EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

With all the bickering about all the hog rules in tournaments this year, I was thinking about putting together a little tournament... ALLOWING BARR HOGS!

-2 man team
-2 helper limit (helpers could only help handle hogs after they are tied, no handling the dogs)
-1 strike dog
-1 cd
-No substituting dogs. You get your two dogs and thats it. Same two dogs the whole tournament. Your strike dog gets hurt, you better hope your cd can strike a pig. Your cd gets hurt, you better hope your strike dogs can catch a pig.
- Probably $400 or $500 entries
-BARR HOGS ALLOWED, a hog is a hog in this tournament
-Live catch
-No stringer limit
-Winner would be most weight brought in, period. If you catch two hundred 70 lbs hogs, your probably gonna be the winner
-There would be a polygraph!

This is just the main idea. If there is interest, I would take the time to write out an official thing of rules and what not.

Thinking about calling it "Top Dog". Something like this would really show the "best of the best". The best men and/or women in the woods and the best dogs in the woods.

If there was interest, I would get some buckles made. Maybe something like, one buckle says "Top Strike Dog 2013" and the other buckle says "Top Catch Dog 2013". Then hopefully pull together some sponsors and some good prizes and all that.

Everything depends what kind of interest there is in something like this. It would be held later on in the spring, once everyone and their dogs are good and legged up, if there is interest. Who would be interested? Give me some feedback.

That's sounds awesome. I think observers should go with each team as well.

Me and my dogs ain't ready for it but the concept is great. A true test. Maybe next year, lol.

Heck yes  ;D

That's how it should be, show the real woods dogs.lol

Very interesting!!

I'd like to see who wins this

Dont believe i have a dog good enough to enter but I would love to see how this turns out.

im game, do it in sumer  at night

can you run 2 rough dogs , or u have to have a cd

Heck Monty...lead one and unsnap at first bark  ;D

Monty, you can run them wiener dogs for all I care haha. The rules will say two dogs, doesn't matter if they are both catch dogs, both bay dogs, both hot dogs, whatever, as long as you use the same two dogs to stack pork all weekend, you will be within the guidelines :)

I think this will be a good way for people to meet and show their best dogs. Would be a neat way to set up breedings of top dogs and really show what people got. I would be expecting top weights to be coming in above 2000 lbs.

Since this would be a smaller tournament (I think), I would probably have the weigh in time mid afternoon to give people a chance to hunt or sleep in Sunday mornin as well. How would a 3:00 pm weigh in sound to y'all?

   well you ask for opinions i'll give you mine for what it's worth . me personally i wouldn't put my best dog in that kind of situation for the sake of a buckle and braggin rights . this being a catch and tie just sounds like trouble  . dead hog turny might be differant .  i caight and killed plenty with just two catahoulas but i remember plenty of wrecks as well  lol  but i was by myself all them times with no help . i would be more in favor of a pair of dogs and a cd at least a pair of dogs could hold a bay better .

Me and the ole lady would definatly be down for this

Hell I'm in when and where is all I need to know

Two strike and two CD. 

I am in for 2 strike and 1 CD.

We are in! Great concept!

You got my interest Taylor... but I'm with Mr.Whitten on this one. I think it would be safer for the dogs sake if it is going to be live hog comp to have 2 strike 1 CD. but that's JMO... I'm still interested if it is just 1 strike, but there would have to be a polly. Dont' you think 400-500 a team is a little steap for us poor folk though??? LOL!  :o

Yeah I would say 2 man team, each member has a strIke and catch...

Only having one CD and the chance of it getting out out on the first hog aint worth $500 to me...

IMO, it's still a matter of who has the best spots to hunt, not necessarily the best dogs..

do a 12 hr tourny  , most hogs brought in .   cause the best dogs chatching hogs not wieght. make it 80lb an bigger.  2man 2 hlper.

Taylor you know i will support this tournament and plan to help anyway i can. Put me down 1 strike and 1 CD.

I'm also fine with the entree being $500, I'm a gabblin man so id rather go after more than less. ;)

Ryan to answer your question i have already spoke with Taylor on the POLY, and we would deff have the best money can buy.  That would be a must.  Think we could gather several sponsors to support this event as well.  

