EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Since it's so hot this time of year should i run no cut vest. What do yall think? Risk a heat stroke or a cut?

I can already see this thread going south before 2 pages.

I don't run a vest at all during the summer, and not often during the winter unless I know it's a bad hog. I cut loose close though and I'm behind my bulldog 100% of the time whether it misses or not.

Vest. If you will run your cd and get them in shape less likely to over heat.  I learned this the hard way. Run your cd on four wheeler or truck heck of your in shaPe run with them lol.

X2 get close, less time on the hog less chance of injuries

oh yeah this is my bay dog im talking about here... he's not too gritty with big hogs (only to turn em around). so i dont think he really needs one unless he gets caught up in thick brush and charged (which there will be thick brush). i would definitely use a vest on a cd if i were only letting him loose near the bay

on a bay dog no sorry MAY be a plate or the ugly dog bikini thingie but other than that no.

I refuse to run a vest on a Cur dog.  It definitely cuts their bottom, whether alittle or alot, I don't know but I'm sure it's enough to lose a few hogs and I'm into catching the big hogs and they like to run.

If your worried about him get ya a texas boar bib.

Your dog then do it your way. There are risks both ways. I don't want nobody telling me I have to do something or not. For me it depends on the dog.

alrighty thanks for your input guys. i think i'll just run with the collar just incase. the bikki and boar bibs just dont seem like they'll do much for my dog. he only gets hit behind the front legs as far as i can tell in the pen

hardcorehogdogs have thin light weight vest for hot weather .  i use one on my cd , but i only hunt at night during the summer .  bay dogs only get a collar summer or winter .

For me no for a baydog and no for a catch dog but that's just me. Everynow and then a younger greener catch dog will get a vest.

I think this is somewhat of a flawed statement i see the concept but from my experience the blows that kill dogs are the first impact when they meet head up once the dog is caught if caught in the right place shouldnt be getting fatally cut.

I worry more about the force of the hit. Had a big pig I could not tell if it was a sow or hog because I did not get close enough and it was dark. But it was big and I heard it hit my dog with no vest. There was no cut but had dislocated the rear leg out of the pelvis. To me if a dog is agile the vest will restrict movement and they are more likely to get hit. If you have a more forceful and less agile dog then the vest can help. But then you have the heat. I always run collars. No vest on bay dogs because they can move. I vest my catch dogs but lead in close when it is hot. I soften up the catch vests. That reminds me I need some new vests ;D

I feel like the ugly duckling here i run most my Bay dogs with vest for the reason that they are pretty r ough. I Hunt 3-5 times a week and without the added protection they would be cut most the time they learn to run with it and get used to it all my vest are covered in holes even from my loosest dog and as Of now i have 4 Bay dogs cut in the last week all were vested i would recomened hardcore vest my hardcore vest is the only one i own without any complete pass thrus

Do you run your dogs in areas with thick brush a lot?

I just use cut collars on my Lacys. They don't seem to mind in the heat too much.

X2

IMO the best is to use an aussie style breast plate. They are ideal in the heat.

second to that its great to just let them ride the wheeler keeping the vest in an ice chest until bay....

I'm going to give these a try on catchy cut dogs and rcd. They are "hairy holder" plates. Designed for rcd and staghound type dogs. I think they will work out real good. Not as much protection as a full plate by any means, but much more than just a cut collar and should still be very cool on the dogs for this hot weather. I haven't been running gear on my rcd this summer and I know it's an accident waiting to happen. I just feel like the heat this time of year is just as dangerous as the big boars. I think this leg hole vest is goin to be the happy medium I am looking for.

Leg hole vest
(http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab156/TColt/87c718d8.jpg)
(http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab156/TColt/568cbbf5.jpg)


Full vest with leg flaps
(http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab156/TColt/be6283a1.jpg)
(http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab156/TColt/f8fc2f30.jpg)

I forgot to post the reason I am choosing this brand of vest. Most vests this style are very stiff, this one is not...

(http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab156/TColt/3381b5f1.jpg)

TColt those are nice, Im having one of those made for my unicorn princess  O0

Now those are some bad a vests there man. I like how the collar is integrated with the vest. Where'd u get em at?

Shoot Mr. Teegardin a PM (Silverton Boar Dogs)

Ya buddy dangedhogs we run some thick south texas brush the places we run that dont have livestock are ruff on the dogs but vest r not if its thick its hard on any dog  vest or not.

Alrighty. I've only ran my dog at my land where there's no real thick south Texas brush. It's all just tall weeds, grapevines and a few briars. I haven't ran a vest on him up here in north Texas. I'll be goin down to south Texas tho and there's hella thick thorn bushes. I figured the vest would get him cuaght up in that stuff. I'm gonna go ahead and go collar only this time and see how he does. I'm running him by himself. He hasn't had a problem doing it up here so we'll see what's up down there

Call me up if u need someone to run with u I'm here in corpus Mike 3615483916

I only run catch dogs in cut vests bay fogs dont get a vest unless there rough dogs and when it's hot we run thinner vest and wet em down unless it holds big hogs then we dont put a cut vests on our catch dogs until a bay starts   

I would invite ya out if it was my land. If you're ever up near Ft. Worth gimme a holler on here and we'll run down some hogs. I plan on trapping some little ones this winter and castrating em to make some big barr hogs and keep population in check

heck i dont live to far from ft worth..you hunt a lot around there?

