EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

 Ok I have a cat, but she is like my child.  She is a very rough dog, so to save me some heart break I decided to retire her so she don't get cut down.  But I really want to use her in some way she loves fighting pigs.... So I decided to use her as a bay pen dog but how do I brak her from tearing up pigs and teach her too bay.  Can I? 

i personally don't think you can its just her style

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I have backed up a few, and seen plenty (own 1 now) start out real gritty and turn out not being gritty at all. In all instances it was accomplished by putting them on a bad hog in a baypen a few times and hunting them with other dogs that are not rough, and or them almost getting killed a time or two in the woods. Never tried it with an older dog, but worked on some yearlings.

I think its tough to change how a dog wants to work a pig. I have a dog that I bought started, the guy was getting rid of him because he used to be gritty when he was younger, but got cut a few times and started baying bigger hogs. Ive also heard of dogs getting grittier with age.

working a dog in a pen, i would think you might be able to poke them with a peice of pvc or something when they try to catch and praise them when they bay.
also get a big nasty no eared hog and take some tree loppers to his teeth.

you may just have to by a vest and see how it goes...


good luck

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I'm thinking a little punishment while I work her will help she is eager to please

all good advice and you have a good idea to try zack , but remember , nothing , or nobody lives forever, no matter what you do

How about a muzzle

big bad boar in a bay pen with plenty of shock therapy. But real gritty dogs usually stay that way. Some learn to fight smart with experience but eventually they will get cut down.

You might want to run her with a bay dog vest.

 If you figure it out, i would like to hear about it because we have a real gritty dog and the more he gets whooped by a hog, the grittyer he gets.

I don't think you can "make" a dog less gritty... they'll either figure it out or they won't. Most of the cats I raised were real rough for about the first two years. Some figured it out and learned to respect a hog, some never did.

IMO a gritty bay dog often turns out to be a straight catch dog in a pen when they figure out the game.  I've got some dogs that will bay beautifully in the woods but you put them in a pen and I'm lucky if I get to here one or two barks before they catch out.

Thats a good point i have seen that happen as well with korys woods dogs....and I agree that it cant be taught, they either figure it out or they dont, BUT i have seen the teaching process sped up by using the right bad a$$ hogs in a pen to make a dog bay, same as i have seen a cd's confidence built by starting them on pigs they can handle. With this said i do not do much pen work, but have seen it on a few of my dogs and used to watch some bay pen guys teach there dogs not to catch out, they are pretty smart animials!

I have made a dog less gritty and yea people have their opinions and beliefs. I had a hound at one time that was really rough yea he would bay but really rough so i got a big boar that was toothy with no ears and i put a muzzle on him stuck him in there and he got whooped and tore down but it worked very well. After that he still bayed but he was not rough one bit at all after that.

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I agree, a dog is gonna be what he's gonna be if you put him on enough hogs, rough or loose... and there's only one way to find out

Zach, you can pretty much scratch the pen idea.  If a dog has it in them to be gritty that is how they are going to be.  Some will back off with age and some wont.   I have seen dogs cut and beat up every way immaginable.  I have seen broked jaws and broken ribs. Out of all that the ones that were gritty still are.  Saw one little airedale get gutted, a hole punched in her side and two ribs broken on a bad boar.  She still wants to catch first thing two years later.

If you try to force a behavior you likely wont be sattisfied with the results.

My 0.02

IMO, you can take any ruff dog and put in a pen with the biggest and baddest boar hog and let the dog get whipped time after time.. Yeah, it might take him a few times to learn that hog and that he cant catch that one, he will probally quite tryin and bay him.. Just when you think you got him broke from being ruff, go ahead and put him on another hog and see what happens... To me ruff dogs tend to size up the different hogs that they bay, whether it be in the woods or pens, they are quick to determine if they can take that hog or not, that is something I have not been able to teach a dog , its already in him,

A dog that can size up the hog and make a decision sounds like a winner to me! As far as making a dog less gritty, No 1 method is gonna work on all dogs as it is up to the dog as to how it will take the beating and how it will approach the pig. My brother in Law has a pure bull that will bark the hair off of a pig do to getting cut by a small boar with big blades when young, He never lost his hunt but definately has backed up.

Being fresh can have lot to do with it. If not gettin on many or not hunted much or bein in a pen period

ZackW, how does this gyp react to being cut? If she acts like it really hurts she will modify her style over time. If you can tell she really doesnt feel the pain, like a full blood pit, then you may be in for a bumpy ride. At any rate a baydog vest really wouldnt be a bad idea. Just my 2 cents. ;)

The thing is he don't want her killed one of those that u don't turn loose because u know what could happen.  He wants to still be able to use her on hogs just not hunting that is why he wants to back her up for a bay pen.

 I think that some dogs just are what they are. If she is too rough for the bay pen, might consider making her a yard dog.

Lol she is a lay at the end of his bed dog.  He just don't want to have to take her totaly off pigs because she does love giving them allout heck

Best way to do it is breed your own.  You will ruin more than you will help !

I'm breeding for grit.  I do not want a dead dog anymore than the next hunter and I do realize extra grit can correlate with a shorter life expectancy, but I can't stand a dog that won't mix it up.  I have had a couple of the non-gritty variety.  I would personally rather take my chances with rough dogs instead of running dogs that won't attempt to put the brakes on a hog. If your worried about it just provide your dog with some protection and take your chances.