Registered: Jun 2007
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I don't know anything about training or hunting hog dogs. I have questions and didn't want to jack other post. Can you tells us about them here?

1) Do you hunt them in a pack?
2) Do you run hogs all year long?
3) Do you only hunt them in the day?

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Rebecca Agee

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I’m not Reuben but we’ve got hogs thick as rats here. People run them with several dogs and usually turn a bulldog loose to catch when the others bay. Hunt day and night both. Hunt year round but mostly at night in the heat of summer.

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Registered: Sep 2019
Location: North Texas
Posts: 28

Reuben is a great guy and will do a great job answering your questions. 2nd Mac was accurate with his response.
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Below is a good website to help you learn a little more about the sport. Great guys run the site.

http://www.easttexashogdoggers.com/forum/

Please don’t ask a gentlemen named Blackstreak question #1! Reuben will understand the joke! 😂

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Leon

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quote:

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Originally posted by River Birch Run
I don't know anything about training or hunting hog dogs. I have questions and didn't want to jack other post. Can you tells us about them here?

1) Do you hunt them in a pack? Yes, most hunters run between 2 & 5 bay dogs and send 2 catch dogs into a bay. There are hunters that run rough/straight catch dogs solo or in pairs. Open country & crop fields lend themselves to this type of hunting. I like to run 1 or 2 bay dogs and send 2 catch dogs to a bay. I can run my catch dogs off the leash in open country.
2) Do you run hogs all year long? Yes. You can run them year round in Texas. It gets difficult to run during deer season particularly during the day. Hog Dogs are hated by deer hunters.
3) Do you only hunt them in the day? You can hunt them day or night. Daytime hunting typically involves winding or trailing them to their bedding area from a food or water source. Night time hunting usually catches the hogs on the move out feeding. Most hunters cast, walk, road, or rig at night. Thermal & Night vision has become popular as well. A lot of guys spot hogs in crop fields with a thermal and send straight catch dogs into them. You can really stack em up like this.

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Leon

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So are the catch dogs cross breeds or pitbulls?

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Rebecca Agee

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Bay Dogs - most hunters prefer cur dogs that are silent on track. Blackmouth curs, Catahoulas, Mt Curs, & Kemmer curs are frequently used.

Hounds- there are hunters that run open hounds on hogs. Plotts & Running Walkers are the breeds most commonly used. There are some real nice hog hounds that come from bear stock. Open trailing hounds typically lead to longer races. Passionate topic of debate amongst hog doggers.

Catch Dogs - American Bulldogs, pit bulldogs, & dogos are the most popular catch breeds. A few hunters have crossed these breeds with staghounds & greyhounds to add speed to their catch dogs. Others cross Great Danes & wolfhounds with the bulldogs for more size, speed, & stamina.

Loose Bay Dog - finds hogs but will stay back at a safe distance and bark at the hog.

Tight Bay Dog/Gritty/Rough- finds hogs but will put pressure on them by baying tight and biting them when they try to run.

Catch Dog- goes straight to the hog and catches it on the ear. (Preferably) does not bark. Fearless warriors with no sense of self preservation.

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Leon

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I know that when you are wading in there amongst them with nothing but a little rope, you have to have a lot of faith or trust in your catch dog. The bond between a man and his dog takes on a whole new meaning.

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Registered: Sep 2019
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You are 100% correct Richard. It’s best to send in 2 catchdogs. Risk Management! 😂
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Plenty of guys send catch dogs in solo. I only do that if I know it’s a hog they can handle. Most bay dogs will pile on and “help” after the catch dogs hits. The “cur” comes out in the helpers real quick if it gets western. A pair of solid catch dogs is the best way to go. Even a big catch dog (over 90lbs) is at a serious weight & strength disadvantage on a 200+ lb hog. Add in some 2” shanks and a bad attitude and you get a feel for the risk.

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Leon

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Yes, "pack dog" also takes on a new meaning. The bay dogs will do just that until your bulldog "catches" and then they all pile on.

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Registered: Nov 2011
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Well I didn't see your Thread for some time and then when I did I didn't get motivated enough to reply...I went in for a semi-simple procedure and was supposed to miss no more than I week of work...well 6 weeks later I finally made it back to work...lol
Then I was playing catchup on the big jobs I had been planning...

Looks Like Leon Keys answered all the questions you had...

Thank you Leon...

I will add on the Loose bay dogs...usually dogs that work cows...times have changed...at one time I wouldn't hunt this type of dog on account many didn't have a nose and would not stick long with a runner...the idea behind loose baying is the hogs will stay bunched up and not break bay...the hunter comes in and once he is close and the hogs are in a spot that is accessible then he turns the catch dog or catch dogs loose and they usually catch the ear on the hog...

