hello, little help please

[macgregor]

I'm new here, hog hunter in Oklahoma, got tired of tracking hogs on my own on public land, thought i'd give dogs a try.

I have a couple puppies, 6 month old Ridgeback/Catahoula crosses. Their parents both hunted, sire still does, female dog popped out 11 puppies at once and is now retired from the field. They're pushing 50# and fight like sisters a lot, lotsa energy to work off. based on their mama, they'll be 75# grown up easy.

I'm starting them on basic obedience, leashless commands and field running. They jog 3-4 miles 4 times a week with my wife or I and are starting to keep up on the endurance.

Does anyone have any tips or good reading material suggestions for training these dogs to get them ready for starting out in the fields? I'd like to train them to flush out the hogs, don't need them to catch, i'll take care of that part on my end, but finding the hogs on public land where i can't bait is the issue...

i appreciate it, and hello!


here's a pic of the two hounds (sisters)

[Gunslinger]

Try posting in the hog hunting board it gets more traffic than this board does..

dd444

[gahoghntr]

if you had a grown dog or know someone with one that is a good bay/trail dog you could run them with it , but if you just start taking them without any help of a trained dog they might not run what you want them to, get um on as many hogs as you can

[gitrbayed]

i've found it best to start pups with seasoned veteran dogs. don't know a whole lot about the two breeds but i would perfer a sent trailing dog myself. you'll have to find some way to introduce them to game weither it be a bay pen or perferably with a seasoned dog in the woods. another question is how are you planning to hunt over these dogs? like gun knife bow? a dog has to have a certian amount of catch in it to keep a hog where the dog wants it. i personally like mine to catch! they make vests and collars to protect them from getting cut which is a good idea to purchase even if the don't catch because them ol boars can be pretty nasty even on dogs that aren't catchy.

[macgregor]

wife has threatened me with bad bad things if i don't vest the dogs, hehe..

i'm planning on strictly gun work, just want the dogs to trail them and help me find them.... catch will be discouraged.

[Gunslinger]

I'm not a hog hunter but from what I do know.If your planing to just run the hogs and not bay them..Its going to be hard to do if your hunting alone..

[gitrbayed]

what you're not understanding is that the dogs will HAVE to catch to a certian extent to bay the hogs, if the dogs don't throw a little teeth to the hogs the hogs will just keep running! don't know how much if any experence you've had hunting big game with dogs but there has to be some catch to make the game stop. catch don't necessarly mean locked down on an ear. but the dogs are going to have to put the bite to at least it's rear end to make it put the breaks on and turn to defend it's self or the game will just keep running until the dogs can't run anymore. trust me i've learned this lesson and many others during my 16 years of hunting big game with hounds.

[scdoghunter]

heck,a hog can only cover 14 to 20 miles in a day-thats not so far to cut him off!!!just kidding.you better have something to make him want to bay up and fight.also,i care for my dogs as much as anybody but before you start hog hunting them your wife better know(while a vest will help),everytime you drop the tailgate there a good chance they may not come back in one piece.just something time will teach you and part of hog hunting.

[macgregor]

well, if the way these dogs chase each other around is any indication, catch isn't any problem


they've already caught a few rabbits and a cat...

[gitrbayed]

just be careful how much diciplin you hand out to them on a hog if you want them to chase and bay, to much at a young age can ruin a good prospect quickly

[macgregor]

great, thanks... i'd like to find someone around here in oklahoma who might have a pen i can let them bay on a hog in, but that's not looking good..

[michael]

Here's your dogs litter mates a couple weeks ago. They did good for the first time on a hog. They are the two on the right.

[macgregor]

i'm jealous... my two just finished first round obedience and housetraining... they chase each other all over the greenbelt across the street, i'm sure they'd love to be on a hog.

[gahoghntr]

I see you said house training , alittle more advice if you are going to hunt hogs with them you better not get too attached . I love my dogs but any given hunt there is a possibility that one of them is never coming home.

[Eric Beck]

dog do not come back home sometimes. it the you got to pay to play sayen if you know what i mean