EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Lets get familiar to who we are talking to and getting advice and information from. Do tell....... why do you hunt hogs with your dogs, what dogs(breeds), how do you hunt(road, wheeler, walk), how long have you hunted with dogs, breed, train/raise, how many dogs do you have, how many do you run at one time etc..??????

Most know me on here and the answers but for those who don't.....
I hunt for many reasons, there is the famous "to see my dogs work" but also because I love it!!! and so do my dogs, I enjoy seeing the work paying off. Because the woods are a great place to be and my family feels the same. And it beats sewing ;). I have a male and female lacy, a cat, and a new plott female, along with a female pit and two pit pups(male and female) We have hunted from the truck, a wheeler, horseback, but by far my favorite is walking(and what I do the most) I have hunted with dogs a long time since I was about 7 yrs old (but that was coondogs) started hog hunting with dogs for hogs over about 8 yrs ago, and for the last 4 or 5 years  been breeding and training my own dogs and pups. I usually run 2 or 3 bay/strike dogs at one time but have had much more on the ground when hunting with friends. And we mainly hunt palmetto's, and thickets.

Since we have a few thousand members we should have alot of responses to this in just a week, lets see who will share.....????????

Great topic- I typically hunt curs or cur/hound mixes with 3 to 6 strike dogs and 2 bulldogs. I will hunt whatever is conveniant for the terrain and my friends, never hunted on horses but may try this fall. I love to see dogs work and young dogs come up but legging a hog and having dogs talented enough to stop one and catch it is a lot more fun than spot lighting a coon! Its the best therapy in the world, it is my weekly excape and i have met some of the best, upstanding people and my friends in this sport (my only friends now that i am old, conservative and set in my ways) ........ God Bless!

I hunt BMCs.At this time I have 13 dogs in the kennels.I have no pits,abs,or any other breed just BMCs.I have been chasing these dang things sence the 70s. Done it horse back, foot,truck,and 4 wheelers. still like to go a foot from time to time.I also use a couple of my dogs both ways on cattle and hogs. And yes it can be done.I breed,raise,train,and use my dogs. I run 2 to 3 dogs on the ground at a time. But more when I hunt with freinds. I hunt because I love to watch good dogs work.and do what they where bred for.

I hunt with dogs because I love dogs in general and enjoy working with a dog to do things that some say can't be done. I have been "running the dogs" for 22 years and my first hunts were on my uncles backs (I miss these days). I currently have 6 dogs in my yard and all are different breedings. We walk until we've had enough and then turn around and walk back.  :laugh: I run 4 of my dogs on the ground at a time at max.

Disclaimer:  Take my advice along with everyone else that is willing to share and sit down with yourself and then get out there and create your own experiences and opinion.

I hunt hogs with my dogs because it's more fun and more rewarding than any other type of hunting I've ever done and I've hunted critters of some sort since I could get outside on my own,....built a trap and caught an English Sparrow when I was around 5 I think. Up until about 5 or 6 years ago I was a hound man,....hunted coons for years when I was a teenager in high school. Then my buddy that had cur dogs for years gave me one and I liked the way he hunted and acted. Right now I have 2 dogs, a cur/fiest cross and a Plott/cat cross, both are silent on track but the fiest cross will yip if she jumps a hog that wants to run. We hunt on foot most of the time, I hunt with some guys from TN most of the time and they have hounds that are open. We use some standers to head off the hogs if they want to run. I've hunted hogs and bear with dogs since the mid-70s, don't hunt bear much anymore. I have had several dogs at one time over the years but I prefer to keep only 2 or 3 now, I hate to leave a dog in the pen when I go hunting,.....don't know why that is really, but I always have. I bred and trained dogs for a lot of years, just never had many at one time. We usually run about 5 or 6 dogs together at one time, I run my curs right with their hounds and they do fine, they just don't bark on the trail. I do enjoy a good race with the hounds though,....it's just the hound man left in me I reckon. We don't have any 'catch' dogs.....our dogs will catch if they think they can handle it and sometimes if they don't!  I hunt locally with a buddy that has only curs and we sometimes take an AB as a catch dogs, but the curs can handle just about anything but the biggest and meanest. I love it and intend to do it 'til my dying day if the Good Lord sees fit to let me.

