EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

  Hello everyone I'm new to this. I have some catahoula puppies that are 7 weeks old. I would like to know how should I start them on hogs. I know there just puppies right now, but is there anything that I can do to start preparing them to hunt hogs. I'm just getting into this hunting with dogs. I have gone hunting with dogs with some friends of mine a few times and they tell me to just put them with dogs that are already hunting. I'm pretty sure there are other ways to start a dog on hogs beside just throwing them out with dogs that are already hunting.   
    THANKS

I'll let the more experienced guys handle this one, but are those ur pups in that little picture... they look good if so.   Welcome aboard!!

Thanks and yes, they are my puppies. I breed my female catahoula to a friend of mines male La. catahoula. 

Keep them as healthy and happy as possible, slowly introducing them to "prey" animals that you wish them to eventually hunt.  Start off extremely easy and progress to more difficult situations to build confidence.  No "trainer" dogs required.  If they are not game, cull, and get another.

When they are that young I take my pups on every hunt I can. Not to actually hunt, but to be in the woods and once the hog is tied or stuck I will let them off the leash.  If I catch a piglet I will let them mess with that, but nothing that would be able to bully them.  But just gettin them in the woods I think is very important.  That is just my 2 cents, and it probably aint worth a penny.

See if you can get a shoat to start them on... nothing too big that will hurt them. Once you get them baying the shoat, start having "staged hunts" by staking it out and letting them try to find it. Start off slow, don't push them and expect too much at first. It should be fun for them, don't over do it.

Welcome to the boards!

Time, Patience, woods, and hunt them with good dogs a lot.  Try to minimize opportunities for them to run trash and more patience.  That is the simplest way I can  think of to tell you to train.

Joey

  Thanks for all the info on starting them. I have one more question when should I start doing this with them. They are only 7 weeks old right now.   Thanks agian

To start off with don't get me wrong I am no pro what so ever.
I have really just got into really training pups. I am not so sure
what age you would want to start yours at, but at a little over
8 weeks I get a shoat in a very small pen and let the pups run the
outside just to let them get the sent of it and get interested in it.
I do that for a little while every day. When they start trying to mess
with the shoat thru the wire I put them in the pen with them to see
what they will do. Also we take ours on hunts with experienced dogs
and like they said before when we catch a hog and have him tied
we take off our catch dogs and such and let the pups play with it
minute.
This is just my way, some people may think I am completely wrong.
But hey its just my opinion. right  :)
like i said no pro here.
An ole farmer that hunts still taught me this  ;D

Thanks for the info from all of yall. This will help me out alot. This will be my first time to start training puppies to huunt hogs. Don't get me wrong but I have been hunting hogs for a pretty long time. I live near alot of farm land that is planted with rice,corn, and milo. We just ride around on 4-wheelers until we run up on them out in the fields and then shoot them. I have gone a few times with some friends that hunt with dogs and I had a great time. So know I'm going to try hunting them with dogs.  Thanks agian

if you have access to a baypen,  get a more experienced dog in the pen and leave the pup outside to watch, eventually (hopefully) he'll start barking too, when he barks telll him "good boy" or give him a treat or whatever your preference is  and like everyone else said, stage hunts, dont put em on a larger pig that can maybe hurt them and ruin their confidence, etc. Also, puppies have ADD (my wife says i do too) dont get discouraged if they give up quick and wanna play.

also to get them used to a boar scent, you can buy wild boar scents online or im sure cody sells them at his store, i dont know what his website is. spray some on something you can drag around for a few yards (increase the distance each time) and drop food (we use cheap weinies cut up)  every few yards to make it fun for them, they get used to a pigs smell and have fun at the same time, remember they are puppies and they wanna be puppies, lol, im sure some people would think this method is stupid, but i trained my bulldog to find pigs this way and i guess it worked, he finds em, catches em, or gets cut up, lol.