we have pups to train i am hunting to train pups not catch hogs. if we catch the hog that is a bonus

I would say I see mine as tool/ stock I demand the best out of them or their gone and the stock part I only breed the proven and expect for them to generate income to support themselves  to me they are not pets as they are here to work and provide

I'm with kevinN, a recreational dog...His breakdown seems to fit best for me.

As far as gettin a dog killed in the woods, yeah im done, its time to go home.

They are hunting dogs. This makes them a tool. At the same time I spend a good deal of time with them and learn their nature and personality( if a dog has one). In this manner they are a pet. I don't hunt for a living or to keep from starving so yes it is for recreation.

Would I be able to finish the hunt if one got killed out right? Yes. If it wasn't dead and I thought I could patch it up or get it to the vet to have him do it I would stop. If the dog was just before his last breath and suffering I would end it. Then finish the hunt. Would it bother me? Yes. Would it make me not want to hunt? No.

In the end my dogs don't really fit to me what categories are available so I'm going to go with hunting dogs. The reason being is they are more than tools but less than a pet.

Toy. I like mine to work good enough to have fun with (catch hogs) but I'm not going to throw a blind fit if they make a mistake.

    well all in all they are a tool I guess .  but like tools , I have a lot of them around here that I don't now nor ever intend to use again .  ;D  but as with good intentions go , I am sure that one day i'll have to knock the dust off of them and use them from time to time to finish a job properly .

Haha I like it

The way I was thinking of tool was if your a rancher with a hog problem the dogs are a tool to rid that problem. The way y'all are saying it every hunting dog is a tool to pursue his quarry.

  that about sums it up easttex .  different tools for different jobs . and if one tools job is to lay at my feet and keep me company it's doing it's job  ;)

Lol well mine are million dollar dogs when it comes to being around my feet

I see mine as employees. I care for them, some deeply. I care about their health and well being for both the sake of my ventures success, but also on a more personal level because I like em. I care about their family and their work ethic, they're abilities and their place in my organization, and I want the best for and from each one
Of them.

All that being said, I recognize that I am the most important member of my organization and my decisions affect all of our successes. I'm harder on myself than I am on them.

And I reserve the right to fire lazy, tardy, or problematic employees.

T-bob...I like what you said...x1000  8) :)

I agree...but my decicisions affects our performance but I tend to hunt with my dogs...I have to hunt by the rules of whosever property and we hunt their style...but when I lead I hunt with my dogs and I will lead them and wait on them until they bay up or come back...just what ever is right for that time...we are a team...

When I keep a dog it is because I like him or her...liking the dog is a big thing for me...liking a dog gives me lots of pleasure...

dog folks talk about great dogs like if they were talking about a person...

losing a great and favorite dog is hard but I will keep hunting...but hunting won't be as fun for a good while...

BUT...if any dog in my pack has a serious injury that requires attention that will shutdown the hunt...and no hog is ever worth taking alive if it looks like he might cripple or kill a dog...

I really can't find a catagory...because they are a cross between a pet and a tool...these dogs will die for us so that says a lot about them...

I would say recreational pets. However I don't treat them like pets and I'm not as hard on them as some people so there not tools. This is more of a passion not a serious business that I must bring money home. JMO

Guess to categorize my own beliefs. 

Tools. And nothing more while they are being utilized.  Anything more than that I feel starts getting into the pet aspect.  And that's where the emotional level kicks in.  Never have wanted to fall into that category for fear of being susceptible to favoritism on something more than raw ability and drive VS a more attractive personality.  They get petted when they accomplish goals not for laying around and lickin their rears.

I do however believe in the pet aspect being applicable in a working dogs life........When it gets Retired!  Its earned everything and achieved all the goals.  Wanna lay around with the kids and wife and get petted all day ....no problem ......... Work till the boss says Good Enough and the porch is yours. 

Am just like the rest.. dont like losing one....but have several more behind and beside to take its place and continue hunting. 

This has been a good topic, i've enjoyed reading the responses. Thanks guys

x2...Bowtech99

Most of mine are tools because I think all dog should have to work for food!!! With that said I do have 1 Catahoula that will bay a hog if put on the right track but my wife and kids feel in love with her and begged me not to hunt her after her first beauty scare so now she is a yard dog!!!lol..

everything on my place except the kids under 9 ( and their ponies )  ;D make their own way . my dogs make a part of my living . my best dog ain't my favorite , in fact he agravates me more than the rest of them put together . lol

but everything i feed has a pupose all the way down to the 3 yo red headed girl  :D :D :D

This pretty much sums it up for me also.  My hunting dogs are strictly tools.  The only time they come out of the kennels is when we hunt, and upon returning home they go right back.  My sons take turns feeding, and there are times where I don't even see the dogs for a week or so.  I don't pet them, don't play with them...they are for work.  Been doing it that way for a very long time and they nor myself have ever seemed to have any complaints.