Ya'll better hurry and have it though cause my dogs arent getting any younger! ;)

That's a good idea Monty, but IDK about the weight limit being 80lbs though... but if it is a 12 hour limit and $500 buy in this poor boy is definitely out.  :D I do not have that kind of money.  :( I would be willing to donate $100 bucks from Texas Boar Hounds, and any help "we" can lend for the cause if that's the case. I know it's not much, but it's something and better than nothing.

Sounds like there may be more interest in the 2-2 concept.   It would allow a team to keep hunting if there was an injury, or have two different sets of dogs if they chose to use the 1-1 format.

Or do it like they do bay comps... separate it into two groups. 2 strike/2CD and 1 strike/1CD...

I like the strike dog concept but would rather do one strike and two catch then you still know what you got as far as finding pigs and really like the idea of a 12 hr hunt but I myself can't afford 500 for a tourney

I don't know how everyone else hunts but a 2 strike and 2 cd is a normal hunt for me and there are plenty of other tournaments out there like that already!  Taylor is trying to set up a one of a kind hunt just like it says TOP DOG, not top pack i think. 

I agree... that's why I said sparate it into two groups. That way you'll probably have more people enter that just want to run a tourny, and you'll have the "top dogs" entered in the 1strike/1CD side of things at the same time. If that's "too much" then I think the 1&1 is a good idea and original for sure!

So how would you determine who has best strike dog and best CD? or is that just the pair of buckles that would be the prize for the winning team.


I agree with this to a certain point, but the 1 strike dog still has to be able to find and get a hog settled down by itself long enough to send a CD to em... so not just any ol bay dog can do this. I've only hunted with a few "one dog shows".

12 hour hunt... NO hahaha. I would probably put some sort of cap on the weight limit, like nothing under 80 lbs or nothing under 50 lbs, somthin.


I see what your saying, but its always dangerous. I hunted for three years with only a cd and a strike dog, combined weight of about 100 lbs, and rarely had injuries. Im not sure how dead hog or live hog would make a difference, but I'm willing to flirt with the idea of a dead hog.

Two bay dogs is out of the question, that defeats the purpose. This would basically be a tournament for "The One Dog Show", If the one dog can't get the job done then they need not enter that dog. If there would be additional dogs, I would possibly go with 1 bay dog two catch dogs. But then we start having to add rule, because someone would be running three rough/ catchy bay dogs. We will see, I appreciate the feedback.



I say $500 because I don't want to be weighing 100 teams in with an unlimited stringer. The idea of this is to weed out most teams and only have the guys who really think they have a top dog. Im looking to have ten teams, and I would host it. I will flirt with the idea of two catch dogs. But if someone thinks they can't get the job done with 1 & 1, then they don't need to hunt this tournament.


Im thinking about the 1 & 2, but only being able to use one catch dog at a time, and catch dogs can be rotated or substituted. 12 hour hunt isn't gonna happen. What about someone with a three hour drive, they only get to hunt 8-9 hours? And that again defeats the purpose. I want the dogs that can go all day, all night, and all day again, and keep laying the pork down.

As far as the money, like I said Im only looking for about ten teams because when it comes down to it, I don't think people have as many top dogs as they say they do, and they know it. If only ten teams enter, that would make a half way decent pay out, plus whatever sponsors we could get. On top of that, a polygraph is a must and they aint cheap. I understand there would probably be a few people that wanted to enter, but responsibilities keep them from having the money to enter, but that is just the way it is I guess.


Thats exactly right Brian. This is a tournament for "One Dog Shows"




I don't want people to enter who just want to run a tournament. "Aint no body got time for that"

The one dog deal will help even the field a bit without taking certain hogs out of the weigh ins, like barrs. Yes spots will always make a difference, but at least this you can't cut loose ten dogs that you have to find the hogs for.

I'll play... if I can hunt one of y'all's North Texas honey holes. ;D

I like the idea of 1 strike dog and 2 catch dogs.

Hogs must be bayed, then caught... not just sending bulldogs to a hog standing there or running by.

LOL! I guess you got a point about "ain't nobody got time for that"... LOL! I think we could play with either Fred or Zig and Jane, but there is no way me or Blake could afford to pay $500, so I guess we're out of this one. I will sure be there to help you out with whatever you needed though bud. So count TBH in for some hands if you need em. I'd be willing to roll with a team as an observer if that's what ends up needing to happen.

