EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I hear a lot of people saying my dog is a finished dog but then when I ask them how old they say O he are she is a year and a half old maybe two years old .  I see a lot of people selling these types of dogs saying they are finished and are hog finding and are hog stopping machines .

I got to tell you ,  I must have the wrong type of dogs are the wrong line are I must be just a piss poor trainer of dogs and I need to know were I can get these types of dogs that are complete finished hog finding , hog stopping machines at the tender age of a year and a half to two years old.

These dogs must be easy to get your hands on and I would like somebody to please tell me the secret to all of this.

Hell it takes me at least three years to get one completely finished and some longer than that and a whole lot more than never get past the breaking point just never get no better .  Sure I get some young dogs that find hogs but are in no way finished out hog finding stopping machines.

I need to know the secret to all of this .

  I agree with you. Don't tell me a dog is finished, tell me how the dog hunts and what it can and can't do. The term "finished dog" is too wide open to interpretation. I think a dog is "finished" when it is dead because it continues to learn its entire life just as we do. Our four year old is still learning new hunting tactics. I know I learn something new almost every time we hunt with new people.

Yes I need to correct myself I said completly finished and I should not have cause I agree with you a great great dog never gets completly finished untill it quits learning and that is when he is dead.  Now some are dead before they are two three years old because they do not have the abulity to learn anymore its just seems their stopping point so to me they are dead even tho they are alive.

I can explain why people describe younger dogs as "finished or hog hunting machines".  It's because they have lots of hogs to find.  When hogs are everywhere, any dog can do it.   
Dogs from areas with more hogs/mile than flies can be considered "finished" earlier than dogs from areas with lesser numbers of hogs.  Exposure has plenty to do with performance.  Perfect in one place might be decent in another.
I've personally seen this in dogs moved from, Texas and South Florida to North Florida and Alabama.  To really test and compare dogs you have to travel to see how they perform and how many hogs are there to find in the first place.

Someone will take this the wrong way, but it's true.

Thats another thing and you bring a good good point there.  I have seen super stars turn in to street bums soon as they really have to hunt for a hog work hard in the heat  .  You bring a good good point here.  Lots of times here were I live we go into dry spells and that will sure nuff tell you what kind of hunting dog you have.  All the sudden that super start turns into a butt sniffer and dont like to work !   Lucky for us the longest dry spell I have seen is right at two months most the time we can atleast find a hog .

Not talking about nobodys dogs hell I have them kind out of my on lines .

Well said

I can agree that one man's finished is another man's started for what ever reason. But some people are just trying to get more $$$ for their #3/#4/or cull dog. Because of all the new hunters. jmo