They're tools. I also view my dogs as employees and if they are'nt doing their job then I fire them.

They are tools when they establish themselves as productive dogs. When they are young i give them my upmost attencion. Every dog that i have ever had gets a chance more than most people would do. Try to bring out all the good things that they show.If they dont progress then i try to find a fitting place for them. Culled a bunch but found homes for a bunch to. I had a well bred mountain cur/birddog cross that was a excelant bred dog that never did anything outside the baypen. Thought about culling him for a long time. One saturday morning i was headed to the pen to do just that and my phone rang and one of my buds was looking for a dog for an elderly lady that had just lost her husband. I carried him over to her house and turned him loose in her 2 acre back yard and he treed a big fat squirrel. To this day she loves that dog to death. Became her lil bud and when he aint treeing squirrels he is laying right beside her or in her lap while she is petting him. In march and april is when i make my money with my dogs. Any other time they are recreation dogs. Pet them when they do good. Other than that when they establish themselves in my kennel they get put back in their pens as soon as i get home from the hunt. Check them real good for cuts and such but other than that they dont get petted or handled.

Im with kevin also , recreational pets , and if I had a dog killed you better be ready to see tears in a grown mans eyes , Id hope it was dark and yes im done , its time to dig a grave and say my good bys to my best friend

I couldn't agree more with you Reuben..........some of the hunters need to read and then re-read what I highlighted in red........I'm all for catchin em alive but I see it as ignorant when someone gets dogs beat down so they can feel manly and say that they caught the big bad hog alive.........just doesn't make any sense to me..........I don't go to the woods looking to get hurt and I don't bring my dogs to the woods looking to get them hurt........the more I hunt by myself the more I like the bay and shoot method, lol plus when I shoot a hog my dogs do their own version of "roll out" hahahaha........they may not be going after another hog but they dang sure don't stick around!

            A big X 2 for me

I guess I would have to say tool.

 They deffinately are not pets because if they do not do their expected job, they will be replaced. Unless it is because they are too old or because of injuries. But at the same time, I feel deep affection and gratitude for the job that they do for us. I am in awe of some of the things that they do.

 They are not toys because they are here to do a job and when we go to work we take it serious..... even when it is FUN!!!!!


 A living, breathing animal that is used as a tool will naturally become part of the family. They are there to do a specific task but we interact with them every day. They make our lives easier. And for this, we appretiate them, care for them and protect them.

I don't know any hog doggers that wouldnt fight for their dogs.

   Well put dj , I too think you can interact with them even though they are considered tools.

Tools to do a job

Just had a question and by all means please dont take it as critical. 

Have you lost a dog yet? 

One of the reasons I ask is due to witnessing alot of folks with the same mentality. 
Great guys all of them and some really experienced dogmen. But the first floors alot to the point of completely walking away from this sport ....never fully recovering. 

Guess my main question to them was......why did this particular sport attract your attention..over other types of dog huntin? 

Your point of view  is actually intriguing to me and has my curiosity meowing.  Lol

Again not bashing in anyway or putting your view down .....would just like to know the internal reasoning for your stance.

Thanks for actually giving an honest opinion. 

I've seen a very well known dog man and promoter of our sport come almost to tears when he thought his bulldog was near death...blood covering a swath of grass 10 foot wide....bulldog laying in middle of it. Wasn't cut...just near heat stroke....same ole story of hog breaking...CD catching up at next bay 1/2 mile away and catching hog. Just gave out before we got there. Dog lives but he was retired after that hunt.

I wouldn't feel the same way over just any dog I own...only a select few. But those select few...it's going to break my heart when/if I lose them.

It's different when you buy a good to great dog and it dies. Yes, I would feel a great loss...but it would be more like....just being upset that I lost an integral part of my team...that I may not be as successful as I would otherwise be.

The dogs I've raised from pups that have turned into genuine hunters are the dogs I'm talking about. The ones I've bonded with...spent hours and hours training and they have became dogs. With me...there is just a bond there that goes real deep.

But I wouldn't walk away from the sport. Just go through a grieving period, lol....and I suspect it will always be like that.

All of the "pet" owners that I've been around over the years are the first ones to hang it up when something bad happens.

I wouldn't quit the sport, and I'd prolly start back huntin in a couple weeks.

I dont hunt because i have too, or need too. I enjoy my dogs, and i enjoy the hunt.also enjoy the fellowship with my friends when they go. But I am close to my dogs, i spend alot of time with them and develop a dog/owner relationship. I dont have a huge pack, or a couple packs. I have 5 dogs that i hunt with. Only hunt 2-3 at a time. but Im close with my dogs, raised em all up from pups. I've never lost a dog, so i really dont know how i would react. Knowin me, if i get to bay and one of mines down, forget tiein hog, im gonna shoot it if i can, pull other dogs off and tote my buddy out to the hill.

