EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I have raised and trained dogs on hogs for 38 years and I would like to know yalls definition of a FINISHED DOG please I mean I have buried a lot of FINISHED DOGS . Maybe I am just OLE FASHIONED but finished means DONE NO LONGER ABLE TO PARTICIPATE . I mean when I FINISH dinner there is nothing on my plate or nothing left in the house at all . Let me know what yall mean I mean I have 8 year old dogs that learn everyday. I mean I have dogs for sale that will find and bay hogs and some will catch by theirselves give me what yall Young WHIPPERSNAPPERS mean . Thanks

First off, Welcome to ETHD!
Second, leave that horse alone!  :laugh:
http://www.easttexashogdoggers.com/forum/index.php?topic=10791.0

Welcome to the site.  I agree with you when a dog is finished he's dead.  Ride whatever horse you want.

i have only been hunting hogs with dogs about 8 years so my definition is a dog that is going out finding hogs and stoping it holding it at bay until you get there.No trash all hog dog must roll out on next one .Just my 2 cents on finished dog

I COMPLETLY AGREE WITH U MEYERSHOGDOG. I KNOW PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN OPIONON, BUT TO ME A FINSHSED DOG IS NO LONGIER WITH US.

Okay,

So does that mean that a started dog is one which you have put gas in and turned a switch to make him hunt.When I start my car, I turn a key.

Or maybe you have to pull a string on him to make him go.  When I start my lawn mover, I pull a string to start it. You guys kill me.


Remember  "a rose by any other name would still be as sweet."

Call it what you want, but anyone who has been hunting hog long enough has a  idea what you mean when you say "finished dog."

The problem is people don't always know or agree what a finished or top notch dog is or should be.

x2

Yup.  I've never seen anyone make a good dog by over-analysing on the WWW.

LOOKS LIKE YOU ALREADY HAVE A DEFINITION!

x3

to me a started dog is a dog that is just that started. they have started to hunt but they aren't consistant, ie they have a lot of puppy still in them. when you let them go they play around not really hunting, then after some walking and such they get to hunting. sometimes they find a hog sometimes they don't. that is started to me a young dog that doesn't really "get it" just yet.

a finished dog to me is a dog that when you drop them you find pork, period the end. how they do will classify them as a good, great, or once in a lifetime dog. finished to me is simply a dog that has seen many hogs and when you go to the woods you can count that you'll hear a bay going with that dog. finished to me is just a term for a dog that "get's it" and is beyond just a started dog.

IMO the caliber of dog you have doesn't denote if it is finished or not. i also believe that the caliber of dog denotes if it is still learning or not. you can have a dog that "gets it" but isn't as a good a dog has the next man's, that doesn't mean your dog is any less finished it just isn't as good as another mans. some finished dogs aren't as fast as others some don't stop runners as well as others, etc. i also believe that this word causes a lot of problems because people think the word finished denotes the caliber of dog you are looking at. just like anything else beauty is in the eye of the beholder. one mans trash is another mans treasure.


for example i have two young dogs i would call both of them well started dogs. they "get it" but they haven't been behind enough hogs for me to claim they are finished dogs. some people would call them finished, you dop the tailgate they go find you a hog. everytime i have taken them to the woods here recently they have found a hog, but i would not call them finished in my eyes they haven't seen enough hogs for me to say that.

as a side note the caliber of dog is based off of the way you hunt and where you hunt. my dogs may not suite another man, and that is fine. they may not be as good a dogs as i think they are..i do think they would make an hunter happy though. ;D dogs taht you take anywhere and they find hogs are abover avg dogs and waht we are all looking for. dogs that can't are n less finished to me, just not GREAT dogs.

***i posted this on another dog hunting board to see what people that hunt another type of game feel about this question. i'll report what they say.***

Finished dog just means the dog is finsihed leaning the basics and will hunt and find hogs...Of course he isn't finished....bottom line is you have to call the dogs something....I guess instead of the dog being finsihed, the owner is finished with him as far as any training is concerned.. From that point on the dog keeps learning, but can at least be expected to go hunt and find hogs consistently..

it is funny how it doesn't matter what type of working dog you have this question is always posed. when i was dealing with pits the big question was always..what is the difference between a game dog, a deep game dog, and a dead game dog. game = gamer than most, deep game = will never quit, dead game = died doing what they were bred for.

I just tried this method to start a pup.  I planted my foot on his but and firmly yanked his tail.  I thought he was well started because he left really fast and was barking every breath but after a hundred yards he was finnished. ;D

too funny pigsnatcher...lol ;D ;D ;D

just to add...from another board..one person believes that a finished dog is a dog that is dead and hunts no more....i think the finished term is one that is used by the younger generation(whippersnappers)...lol

All in the eyes of the beholder, old and young ;)...

pigsnatcher- I'm still laughing...good stuff ;D

Finished Dog?

"Finished means quality, great drive, predictability in hunting style, great ability to find and stop hogs, great bay style and ability to use the correct pressure to hold different types of hogs/cattle, great track speed, great raw speed, good handle, smart, no bad habits.....The dog will have no weak spots and can do it all when hunted alone."

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!

Finished Dog?

"Finished means quality, great drive, predictability in hunting style, great ability to find and stop hogs, great bay style and ability to use the correct pressure to hold different types of hogs/cattle, great track speed, great raw speed, good handle, smart, no bad habits.....The dog will have no weak spots and can do it all when hunted alone."



x3

(http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt51/skiparope/smiley-thumbsup.gif)
 x4

I thank yall for that I really did need to know what yall were thinking . By the way I have a finished cattle dog that well he aint getting any young but he is getting so much smarter he just runs till he winds the cattle and bays about 5 times and if the cow does not work he just catches and drags the damn thing to me till I put a rope on it then he loads up in the trailer he is about an 8 yr old but he works damn hard I love him to death if anyone out there has a dog or pup that will bay a hog but will not work as a hogdog for you let me know please . Thanks guys for letting me know what a FINISHED DOG IS.

I think that last definition from the previous page states it clearly and completely.  If I was smart, I would leave this topic right now.   rolleyes

What about the dog that meets the "finished" definition in every way, except, even at 9 years old bumps up a doe about once every 5-6 tiimes out?  She consistently finds hogs 90% of the time hunting over every other stone-cold trash broke "finished" dog she is put on the ground with.  How do you classify this? 

As one of the Un-whippersnappers out there (too old), I have told folks there are no such thing as trained dogs.  There are only dogs in various levels of training, on-going all the time, for their lifetimes.  Its like doctors and lawyers, they have "practices" where they apply and practice the skills, knowledge and abilities they acquire over the years at different levels.  There are no finished dogs, unless they are dead.  There are a few good "practicing" experts.