i started hunting with a buddy last year.. and this year have decided to get my own pack... i hunt hogs with dogs for the chase.. and fun of being in the woods.... i had a pit catch dog. but hust lost him... and i had a reverse bmc.. but i lost him anout amonth ago.. he was getting started on a good foot to... now i am left with my eight month old bmc.. that is learning and my finished bmc that is about five years.... also have a blue healer that is my truck riding buddy.. but will stay with me in the woods no matter what...also will go to the bay and help.. but will go in for the catch when im close.....but dont really want to get him hurt...i need a catch dog now.. badly... i road hunt my dogs.. sum times.. but do mostly walkin.. good exercise. since i ride in a towtruck all day.....do most of my hunting with the same guy that strated me in this... but now im lookin forward to run with other new guys.. and my self....always lookin to help out on sum hunting.....the more u hunt the more u learn.. and have fun.. but its all about havin fun....

Well, I grew up in East Texas and we hunted hogs however we could. I guess the real reason I like hunting hogs with dogs is there is an element of danger that gets my heart pumping. I mean lets get real, anyone can shoot a deer or a hog for that matter, with a rifle or bow, but it takes a little more grit to go in and catch one with a pack of mutts. Here in NM, we don't have the population that there is back home, but there are hogs and as long as there are a few rooting around I'll get after them as much as life allows. I run just about any kind of dog that will run one, open or silent it doesn't matter to me. Right now I have a 3/4 bluetick 1/4 cat. that will rig one off the wheeler on occation. He would be my main find dog. My other three are two hound gyps,one grade lion bred bluetick and one redtick, and one 1/2 jagd 1/4 plott 1/4 ridgeback gyp. If you haven't hunted behind a dog that is part or full jagd you need to try one. You wouldn't think such a little dog could do so much. I just want to say thanks to everone on this forum, I love getting on here and hearing stories and seeing pics. of hunts back home. Some times I can almost smell the green briar and youpon.

My husband has hunted since he was 10 every single night of the week until we moved far enough away to only do it on the days off.  I hunted in school with family and friends on the weekends, typically after working cows and not having anything better to do.

We run gritty Fl Curr dogs out of a long line that my husband's childhood mentor raises and have bred some of our own off of it.  We hunt primarily cane but our dogs are versitile and do not discreminate on terrain although the more open land it is the farther they go  :laugh:  they will wear most other people and their dogs out...We have catch dogs that we use on occassion when the currs need a little backup or if there is something trying to sneak past  us thats way ahead of the curr dogs.

In total we have 4 finnished wind/trail/bay dogs, 2 CD's, 7 curr puppies and 1 red tick x walker hound puppy.  We typically run no more than 2 - 3 dogs on the ground and rotate with whom ever is bringing their dogs.   The dogs wiind from the truck 95% of the time but will trail if needed to figure out a track.  Here in the last year we have been using the Ranger, which is a little different for them. 

We hunt because we love to, it is good times with close friends and family for story telling/carrying on....not to mention the thrill of the bay or watching the dogs cut out across a field after a big one.  We both have a passion for starting young dogs and watching them come into their own, knowing that we were able to afford them the opportunity to do what they were bred for and what they love to do!

Of all the addictionss there is hog hunting is our choice!

26 been hunting with dogs for a while not real sure how long 10 years give or take had dogs all my life though.  Hunt for the relaxation and hate of hogs.  Roaded fourwheeler walk no horses.  Hodge podge of dogs. Feeding 12 tring to put a set of dogs together I like. Think I work with dogs as a release from the world it seems that when messing with dogs and hogs the world is perfect lol. 

i started hunting hogs about 4yrs ago. i do it because i played football through college and when it stopped i couldn't find anything that gave me the rush that football did. currently i have a bmc, dog/bmc, and a dogo(will be going to all mt. curs here real soon as my strike dogs). when i go by myself i take my three dogs, when with friends there's no telling how many dogs will be on the ground. i've been dealing with dogs since i was a young kid, bred pits for probably 17yrs. i normally walk hunt, but i have roaded from the truck and i have hunted via atv.