One of mine got killed, i just lost a huntin buddy. . . call me a pansy, but its all good everybodys different.  ;)

         X2

x2. I dont make my living with my dogs...i make fun.

from me.....who else. tapatalk

I really like this discussion and there are some great posts. Good topic!

I rais all puppies like pets. Not in the house and all that, but still like pets. They get to run free until they get to the point they are leaving off in the bottoms in the mornings and stayin gone for hours at a time, then they get put up in a kennel. They get to get out most days and have some supervised play time when I'm feeding cows, or working in the shop, or whatever, but only when Im staying at the house. When they are around six months or so, they can go on a chain to open the kennels up for a bitch thats in heat or more puppies.

All my cur dogs are strictly tools as soon as they start hitting the woods. I have one 5 yr old cur dog, that Ive had for four years, let come with me when Im out of town and she gets to sleep with me when Im not staying at home, but she is still strictly a tool in the woods. She is a loose loose dog and never gets hurt, so I feel like I can get more attached to her and not be too worried about the heart brake.

My catch dogs are pets when at home, one is always outside, one is inside at night because my girlfriend feels safer with him in the house. They are tools when in the woods. I get extremely attached to them, but not until I see that they will lay it all out on the line for me. I think that is what makes me like the cd's so much, because if I could really help it, I wouldn't show any emotion to them because they are a heart brake waiting to happen. But the fact that that dog will stand in its own guts for me, just really makes me love the number 2 out of them lol.

When in the woods, my cd are tools. Even though they are pets at home, I can separate the working dog from the pet dog when hunting. And I ask a lot more of my catch dogs than most people do, like going to bays half a mile away, or being a rcd. Had my male, the one that stays inside, get a nick this past fall and it cut the vein in his shoulder. He about bled out on the hog, we broke him off, tied the hog, carried him out and got him to the vet. He wasn't conscious at this point and didn't really think he would make it, went back to the woods, got the hog out and went and caught the next pigs that the cur dogs already had bayed up. Luckily they got him fixed up and he made it.

So yes, I can keep hunting when something happens to a dog, even if they are a pet. I know its part of the job, and I go in with realistic expectations no matter how I feel about the dog.

I don't think having the dogs as pets clouds my judgment, because they really have to prove themselves before I like them that much. Its just hard for me to get attached to a number 2ty performing animal, weather it be a horse or dog or whatever. Its the performance that makes me so attached to them. In fact, a dog I like a lot because of their personality, can make me despise them for poor performance.

I had a cur dog that I really like, but he was still just a tool. He was a tool to the point that I couldn't even get him to take a T-bone steak out of my hand. I would have to toss it on the ground to him, or he wouldn't eat it, no matter what I was trying to give him. I cried like a baby when that dog got killed.

 So I think its really the performance that gets me so attached to the dogs. I don't know, maybe Im way off base here compared to most people. But I don't have any animals that don't serve a functional purpose. If they can't do their job, they can't be a pet either.

  I agree tcolt if you get a pup it has to be very well socialized and allowed to get all the attention it wants , I do go so far as to bring pups in the house to do this and as a result you get dogs that handle extremely well without much work or effort . they learn to understand commands at a whisper [ most times ]  lol

Another example of how I feel...

I had a catch dog bitch that I raised in the house, sleeping with me, whole nine yards on the pet thing. Put her in the woods, she was doing good, finding pigs pretty good, catching good, but she got killed at 14 mo old. I don't see a dog completely proving themselves at that point in the life, and when she got killed, I didn't bat an eye, shed a tear, or loose any sleep what so ever.

I guess I just don't get the "pet" feelings towards an animal unless they are just a badass at what they are supposed to do, and they prove it to me.

My dogs are tools and by no means the sharpest ones in the shed either, but if you want complete a job you need to have the necessary tools to do so. So with that being said if your are a plumber and are fixing a leaking pipe and break a pipe wrench do you quit or finish the job????  That's why my dogs are tools, I am the one to finish not quit in the middle. But also my thoughts are a tool is only as good as the craftsman using the tool, and using the tool properly and for which it was intended for makes the tool more useful. Many people will use a knife as a screw driver and WHAT usually happens to it? You break the tip off is the knife no good not necessarily but it won't ever be as efficient as it was before when it was used properly.

What got  me into this sport was the love and passion for dogs but not just any dogs the ones that had the same love, passion, will, and determination that I do for life and hating pigs!!!!!!!!!!!

Toys