To hot right don't use them just cut collars

No problem if ur down here in my area call me up my partner and I run about 25,000 ares woods and fields both

Im near Ft. Worth too, and got some ok dogs. Hunt out east mostly, but hunt the ft worth area some as well.

Good friend of mine gave me some advice once and I'll pass it on to all yall

"Whatever you decide, do it all the time."

Don't run a dog vested and let it get used to being poked while vested then decide its too hot and run it without one, it'll inevetbly be the day you get on a bad one and what would usually be a few staples will now be you diggin a big hole for "ol red"

Don't run a dog with no protection then decide your gonna suit'm up and think you'll get the same performance. You had a dog that never got poked and now you have one who couldn't move as freely and got manhandled!

Good advice there t- Bob the main reason I vest mine is I train my dogs to be rough and cause during there first few years of hunting I got tired of stitching and stapleing em on the regular so i oppted to protect them

Yeah good advice tbob. I'll just keep runnin no vest. Tcolt yeah I'm in south ft. Worth. Have a few pigs on my land. I just bay and release to practice and the pigs don't ever tear anything up considering it's a dirt pit and not too many of em lol they just showed up a year ago. There's a big boar on the neighboring property that's been there forever tho

Im north of Ft Worth, I went to school in Argyle. Im all over the place now, don't really have a permanent residence. Mostly back and forth between Stephenville and Terrell, and everywhere in between, right now though. Maybe we can get together for a hunt sometime. I got places all over lol.

Yeah man just shoot me a pm sometime and I'll go. Only crappy thing about hunting with me right now is that's I can't be around gun cuz I'm on probation for a non violent offense. Evading. Don't kno why I can't be around em considering I didn't even have a weapon on me at the time but it is what it is

I use to only run collars on my bay dogs and both on my catch dog. In the hottest months we wouldn't vest the catch dog up till the hog was bayed. Then we would vest him up and walk him in and cut him loose. Coming up, my mentors never vested their bay dogs, but let me say, these dogs got the job done and stayed clear of th ivory most of the time, even in the bottoms we ran. They stopped the hogs and held them ALMOST every time without more than a break or two before we got there. All this being said, it IS up to each man individually to determine his own hunting style. I'm at the point now ( 5 hunting dogs/1 catch dog) that I really don't want to take a chance on one getting cut down for an extended period or God forbid, permenantly. It takes to long to replace them and I'm just not going to take a chance, therefore, I vest and collar ALL my dogs. It's easy enough to cut the hunt short if the dogs get too hot and if that means I can't hunt at all in late July/August then so be it.

I'd rather have cuts then heat stroke.  I run a tracking collar & a name plate collar. I seen way to many dogs over heat from cut collars and vest's

Do yall run in the day time I've had em get a lil tired after a 1.50mile run on a good runner but to say they get heat strokes is  a bit much IDE say

I run a cut collar on my curs and vest/cutcollar on my cd's


"the sun is shining somewhere in texas" -Jason Boland

Mike alapaha blue blood and I have run plenty of vest P&P, ugly dog devestator, extreme you name it only vest I'd spend my money on from now on will hard core hog dogs these vest can hold up against big boars and we have tested it. It's super light weight and strong, all the others are fine for small hogs but when we got on rank boars the tank vest from hardcore was always the one without a cut trust me we know... If you wanna run a light vest that will hold up call hard core. I would never run my catch dog without a best unless I wanted him to die because that what will happen eventually just my opinion. Special thanks to hard for there product and service

Yeah I wouldn't run a cd without a vest no matter how good the dog is. What do y'all think about the custom-collars vests. I've heard they're real good?

Im one of those guys that treats his hog dogs like pets. I run a vest on every single dog. I do vary the vest depending on the dogs grit. If the dog will sit back and bay I put a light vest on but if it will sure nuff get nasty with a big hog then He/She will have the protection good enough to protect it well.  Alot of guys that hunt loose baying dogs can run with no vest, but my dogs tend to be a little to rough.

Dangedhogs I have only one from them a bay vest and my little yellow dog wears it he is the loosest baying dog I got wont even put teeth on a 50 pounder only time he gets in to bite is when the catch dog hits and he has 7 complete pass thrus I have run that vest on him for the last couple years its the only small vest I have pm me and ill send u some pics off my phone its saved his life but he could have been dead with the wrong pass thru he will be getting a hardcore bay vest here soon

How many feet away would u consider a loose bay? I would consider my lacy a tight bay dog. He stays about 3 feet away