Have 26 in the pens. I don't really have a favorite breed but lean more towards BMC, whatever finds hogs works for me.

BMC: 2 gyps,2 males one is my main strike dog

BMC x: 4 males

Leopard Cat: 3 gyps, 2 males

Cat x: 2 male

Lacy: 2 males

Kelpy x: 2 males

Greyhound x: 1 male

Pit and pit x: 2 males, 2 gyps

AB: 1 male

AB x Bull Mastiff: 1 male

I have hunted on horseback,4 wheelers,out of trucks, and walked hunt. My favorite is hunting off 4 wheelers, my dogs hunt real fast so this is pretty affective for my style of hunting, walk hunting is my second choice, we walk hunt mostly through the winter.

I have been hog hunting with my own pack for 2 years, did alot of coon hunting with dogs when I was 14 to 15. I was practically raised around dogs, my mom was a vet tech for 13 years and currently has a boarding and grooming shop, I have seen some of the ugliest dogs through her buisness lol.

I basically hog hunt because it an adrenaline rush and I get a thrill out of sticking hogs. I like to take new people out and get them into the sport, its always a warm feeling when a first time hog hunter sticks their first hog, I love being around the dogs and taking care of them. I have learned lots from watching the dogs work and from fellow hog hunters, its a great sport I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!

There is nothing like it when the bay dogs are bayed, cutting the catch dog loose and running in behind him. There isn't any other hunt that your in there hand to hand with your dogs. I have two, Rebel a Merle, AmStaff once a stray was down to 45lb now 63lb. Sandy a BMC gyp 7 mon. saddle back Paul M gave her to me, she thinks she can kick Rebels a$$. She will be ruff. I have been hunting hogs with dogs for two years now. We go on the weekends ride ATV's, catch dog rides till there bayed and we walk in to the bay. Some time we walk hunt. Cut um loose. Sidney

I grew up with hunting & working dogs (coon,rabbit,bird & cattle)! I have trained a lot of cattle dogs over the last 20 years. I love to see a good dog do his job right, to me that's very rewarding. I hunt hogs with dogs cause of the thrill of the chase. I have 9 bay dogs, 2 catch dogs, and 1 cowdog. I will hunt 3-4 on the ground at a time. My whole family enjoys hog hunting and we go as often as we can. We hunt off of polaris rangers, very little walking, and horse back sometimes. I've been in South central Oklahoma all my life. We had a few hogs when I was a kid and then I did'nt see any till about 15 years ago. Now they are everywhere and almost all of the ranchers and farmers will let us hunt. Most will call when they see fresh sign, this makes it great when training pups and young hunters. I mostly hunt BMCs, But I do have some cross bred dogs that do a good job. I don't breed my own I try to buy a good bred pups from known hunters.

I grew up coonhunting and had no preference to the breed . I liked em all but I did want a dog that hunted my style. We mostly pleasure hunted and had no use for a dog that would leave the county. We had to go to work /school the next day. Hounds were about all I had ever been around. I was coonhunting when I heard about hoghunting and it always intrigued me, but I figured the vet bills would eat me up. Well about then my 2 boys started eating enough to make me realize that by the time I split a coon between the 3 kids and wife that left me eatin the neck! Some boys took me on a hoghunt and for a while I kept a set of coondogs and hog dogs. I still got 1 coondog (redbone).My Hogdogs are a motley crew of mixed cur, 1 redbone, and 1 pit. I don't pay much for dogs but the ones I keep suit me. That's why I feed em and no one else has to like em. I ain't never owned or seen a perfect dog. Only heard about them.I do enjoy getting on here and reading others comments.   

