EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I always mean to do it with young dogs... I know it helps a dog develope alot better... but as little as I get to hunt anymore, it's hard to just put one dog out at a time... you know your odds of stoppin' one go down.... but is it worth it in the end??

Took my young gyp Snook out by herself last night... after tryin' to get her away from the front bumper of the truck for the first 10 minutes rolleyes(tryin' to get her used to roading by herself)... we finally drove as far as we could drive...

Got out and put ol' Bucho on lead and eased along the edge of a big swamp where we've caught a couple in the past... the whole time... Snook would trot ahead a few yds, look back... then repeat.... obviously not thinkin' about hunting at all..... >:(

As my frustration accumulated.... I began swatting at her with my extra dog lead... telling her to "get ahead"... or else...

Finally, she got close enuff... I made contact right between the eyes..... ;D  I know I felt better, but would she run off into the bushes and sulk... or get out and hunt??....

She shot out about a hundred yds ahead, and looked back... apparently trying to figure out what just happened... just then, I saw her lift her head and make a hard 90 into the swamp... we didn't see her again for 3 and a half hours :o 

Me and Fin tracked her on the wildlife out to over a mile, through bad, bad, bad thick swamp bottom even my older dogs don't like goin' in!!!  ???

She stayed there for over an hour before backtrailing and coming out right where she went in... scratched to hell, tounge hangin' out and bleeding.... no idea what she was running and don't really care... just in awe that a pup of her age would pull out like that...  not at all what I expected from her(she's by the same stud dog as Shiner's pups)... and not "really" what I want my dogs doing... but interesting all the same!!!

What are yalls thoughts on working dogs individually to optimize independence, handle, hunt, etc. ?

I think it is a great idea it just takes more patience.  I know my younger dogs rely on my two older strike dogs.  They will go with the older dogs and do a good job (they are at the bay a will strike pretty well).  When I take the young dogs alone you can tell they have lost their security blanket and don't have the confidence they have when the older dogs are with them.  I sure wish I would take them alone more often.  I think it really makes a difference.

I like hunting just one dog. But I have 3 young dogs and no more than I get to hunt its hard for me to leave the others at home. I usually bring them all but don't turn them all out at one time. If I do turn them all out I make sure there is plenty of hogs in the area. Just to keep them from trashing. To me a hog bays up better with just one dog.

did it buster, doofus, and now gonna do it with RL, one bay dog at a time, its worked in the past, dont see why it wont work now.

mine isnt for training methods though, its usually because we have no choice, lol
limited space for dogs, 4 dead in the past year, and me getting divorced and selling my dogs a few months ago didnt help either.
lets see a pic of snook Noah, here is RL, he is just a year old but has gotten off to a damn good start.



(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f248/8_shots/PICT0466.jpg)

You'd be suprised how many "running" hogs will stop and bay for one dog. ;)

I'm going to try more individual training with the pups I have now. I want a dog I can drop on a track or cast into a large block of woods. I've always worked the young dogs together in the past, gonna do it a little different this time.

I would rather take one young dog by itself and catch one hog then take grown dogs and catch 6.

I expect to turn loose a grown finished and catch hogs. They don't and I am dissapointed.

I catch one with an up and comer and it makes a hunt. But I am in it for the dog work not the hog count.

Great post!

I have done it with every dog I have ever raised. When I feel that they are ready for their day of Reckoning, its time for a solo hunt or two.
I try to put them in some decent sign and see what they are willing to do to put a hog at the end of it on their own. In my opinion, it’s one of the best ways to properly evaluate the “hunt/drive” in a started young dog.
They don’t actually have to find a hog for me at first as long as they are showing me what I expect to see out of dog, “But”, when I have them in decent sign and they are showing me what I want to see, I usually get to see a hog or two.  ;)

