EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Each of us have our own methods and preferences when it comes to the most important dog on the ground....your Strike Dog....   Traits such as Range, Bottom, Independence , Intelligence, Nose, Heart, Determination..ect.... are all great together but if you had to choose only one... Which would it be?

The question is what is your personal most sought after trait in a strike dog. Let's here it and also why that's your choice.

Enjoy

Well you really can't have a good strike dog without all the above mentioned traits...I know a good cold nose with lots of brains equals to finding hogs before the other dogs know there is one in the vicinity. I have had quite a few good dogs but I had one that was super smart and when he got old he would make a quick round and if he came back you could bet there were not any hogs in that neck of the woods....all the other dogs would be hunting hard and when he slipped off he was going to be bayed 1/4 or a mile away in the very near future...I am going to have to go with the brain power....because a dog that knows where to look for game and then knows how to straighten out a track and make it look easy is still brain power at work...

I was thinking about a hard hunting dog...but not all hard hunting dogs can consistently find game because they lack in nose power but mainly lack of brain power...

It must be yellow!! Wait no that's ybm's answer

Id have to say they must have the " hunt"  in them.. with brains being a close second

Hunt, Bottom and Nose!

The best find dogs will come from balanced dogs, that being dogs that are good in all departments, with an emphasis on nose and the desire to be first. There is no one thing that makes a good dog.

The heart would be mine..

Good to hear from you Big O and I agree. It's not one trait but I think he was asking what trait would you say is the most important if you had to pick. We'll get that hunt worked out this next spring can't wait to get together.

YBM: you asked why also

Say your hunting a 2k acre pine plantation, you could have the best nut dog in the world; with the type of bottom that he'd finish 99% of his hogs... But if he never gets more than a 200 yards away from you hunting the entire time chances are you won't even find the hog.

It's a pointed question just because I feel like the terrain you hunt and style in which you do, plus the environment will dictate which quality suits your dogs best!!

For us, it's kick dirt in your face, go find one, hunt! Mainly because we hunt huge blocks of timber land with hogs being anywhere

HONESTY ! Alot of the time i have the landowners wanting to go along with me,i enjoy it because they know the lay of the land and i get turned around pretty darn quick at night time which is when i prefer to hunt. I want an Honest dog that knows his job and when he hits the ground hes hunting HOGS. It is not embarrassing to come up empty handed on a hunt but Boy Howdy its not fun having to explain to the landowner why your dogs caught his calf or you just watched them trail bark 3 deer 20 yards in front of you crossing the road! I gaurantee my dogs 100 percent trash broke when i approach a landowner and that puts all the risk on ME,i am relying on HONEST dogs and although we all strive for as much BOTTOM as we can produce,i sure like being able to call mine out from 800 yards on a still night when im ready for bed!

Range, I figure if he covers enough grown he'll eventually run into one...

                    (    x2 thanks u saved me alot of typing    )

If I had to pick only one, I would have to go with independence.  Several other traits (range, hunting drive) are often the result of a dog being very independent.  Might not make the best dog in the world, but a dog that will at the very least get deep and look around will usually make somewhat of a fair dog.  It's also a trait that can begin to be evaluated in pups at a very young age and often times can tell you what to expect of a dog later in life.  I believe it to be often overlooked in a lot of today's breedings, and I also believe it to be one of the traits that can be negatively influenced early by improper handling.

x2

I agree with a lot of what Bryant is saying here...a certain amount of independence is needed but not to the point that the dog won't honor a bay or pack up. Most of the hunting traits can be tested for in certain breeds when they are pups...and the right handling will bring out the best in what is already in the pup...

  This is just my opinion i prefer to hunt several different breeds.Dogs are like people we all have different traits and skills i like my dogs to strike bay and catch some days one strikes before another is one really better or did he find the scent before the others got there.They all do there job and do it to the best of there ability.Some have better noses but some days they dont always strike first but the mission is still completed.I myself would say team work is the trait i look for if all cylinders are firing then the motor is runnin.But we all have our own preference to this as we all train different i have since buried my entire pack of dogs all lay next to each other because they where a team.

If I could only choose one of those off the list up there you would not have much of a dog.  I would just quit hunting and start fishing more.

But if I had to choose just one it would be Heart cause with out that all the rest is worthless !

 i hear that

 If my new dogs turn out half as good as the last i wouldnt be disappointed.My boss sent me a stray pup he found in downtown dallas he said bet you cant make that a hog dog guess what she was one of the best.

one that finds hogs were ever i drop them.   thats my favorite trait.

it wouldnt be much of a dog id have to start trapping to catch hogs

You now THD i got back into hog huntin cause i could never get those dogs to use a rod and reel

Lmao !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I want one if you ever get them trained ! ahahahahahah

Haha. That's why I structured the question so open ended.  Its to easy for someone to say I want em all in my strike dog. Without a doubt the best of the best usually possess multiple traits that are utilized in combination. But if you only get one choice it makes you scratch your head a lil more and put a lil extra thought into your answers.

I am big on independence but a close second would be intelligence. 



Tony

You are correct my most sought after trait will always be Yeller. Don't know how many hogs have just thrown their hooves up and marched out of a thicket without a fight. Think the Yeller just blinds them. Hehe  :laugh:

Great opinions from all. There are no wrong answers and also if you have another trait not listed feel free to share it. The traits was just meant as a list of possibles.