I've always been a bird hunter up till last year. Had labs mostly. Now I'm hooked on this hog dog thing. I've only been 4 times, and I love the rush. I like the element of danger in it. I have a year old Catahoula, and hunt with some friends who have Cat crosees , a plott cross, and a GSP. The few times I have went we used 4 to 5 bay dogs at a time. No catch dog. The GSP and The Cats catch pretty dang good.

i have been around hunting dogs all my life grandpaws were avid rabbit and foxhunters and dad used to have about 15 deerhounds now just 5 beagles...i keep around 10-15 dogs including my 3 catch dogs...my style of hunting depends on the terrain i hunt i have dogs that are great for walkhunting and dogs that are go getters and get outa sight quick....try to learn each dogs strengths and weaknesses...been huntig about 10 yr nnow and breed my own dogs and outcross and buy as well...i enjoying raising and st ;arting young dogs i usually keep the whole litter and cull thru them till i get the best 2 or 3...has worked so far...my dad messed up and took me hoghunting with one of his buddys when i was i kid and been hooked ever since ;D

 My name is Ben Little, Im o27 years old and I have been around hounds and bird dogs my whole life. Both Grandfathers were houndsman in California. I grew up with at least 15 dogs at my house at all times hunting Coon, Bear, Cats, and hogs. When I got old enough to have a say about the dogs me and my father started breeding and training GSP for quail, Pheasant, and chuckar and got into competion field trials and did quite well at it. Although I bred and raised bird dogs my true passion was the sound of a good big game race and I ended up getting my own set of hounds. I moved to texas almost 5 years ago and new nothing about the hog hunting here and sold all my dog equipment and dogs before I came, then one day seen a pack of curs and catahoulas cross the road chasing a hog and the bug bit me again.  I hooked up with a couple of great and honest people on here that have hog hunted with dogs a very long time and never looked back. My dogs mainly consist of Plott crosses and curs.

Well I will start by saying that I new to this game of hog hunting.  I have however been hunting with dogs almost my whole life.  Mostly water dogs and i have had some good ones.  I have also so been hunting my whole life and have hunted alover this country and for almost every type of North American game.  I lived in Alaska for 14yrs and was lucky enough to hunt a bunch while up there.  I managed a Kodiak Bear, 2 black bears, a 68" Alaska Yukon moose, Lynx,  Caraboo, Dall Sheep, mountain goat, Elk Rosevelt and Rocky Mountain (Montana) wolves, wolveriens and tons of Sika Blacktail Deer , fox, beavers and river otters. So I am not a rookie to the hunting game.  But with all that said hunting behind dogs for these hogs is just plain fun and never seems to have a dull moment. I love this game and am going to be a hog hunter the rest of my life.

My dogs

1 Colby Pit Gyp

1 BMCxCat

But there will be more soon.

Several great reply's, glad to see those willing to share and be honest. But numbers could be better, so c'mon folks don't be shy!

numbers .. what do u mean by numbers... telephone.. or years of hunting????

He is talking about with this many people on this board that there are no one is posting up to share. It aint like someone is going to make fun of you.

I grew up following my grandpa and the old guy that worked for us coon hunting on a ranch that had about 4 miles of Colorado River frontage in WHarton County.. I live in Hond now,. I have had hounds, beagles, labs, and bird dogs.

I have a kennel full of Britts and English Pointers right now. I have hunted with friends dogging hogs here and there over the years and got myself a BMC last Fall. he is getting better all the time and I have a 14 month old gyp that is trying and a 4 month old gyp that I believe from all signs here at home is going to be a good one.

I had thought about hog dogs over the years, but what really started me is the fact that quail are getting scarcer and hogs are getting more plentiful.

As y'all know you can hunt hogs year 'round, but I only get a few trips for quail.

My son just got a nice Cat pup from Douglas Mason, but personally, I like the yellow dogs.

gottagettem- Rockin-p is right, and no one will be made fun of or any other negativety. Thanks Rockin-P for clarifying that for me in my absence. This is just to get to know one another better and get an idea of what each of us do. Lots of views but not as many posts is what I was refering to, and with a few thousand members the posts numbers aren't good.