Honestly for me...I do not care for this type of dog...I like gritty rough and tough dogs that will stick with a runner as long as it takes...its by far the biggest challenge in my opinion...in the thick jungle it takes a while to stop a runner and sometimes the pig wins...they can run thru the thickest of briars and brush way faster than the dogs...in the summer time they can outlast the dogs in the heat and of course the briars are thickest during that time of the year...if things line up right it can be a short race and the hog will be caught pretty quick...in the open woods he won't run long before he is over taken...

the best dogs I ever owned were Texas Smoke mountain curs (original mtn cur) crossed with Kemmer Stock Mtn Cur (Gold Nugget Breeding)...I now have Plotts from Bear and Hog breeding and a couple plott X Kemmers out of bear and coon dogs...

I dont hunt much but go as often as I can...hunting places are disappearing quick around my neck of the woods...hopefully in the near future I can pick up a few spots...I am willing to pay couple grand a year to run my dogs just to get my dogs and myself out there a little more often...

Night time is best in the hot summer but I will go on hot hot days if that is all that is available...summer nights are best after midnight for the cooler temps but still very hot this part of the country...

Winter time is always best down here...the weeds are down, the nights and days are cool...I prefer days on account I can move around faster when needed because I can see better...

Many people think hog hunting is easy...hogs can run for miles and they won't hesitate to swim a wide river...the dog smart hogs can hit full speed and make a loop to shake off the dog and get way ahead hitting the thickest of briars patches along the way...

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Training dogs is not so much about quantity, it's more about timing, and the right situations...After that it's up to the dog....A hunting dog is born...

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Registered: Nov 2011
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Just now figured out who you are...lol

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Training dogs is not so much about quantity, it's more about timing, and the right situations...After that it's up to the dog....A hunting dog is born...

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Reuben, sorry to hear about your health issues hope your bouncing back well.

So do you like dogs that track silent then for a better chance of closing in on the hogs?

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Rebecca Agee

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Most hog doggers like silent dogs that bay once they are looking at a hog...for me it is a little different and there are others like me...usually we say the best dogs tend to be open or should I say a higher percentage of the better dogs tend to be open...strictly my opinion...

The dogs I liked best I raised and owned from the late 1980's to 2007...I liked most every thing about them...they hunted close but hard, close was about 300 yards around me so in reality they covered 600 yards and they circled and came by to check me as I moved along...If I didn't see a dog in a little while I stopped and checked the tracker...if they were bunched up they were running a track or had one caught or bayed...my way of checking is I would wait one minute and check the tracker again to see if they were running or bayed...either way I would go to them as quickly as possible...

Another thing I liked about those dogs is that if one struck first he or she would back 2 or 3 times and roll out...this would bring the other dogs to pack in...these dogs were silent on track but once the hog was jumped most were semi-silent...

I liked that these dogs hunted with me...but if I free casted them and I was waiting on them they would make a round and check in...the next round I probably would have to go look for them because they moved on out and would probably be bayed somewhere...

if I was moving those 600 acre circles could turn for a couple miles if they winded or tracked on...I like dogs that get the job done...I too believe the best dogs wind and drift on track in moving it quickly...

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Training dogs is not so much about quantity, it's more about timing, and the right situations...After that it's up to the dog....A hunting dog is born...

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Registered: Nov 2011
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More than likely if someone offered me a BMC puppy I would politely turn it down...
But one of the best dogs I hunted behind was a Black mouth cur...he was a beautiful red gold color and his name fit him perfectly (Nugget), he didn't look like the average black mouth cur...he just looked really good...when hunting if the track was cold he didn't bark on it and if it was a hot track he chopped three times over the first 150 yards and he was fast on track...when he got there he was chopping every breath once he singled a hog out and you could hear him a mile away...his chop was about as good as I ever heard...when you got to the Nugget he had the hog stopped and the hog would be backed up to a tree or anything that protected his hind end...Nugget would be baying less the a foot from his face...

When we showed up with a catch dog those two dogs would catch the hog...and if you were ready to go home someone would need to be catching nugget because his mission was to catch all the hogs in that herd...some call it relaying others call it turning over...

Nugget came from some cowboys deeper in South Texas where you have big ranches, lots of black widows, scorpions, rattle snakes and thorns...
Nugget was one of their culls on account he had too much grit...I could have bought him for 325 and he wasn't even 2 years old just yet...

loose baying dogs usually bay the whole pack of hogs unless the pigs are dog smart...
some gritty dogs just bust up the bay and scatter hogs everywhere and then takes a while to catch one if it can be caught...

A dog like Nugget will bust up the herd but he had a unique way of applying enough pressure to keep one stopped...but even Nugget won't stop every hog because it also depends on environmental conditions...

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Training dogs is not so much about quantity, it's more about timing, and the right situations...After that it's up to the dog....A hunting dog is born...

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