EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Yesterday, Zach and I went to the baying in McCoy and he was asking about Catahoulas vs BMCs on the drive over.

I really had no answer. We had a couple of Cats when I was in my 20s and still living in Wharton County. I bought my BMC pup just because that is what I wanted.

I know some here run Cats, some BMCs and some run both or crosses.

I was hoping y'all would give some of the ups and downs to both . Zach is in the market for a pup or 2 and maybe a little insight will help.

Thanks

There's good and bad in both breeds.  My suggestion is to pick a color, then research bloodlines and find what suits you.

That is the way I pick my bird dogs. We were kind of hoping for a little more personal insight, but if that is all, I guess that is all.

Both are good breeds! I've hunted both, seen goodins and badins in both breeds. I prefer the yella dogs just cause I like there color! ;D

Ya know, That is why I chose to get the one I have, but I also like the blue eyed dogs as well. I guess Zach cant get a couple of Cats and I can stay with the BMCs and we can have the beat of both worlds. ;D

Bobby,

If you want a personal opinion, I like Black Mouths...and the reason, because that happened to be the first breed of dog I got ahold of that suited my personal hunting style....but like I mentioned earlier...not all are worth a cup of feed!

Having said that, I've also seen some pretty fine Catahoula's that (if I got in a bind :) ) I would probably feed.  I will say that in my opinion when trying to weed through the trash of each breed, Catahoulas may be a bit harder because of the fact that lots of people over the years have bred the working qualities right out of the dogs while persuing pretty coats and glass eyes.

So the show dog mentality is in the stock dogs as well? Holy cow, there are entire bird dog breeds that have nearly gone into extinction as far as hunting ability because of that

that's common in any dog breed that's gained popularity among the masses for it's visual appeal or Pet qualities. 

Labs, EP's, brittany spaniels, irish and gordon setters, GSP's, catahoulas, dogos, pit bulls, great danes, lacys, yellow bmc's.......

I hunts cats for the most part. The ones I hunt have been line bred for quiet a few years.  They are the closest thing to what I like in a dog that I've found so far.  That being said I'll hunt any dog that produces hogs and like has already been said there are good and bad in all lines.. And Bryant brought up a very good point, A LOT of cats have been bred for a lot of years because they had "double glass eyes".  That's how you know you got you a good one lol...

stick with line bred working dogs and you will be happy with either breed in my .02  They are generally the same type of working dog/herritage I like my BMC's

my opinion on this topic is the same as the above all my dogs are curs or crosses with hounds don't have a cat never will i went through 10 and never found one i liked and i am by no means sayin they can't find hogs just got tired of lookin but that's preference either will work it just depends on color as far as this topic goes in my opinion

Bob
  you know that i am Catahoulas all the way finally got a  line of dogs i like all the way around and plan on keeping these lines
 i had had great BMC and Lacy's i have had some great cat and hound crosses  but time in and time out ill stick with  what i have
 
   Dexter

I think alot of this depends on the style of hunting you like to do! Ford or Chevy? Mopar or Bowtie? Ice Cream or Yogart? Do you want a Red Car or a Blue one? depends on what you want to look at setting in your drive way!

The question is what do you want it to do for you? I love to see one of those rough Catahoula's work a hog but out of probably over 50 I have hunted with or tried out I have only seen 1 you didnt have to kick out from under your feet and Muleman on ETHD owns him. I have heard of them just havent seen them. I personaly like long range dogs, the kind you can turn out  and they knock the back of the woods out! This being said I could count the yellow dogs I have seen like this probably on one hand. Probably hunted with a hundred of them! There is a very fine balance in these hog dogs. You still dont have an answer to your question.

I want a dog that hunts hard and long, and is silent, and not too gritty. I choose BMC/Plott!  But the answer is in what you want! Good Luck

Best advice your gonna get!

I've always hunted Texas breed dogs but tried plenty of Catahoulas back in the day along with just about everything else. I got to the point of hating the breed and vowed never to waist my time with them again! The only cat I ever kept was double registered. Pretty as they come but couldnt find his own a$$ in the woods if it was on fire! No hunt to him at all but one of the best catch dogs I've ever owned.
 
After hunting with two different guys the past few years that owned some dang good ones and seeing successful hog hunters using them on this web site I have come to realize that I just never got ahold of the right blood!

That has probably happened to a lot of different people with just about all breeds...

I've always been partial to the leopard dogs since I was a kid. The best dogs i've had the pleasure to hunt behind were full cat or cat crosses. I guess i've never seen a bmc cur that stood out and blew me away... seen some pretty good ones. People always say the cats are rough, but i've seen more rough bmc's than catahoulas. Talked to several die hard yellow dog men over the years who's best dog they ever owned was a catahoula. :o

But, just like many other breeds, the pet people went to mass producing them about 10 years back, looking for the loud colors and pretty blue eyes... that's why there's so much junk floating around these days. I also believe the same has happened to the bmc... gotta be yella with a black mask.

hell i hunt 2 cats and mine i got from dang rescue places cause the people were horders and i can say they have drive, and grit, but like bryant said they have bred the nose out of them because quiet frankly if there is fresh sign they will hunt but as far as takin a track mine could care less they are gonna wait on the hounds to do that and run with them but my lil moto is when it comes to dog hunting...OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND....rather they are hunting or just learning it depends on what you like but i can say that cats are pretty dang dogs  (http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/144/l_53a51acf2e724a8e87caf72b2851c27d.jpg)

(http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/80/l_2359a6db1a924234b5190efc4c36c917.jpg)

From what I have read here, I guess I was right when I told Zach I didnt really know of much difference between the two except the way they looked.

Just like bird dogs or any other kind of working dogs, there are really bad ones , really good ones and every thing in between. Just a different look on the out side.

And the fact that Karla and I both like the BMCs is reason enough to have 'em I reckon.

Yep! I have made about every mistake you can make with a dog! :'(