My name is Jared Honzell and I am 28yrs old and live in Pittsburg Tx. I've been hog hunting since I was old enough to hold a gun but have only had hog dogs for about a year.  I got a job at Priefert and my supervisors are big into it.  After going with them a few times I was hooked.  Right now I have a 3yr old bmc that is nothing but a help dog and then 5 pups that Im just starting to work with.  When I hunt by myself I walk hunt and mainly just bay and shoot unless my dogs decide to catch.  I love working with dogs and watching them come into their own.  I've hunted with some good dogs so far but none of them were mine. LOL But I know my time is coming so I just keep walking mile after mile every chance I get until my dogs stop a hog. And when they do it makes me so proud that I completely forget about all of the dry runs.  That's my story so far.

My name is Will I am 37 yrs old live in Rosharon TX...  I have had all kinds hunting and working dogs. Im a Dog Sgt and run man tracking dogs for over 15 yrs as a living......right now I have 34 hounds and 18 horses that I train at work. I live where I work and its 17000 acres to run dogs on...My hog dogs 4 lep cats... 3 female 1 male and 1 plott male I hunt with 2 orther buds we run 6 to 12 RCD at a time we walk hunt.. some wheeler mostly to pick of dogs. Have been hog doggen off and on 15 yrs. I like to see the reward of training and good dogs working be it on a man or a hog!!!  I have 4 kids and they all hunt and fish!!!! I'm big on kids going hunting and fishing!!!!

oh ..... ok........ i miss read .........and yes there is alot of people. on here... for no responces......i just started my own pack.... so im still sum what learning.... i really dont care what people think of me... cause im me.... if they dont like then who cares... i hunt for the love of outdoors.. and fun.... without that .. its just something to do....... but fun  ass hell chasing what ever u hunt....  i love a good bay .... and hope to learn more from the people i meet on here....

I'm Coady Curbow, from Garrison, TX.  My family and I started hog hunting in the mid 90's when hogs first started showing up.  We us BMC, Plott, and Redbones.  We turn the hunt into a social event.  We used to hunt by ourselves, but we came to the conclusion that making friends was more important than always catching a hog.  We try to carry young people any time we can.

I've been around some good dogs over the past 15 years.  I get off on starting young dogs and watching them grow into a hog dog.  Got two boys ages 6 and 3 that I love to carry.

I have come to realize that it is good to try to be an ambassador to the sport.  Carrying young people is a good way because they might grow up to be  a person of influence.

 My name is Dinah, I am 40 yrs. old and I live in Dayton, TX.
 I hunt hogs with my husband who has hunted hogs his whole life. We went hog hunting on some of our dates before we were married back in the early 90's. We stopped hunting for a while because team roping consumed our lives for a while, and then we put our pack together a year and a half ago and started hunting again. We
   hunt off of 4 wheelers.  Our pack is 2 red bmc's, 1bmc/cat, 1 cat, 1 pit cd, 1 pit/dane cd. We usally put 2 or 3 bay dogs on the ground and then use a lead in cd. unless we are hunting with friends and then anything goes. I hunt because it is so much fun and it puts meat in the freezer. I prefer to feed my family wild meat because it is so much healthier than whats in the grocery store. We hunt mostly farm land to help eliminate hogs for the local farmers, but we do it for recreation.

grew up around dogs, some good some bad.  got into dogging a few years ago with a buddy who grew up doing it.  Only had one dog since that was all "the boss" would let me have.  At the moment ive got a semi started cat and a pit pup.  Love working with dogs and have always trained my own, from protection to bird hunting and saw this as a new "training challenge".  Used to just shoot the dang things but after one dogging trip i was hooked.  Need to get back into some good yellar dogs though since now im "the boss"  ;D

My passion is blood tracking wounded deer with dogs, I have been doing this for about 10 yrs, got serious about 5 years ago and have an old strain of cow dogs that I use and also one solid Lacy.  I got into the hog hunting as an avenue to see different bloodlines work and to find what I could find to bring back to my original line bred deer dogs.  We feed about 6 hog dogs and 3 + blood tracking dogs, hunt hogs about 3 times per month or more when we can.  Track alot of deer during deer season... 

Jerryg

I've loved hunting since I was a kid. Always have been dog crazy. Started hog hunting about ten years ago. I have Cats for baydogs and an AB for a catchdog. Not a whole lot of hogs where I live here in KY. Have to really work hard to get em. Hog hunting is how I relax. I've met a lot of good people thru hunting and made a few good friends.