I want all my dogs " to be able  " to do it by themselves.  That is drop them ( CAST OR ON SIGN OR TRACK), leave, find a hog, stop it and then keep it stopped / BAYED  till I GET THERE WITH THE CATCHDOGS. I can tell when a pup is young if he is independent or not and thats what i look for along with hunt.  The rest of the above listed traits will come with experience and time and exposure to the woods.  I want an independent pup. I think a lot of people would see holes in there dogs if they dropped one dog by its self where they didn't have another dog to help them out. ( IF AN OLD DOG IS ALWAYS DOING THE WORK THE REST OF THE DOGS LEARN TO FOLLOW THE OLD DOG THEN THE OLD DOG DIES OR GETS KILLED THEN U REALIZE THE OLD DOG WAS DOING EVERYTHING THE WHOLE TIME AND THE OTHER DOG WERE JUST FOLLOWING THE OLD DOG)  I think a dog that will do it by himself / compared to a dog that will do it with another dog it what seperates a great dog from an ok dog or help dog.  I dont have room on my yard for a help dog so if they cant do it by themselves they don't stay.  I like an independent pup one that will leave and go hunting even if he is by himself. If they show me that trait when they are young thats all I ask for then its my job to hunt them and put them on property that has hogs and they will make a dog.  MY OLDER DOGS HUNT BETTER BY THEMSELVES AND U WOULD BE SUPRISED HOW A HOG WILL BAY FOR ONE DOG COMPARED TO 3 OR 4 DOGS. I like my old dog to teach my young dogs but in the same note i dont want my pups to become dependent on the older dogs.  I like when I have a finished dog on the ground with a pup and they both strike an run there own hog.  I also like when they leave together and bay together I guess I like one that will do both solo and honor.(not all will do both)  .......THIS IS JUST my thoughts and WHAT I LIKE AND PREFER IN A DOG. AN INDEPENDENT / RANGEY / STOPPING GRIT / NOSE / BOTTOM AND PREFERABLY SILENT.  NOT TOOOO MUCH TO ASK LOL.......  ;D ;D       

My son, wateverworks, lost his best dog almost three weeks ago.  His hunting buddy has two young dogs and my son has two young dogs, all four were relying on old Buster.  When my son couldn't find a dog close enough to home to afford to go buy he finally started doing what I told him to do, keep hunting the young dogs, they will figure it out.  Since then they have been on three hogs, the first two didn't get held long enough for the cds to get there, but yesterday morning they did, the result was a 250+ lb good boar.  The boys are excited that the young dogs finally got it together, heck one is onlly about 8 months, but my boy said he is really getting out and hunting.  Yes, if you are going to do this type of hunting you will need to be bringing up young dogs and at some point you need to make them hunt, your choice either before or after you best dog gets to doggy heaven.

I expect every dog in my yard to be able to strike and bay their own hog solo for as long as it takes.  I prefer to hunt with less dogs on the ground.  I prefer 2-3 dogs more than I prefer 3-4 if that makes any sense.

I can take you to a place right now that is loaded with hogs.  If we run 1-2 dogs on the ground we will get a bunch of great hemmed up bays.  Put more than 3 dogs dogs down....we won't catch a thing and the bay won't last more than 30 seconds.

If the dog is already showing drive to find the pig I would run it by itself a few times to build its confidence.

do you think its better to run one dog with one pup to show them the ropes and how to find and bay a hog first and then take them out alone? Thats what i do but dont know if it works any better than one out training... however with that said i have not had a dog have trouble with being independent as they got of age, they will all role out and strike alone with or without other dogs on the ground. I never think its worth the dry run personally, if the dogs bred right the rest will come like independence huunt etc. at first i think it does them more good to just get on hogs in the woods.

X2

I definately like to run my youngins with at least 1 experienced dog till they get the routine and what we're doing in the forest before letting them take a swing at it by themselves. Right now I am running 2 experienced and 2 pups together at a time, I've got a 3rd pup that is a little younger and still has some building to do but once she is ready I will still only take 2 pups at a time as I hunt alone and find it easier to handle the dogs.

all I got are youngins so I guess I don't have a choice!

I like running one dog alone. That way they don't become a pack dog and have to depend on another dog to find a hog for them. I like to be able to take any dog in my yard by it's self and find and catch hogs. It works good when you have a couple of dogs that hunt on their own and jump a pack of hogs. Instead of just stopping one hog you can stop two or three.

I have caught more hogs with just one loose baying bay dog and two walk in catch dogs then i have with a pack or with anyone who had a pack less pressure less nervous i got a brindle cur right now that bayed up a small rally by his self about 2 weeks ago he is just as loose bayin as can be took a few dogs to the same spot an them hogs ran all over