If only looking for one trait it would have to be DRIVE, or HART.  I have seen dogs that I new didnt have much nose, but tried hard!  The drive can way excede their ability!  ex a dog with little nose hunting hard for hrs trying to find a hog just for a little pat on the head,  A loose baying dog catching a hog just to try and protect his owner from the hog. 

nose, and smarts. dog can wind one a long ways. most dogs have hunt in them already.

Brains and speed. I once saw a TV show where a dog pound dog had been trained to sniff out cancer cells and a collie could detect the smell of oncoming seizures in her owner. If these dogs who aren't bred for nose can smell these minuscule scents, then hog dogs have no excuse for not smelling hogs. The brain comes in because I want a dog to know with certainty that their only job in life is finding hogs for me. Screw his agenda or the day, he works for me.

T-Bob, I believe that quite a few dogs have a good nose. The difference I believe has more to do with genetics. Some dogs do not respond to a 6 hour track and yet others do. Something in the brain has to trigger for the dog to respond.MO

Yes sir, agreed. I prefer not to have to take a dog hunting, so much as he takes me hunting. Know what I mean ;)

Gonna play a lil devils advocate.  >:D

Downfalls to specific traits without combining with others

Heart/Bottom.    Usleless if they cannot smell the hog or be smart enough to trail and bay.

Range.  Usless if he never knows or cannot distinguish what he is looking for.

Nose.    Usless if he cannot apply and utilize what he smells.

Speed.   Doesn't matter if they are first to the bay if they quit.

Independent.  (My personal favorite) but doesn't work if they are focused on bad habits and wont work with others.

Intelligence.  Just about covers all the bases except nose. (Probably the best choice ) but again my second.

Anyway Jmo sitting here brainstorming. 

Opinions ?

Nose, nose, nose and more nose... with the heart, brains, drive, determination and bottom to finish the track. ;D

I like to see a dog you can put on a track, turn out in sign or at a feeder and cold trail that hog to where ever it may be. A dog that takes a track that 5 others just passed up acting like they couldn't smell it. One you can watch on a Garmin, grind that track out a 1/2 mile, a mile or more and bay or jump the hog. That's what I want in a dog.

Range is good, but lots of rangey dogs wander around aimlessly in the woods, bumping in to one here and there. Same thing with hunt and hustle... what's the old saying, "A blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then". ;)

Independence:

a dog with too much independence will hunt only for itself. he will take his own hog track and may not honor a bay. This is still a good dog but works best leading some me too dogs around. These me too dogs that look good hunting until the good independent dog gets killed, sold or whatever...but is no longer in the pack... Probably one reason folks sell good hog dogs cause that dog was good with that lead dog leading him around...and the seller hasn't figured out the real truth. ??? ;D
This type of dog can be a pain in the rear if he is in a pack of good strike dogs.

The other independent dog hunts well as a lead dog or as a team player, or alone...If he is good in the other departments then he should have the priviledge of stud dog...

Intelligence:

a dog can hunt hard and look busy but just can't find a hog very often and when he does he loses it in a briar patch or makes a lose thru thick brush etc. etc. This dog lacks intelligence.

a dog can hunt hard when he smells hog and finds a hog pretty quick or the same dog can make a quick round when the tail gate drops and he will come back and stick close while the other dogs hunt...he has done this many times and this dog knows there are no hogs in the vicinity...but as we get deeper in the woods this dog is starting to smell hog and this old dog leaves out and he will be bayed in a little while. He outstrikes the good dogs 9 out of ten times..

.or the dogs are drifting around where a bunch of hogs fed all night over a 20 acre plot or bigger and these dogs will take a few minutes to find the exit track but the smart dog makes a big loop and he is off to the races on the exit track...This is intelligence.

Nose:

 a pack of dogs just passed over some hog tracks that were made several hours ago and that pack just keeps moving forward and that dog comes up a minute behind them and then trails thru the horses and dogs and bays up quarter a mile ahead...

I like a good nose and a dog that winds long range but do not like a real cold nosed dog...almost as bad as a dog without any inclination to use their nose...

Range:

not enough range and the dog is underfoot or only hunts 50 yards ahead. Also have dogs that hunt too and from in straight lines...

To much range is when a dog kicks rocks in my face on his way out and goes almost a mile before he settles to hunt...Some of these dogs can be awesome hog dogs but he sure passed up some good tracks before he starts to hunt. I want to hunt hogs and not hunt dogs...

For me I like a dog that circles around me...a dog that covers about a 600 yard loop or circle around me. meaning 300 yards in any direction from me...and this is if I am moving slowly.. if not moving these dogs will go further to find a hog but that is what a hunting dog is supposed to do.

Bottom or SticK:

dog can start and run the hog as long as it can see it or hear it...or a dog can run it a mile and if not stopped in that mile will quit and come back...

Then you have a dog that once he locates a good track will stick with it until he sees a hog at the other end of the tracks..and I like a dog to stay bayed 3 or 4 hours and if I can't make it to him then he needs to come back but most of these type of dogs won't come back till the next day...

We might not own this dog but it is a goal to shoot for....Got to see it in our heads before we can make it happen... :)

I think the most saught after trait would be 100% smell, find, wind, a hog and have enough heart, grit, bottom, to keep that hog there until I get to the dog with some help. JMO,,, ;D

Cheater!  :-*

If I look at it from the perspective of what trait I HAVE to see in a dog to justify investing my time.....

SPEED.

Noah,

I thought you would say conformation...but just about need conformation to have speed...