My name is nick jones. I live in nogalus prarie, texas. I have been hunting for a little over four years. I walk, rider 4 wheelers and hunt of horses every once in a while. I have ten grown dogs and three pups. I have three curs, a plott/cur, a pit/cur, three mountain cur pups, a dogo/pit, full blooded pit, and ab. I have trained all the catch dogs, two of the curs, the three pups and the pit/cur. The other was given to me by friends or bought. Hog hunting is my high. :) Even though we haven't been able to stop the hogs the last two months, I still keep goin. I love to see all my work pay off WHEN my dogs DO bay and catch a hog.

I hunted beagles as a kid growing up in North Alabama. My best friends on the farm were my guns, my horse, and a few AB/Pit crosses.
Those bull dogs were hell on stray cats, ground hogs, and the mail man! All strays were caught and eaten by those dogs!lol They came in handy if we had to catch a sirly hog out of the 40 acre hog pen also.

I moved to Texas with my family when I was in Junior High school. I didn’t think you were hunting with a dog unless it was a hound in those days.
I few Texas cowboys and a red runt BMC pup changed my mind forever when it came to hog hunting dogs!
A few more BoarNinja fun facts:

•   I am not a Ninja!  rolleyes
•   I have been hunting hogs with my own dogs since I was 18. I started with hounds but it didn’t last long.
•   I am a big failure as a breeder! I have bred some of the best that I have ever owned. Just don’t ask me about all the culls!
•   I still love hounds but most of all I like to pick at those who raise and hunt them. I always let them start it though! You houndsmen still have my respect! Even as hog hunters. Please don’t forget it!
•   I don’t like cross breeding hunting dogs but I have seen some outstanding cross bred hog dogs.
•   I can’t stand a dog that barks on a track but my favorite gyp does way too often! >:D
•   I don’t like Pits but I know some folks that own a few that I would feed!
•   I don’t hunt hogs to catch hogs or personal glory. If it wasn’t for the dogs, I wouldn’t even fool with them!
•   I love to see a great dog work whether it belongs to me or somebody else! I could care less if I own the best dogs! I just want a few good ones that suit me is all!
•   I have a huge respect for the men and women that have figured out how to consistently breed good hog/cow dogs and hunting dogs in general because that is something I have never been able to accomplish!
•   I hunt hogs with any source of transportation I can come by but I think everyone should hunt on foot from time to time to more appreciate the effort out of their dogs!
•   I am an expert at making biscuits and pissing women off but that is about it!
•   This December I will be married for 25 years and my wife still likes me and my dogs! My three adult children and my grand child think I am the greatest hog hunter and dog man of all time!!! :o I dont have the heart to tell them any different! ;D
•   Im not a cowboy but some of my heroes are!
•   My wife “is” a Ninja!
•   I am a God fearing sinner saved by Grace through my Faith but I will drink all your beer on a fishing trip! :angel:

Well I started going hunting and working cattle with my uncle as alittle feller he had no kids so I became his rideing buddy and have a whole lot of respect for him!!

I got my first puppy from him in 1991 at the age of 12. I started working with the pup and some how made a hellava hog/cow dog out of him!! I breed him to a bitch at a year old to get me some more pups to hunt my uncle was teaching me how to linebreed and it was working!!I have been breeding the same dogs since still useing them on hogs and cows!!

I have tryed most all cross's with my dogs and alway's went back to the line breeding had to cull to many of the others!!

Now I have 3 kids and a wife that hunt with me and would not do it any other way!They all have there own dogs!!

There are around 25 dogs on my place counting puppies!!But I cull hard so 25 could be 15 in a week!!

Love meeting and catching hogs with different people!!

My name is Joey Young and I am 34 years old.  I work in the Oil business, but spend more time with the dogs, or at least it seems that way.  Been raised with bulldogs and Dobermans since I was born until I was old enough to raise my own dogs.  Been raising hog dogs for over 10 years and still learning something about the dogs or hogs on almost every hunt, if not every hunt.  My philosiphy on hog dogs is that you have to evolve with the hogs and never have a closed mind about crosses or other breeds until you have tried or hunted with a decent example of the breed.

My different ways of hog hunting transportation includes most everything (Walking, buggies, truck, boat, horses, etc.)

I hunt pretty much cur crosses that are linebred out(bmc, mt. cur, catahoula, pit, walker,  and bluetick).  Still crossing dogs to reach a goal.  Some of the purebreds that I hunt are BMC, Jagd, Plott, Drathaar, Pitbull, and American Bulldog.  Dont know how many for sure but that is probally for the best. I hunt with a select group and every now and then I will hunt socially, but I am in the woods to work dogs and you got to catch hogs to work them for the most part.  Not to mention it is what the landowners want as well. My favorite breed of dogs is the Blue Heeler and they got me started in the stock dog world when I graduated highschool. I also enjoy working bulldogs in protection work and begining to dabble with the bird dog training as well.  All of this dog work is shared with my beautiful girlfriend and her two boys, which is a blessing.

That is it in a nutshell, hope I didnt leave anything out.

Joey Young

Grew up the son of a commercial deep drop fisherman in SW Florida... ol' pops instilled a real keen eye for "efficiency" in harvest  ;)... I credit him for my killer instinct... find what works and run with it till it don't work no more ;)

My early yrs were spent fishing the gulf, and freedive spearfishing A LOT.... let's just say I've killed some fish ;) ;D  At 8 yrs old I remember my dad sending me down the anchor line in a cold, milky 30'... literally "feeling" my way down the anchor line to retrieve a hung anchor... "hung on what" was the only thing I could think of... "I ain't gonna lose an expensive anchor when you've got a perfectly good mask on the boat...", I remember him saying.... however.... the adrenaline rush on the way down evidentally stuck....

Raised in an upper class, Christian Reformed school... I was imprinted to look down on the "country folk" that lived inland of our coastal community... I still heard the stories though... stories of cattle, hogs, and dogs... far away from what I knew to that point...

"Grandpa" introduced me to hunting... a german immigrant living in Ohio, I stayed with them in the summers hunting pheasant and woodchucks  ;D  As a "water boy" I didn't have much access to hunting but I managed to find a viable population of squirrels, rabbits, doves, and coons to occupy my innate desire to hunt...  as a boy, my bedroom wall was covered by more varieties of animal skins, skulls, and carcass' than I'd like to admit to this day.... prelude to a serial killer... or just the most bad a$$ Florida born hunter ever??  .....Time will tell....;) ;D

Moved up to Gainesville to go to UF after highschool... had never had the opportunity to be around "rednecks" until then... found some good ones and fully "immersed" myself into the culture to my familie's disgrin... ;D

After a few yrs at UF, began to grow restless.... by this point I'd become an extremely proficient (self taught) deer hunter... had the bug bad... spent more months a yr than I'd like to admit in a tree...  I'd also, by this point, become a perty savvy horse trainer... which led me out west for another adventure...

Went to train with Pat Parelli, whom I credit with the majority of my animal psychology skillset.... he made me "quite" efficient  ;) ;D  Trained reining horses for Bob Anthony and Ed Rennia for a spell....  Something about training animals really caught hold in me...

Can't say women had nothin' to do with it... but figures I met one that couldn't care less about them(my horses, that is)...  Trained on my own for a good few yrs, before realizing I needed a "safer" occupation if I was plannin' on raisin' a family...

Still a deer hunter at this point, I went back to my home town one fine day and was "talked into" going on a "hog dog hunt".....  "Why the hell would I want to go runnin' after a stinkin' hog??" I asked.... the promise of a few beers with friends (fortunately) talked me into it... ;) ;D

...The rest is history... ;D

I gave up deer hunting pretty quick... my search for dogs began... I raised one from a friend's line and promptly got her killed by a car just as she was starting to produce... which was my first introduction to the heartache of this sport... so much time.... so much effort... here one second.... gone the next.

Fate stepped in immediately, in the form of my wife bringing home a mangy pup she'd picked up at the local hardware store.... after many arguments... April convinced me to keep the "coyote" looking pup a while longer...

Ellie taught me more about hog dogs than I can ever explain.... She and I did a lot of amazing things together... but I'm sure you all are tired of hearing about that  ;D

Been workin' on dogs since to "replicate" what I saw in ol' Ellie.... some day... some day.


More than you wanted to know I'm sure :D

Is that it?? C'mon guys still lots of folks with no info......Lets hear from some of the MODS too, that should've been the top of the list ??? Post up guys and gals.

I find this extremely interesting reading, it gives those of us that don't live in TX a chance to get to know you folks better and understand a bit about you.......so please, by all means jump right in here and tell us about yourself. Don't let it bother you if you're new to this sport or you don't have a big pack of hog finding, big boar catching super dogs,......the vast majority of us are in the same boat that you are. So come on, give us some insight into you and your hunting style.....hey, we weren't born knowing this, it's all learned.

I teach and coach in the great state of Texas! I have been hog hunting with dogs for 19 years. I hunt BMC and pits, usually hunt on foot or off the four wheelers. It is my favorite thing to do because I enjoy watching dogs work and the company that hunts with me. MY grandfather hunted, my father hunted and still does when he can. Its in my blood :)! I do now have any kids as of now so I look at my dogs as my kids. Thanks for reading and happy hunting!

I've hunted in Texas my whole life. Started back when the only way to get a quick photo was a Polaroid camera lol. I've hunted bird dogs bout 8yrs ago and have been getting in to hog dogs the last three years. Lost my catahoula strike dog and two others in Hwy accident last year. Started building me a new pack this winter going with BMC's this time. I carry my dogs with me to work  nearly every day for the first 5-6 month when I first get them to get a solid bond and a good handle with them. I've really enjoyed this forum good people and a wealth of info. I've only met 1-2 members on here but I hope to get to hunt with others when the chance comes around. I love the hunt but I think I'm getting the most enjoyment from training the pups my self, when they get it or figure out what your wanting from them and I can get them to repeat it, it's awesome........wish everyone....hard stools lol....happy hunting ....and  god bless !!

Well my name is Shawn Dillard im from a small southeast TEXAS town called EVADALE, and i have only been hunting dogs for about 6 years. Growing up me and my brothers and buddies were always in the woods hunting and fishing bc that was all there was to do there. We never had any hunting dogs we would just gun hunt but i have always loved dogs.Well a buddy of mine has some hog dogs and asked if i wanted to go hunt with him so i did and ever since then i have been hooked. So about 6 years ago me and my brother decided to get us a couple of dogs and try our luck so we bought a few dogs (culls) from some guys around town and started taking them out, it didnt take long to see that we didnt have the type of dogs that we wanted so we started putting a little more money into buying us some dogs, and now we have 4 grown dogs 3 pups and a little of pups that just hit the ground out of our #1 dog. We have 2 good find dogs, 1 is a bmc and the other is a bmc/plott(the one that just had the litter), 1 help dog that is a bmc and 1 pit cd. We have high hope for the pups that we have so hopefully in a few years we will have us a soild pack of dogs.

My name is Dustin. I work in the oil field for 6 years now and have been hunting hogs with my own dogs for almost 3 years now. Growing up I could have cared less about school all I wanted to do was hunt, didn't matter what kind of animal it was. What got me started hog hunting was the addrinaline rush that I got the first time I ever went. I don't have a certain breed that I hunt, there are certain things I like about all breeds. I have 7 bay/strike( most are young) dogs and 2 catch dogs. I still have alot to learn about this sport and I'm not affraid to do what ever it takes to learn it. I mostly walk and catch my hogs alive. Though I have hunted off four wheeler, truck, and horses. I like meeting new people to see what style works for them.

hi,my name is steve live in mississippi, hunt anywhere there is a hog track. I hunt mt cur,blackmouth and cur crosses. hunted all my life with dogs ,thats a long time still dont no anything about dogs yet tho I love it .I hunt with friends and family most have a few dogs we 3or4 dogs on the ground at a time .Walk ,ride horses, rhino and truck cant get enuff allways looking to share a hunt with new peps