Hell yea im game. Lets drop it down one man two dogs only. You want the best lets weed them out.

Live hog only catch and tie no sticking. Lets see who can hang.

Damnit yall are getting rough now... That one guy two dogs, live weigh in would for sure weed the weak ones out!!! Do you still throw in a helper for dogs while your tying or just one man nuts up and does work???

Well say you hunt a spot and takes you 2 hours to strike a hog and then run it for 3 hours... Thats 5 hours gone and maybe 1 hog... and I hunt a spot that's loaded with fat hogs that don't run and have a solid bay 5 minutes after dropping mine... Fred will be wore out, mine still fresh and i put a whooping on that a$$...    :laugh:

Is my dog the best, hell no!!!!!  But under the better circumstances I can win..

Now if we go head to head on a new spot with both dogs on the ground, that would be a better way of proving top dog IMO...

I'm in, no horses!! ;). Let's roll

Take Sunday for instance... We caught 3 hogs and y'all got burnt... That means ours are Top Dogs!!!!  >:D

No helper just a person there if you get in a bind. But if that person has to help then you disqualified yourself.
Im in texasdogsandhogs if no horse's no fourwheeler . Walk hunt only. Why would a horses help other than a buggie or fourwheeler. But im still game.

This contest sounds like it is quickly becoming a pissing match. :)

Good point TW. I didn't think of it like that... and I'm not saying by any means that Fred or Zig are "the best dogs". I'm just saying they are more than capable and could get the job done...

Brian and Chance ya'll are nuts... not saying I wouldn't give it a shot if I had the money to throw away, but I damn sure wouldn't expect to win the damn thing! LOL!  :o

LMAO! yeah yeah yeah... And we would've kept hunting Sunday, but the buddy and his kid that I had with me needed to go by 4. So we put em up and called it quits instead of just turning em back onto the tracks and trying to line it out. I do get what you're saying though.


I think I agree Peach! LOL!  >:D

That's basically all it boils down to.  ;D

Everybody should have to hunt barefooted and wear a tie died wife beater T shirt !

Isn't that what competitions are for. Lol

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

  well ten years ago i would shurely show you younguns what for  lol. but this old broken down body will just sit on the tailgate for this one  lol .

no time to piss on a hunt like this peach! ;)

hey mike iv got a bunch of land and some honey holes , i will hook u up

t-colt set a date , then after the weigh in every body can sit around an talk about it.

Get a for sure count on teams then have everyone put their best spot in a pot, or Taylor you gather a group of what you think are evenly matched spots. And draw numbers out of a hat for who hunts which spot.

Put it on in a high fence. Stock it till the fall, 500 dollar entry, 1man, 2 dogs of whatever variety or combo and sell 3 hour time slots. Allow roping for folks who don't want their dogs catching.

Do it in the fall and you'll be the only game in town.

I was thinkin the exact same thing lol

Hahahaha, sounds like there is some interest.

I'm gonna make it feasible for people, especially if its live catch.

Chance, if I do it your way with no horses or buggies, I wanna be your backup man so I can see what kind of contraption you rig up to drag them big ol Barr hogs out haha.

Brian, I'm afraid you would go broke burning cigarets, tryin to pull one of those trinity river boar hogs up the bank by yourself lol.

I'll get some rules together and find a date. It's gonna be just like a normal tournament, buggies, horses, and all, but it will just have less people and less dogs.

I'll take that trade for one with barrs Mike!  ;)  These north Texas hogs deff arent easy, there is just plenty of them. 

I was joking with you cause i knew you used a horse or pony ;) and i don't. 

I'd have to call CVS ahead of time to get extra cartons ordered.  Man i could handle the one man deal till it came to getting them out alone, knowing i could get it done but i really don't want to work that hard, crap after this weekend i was whooped...  I'm still off work cause i can't move!  ;)

Well i say if your gonna call it top dog than use one dog and 2 man team a real hog dog will find bay and catch if your gonna go big than lets do it right.

Heck yeah my cat and my ridgeback  taylor if you do this let me know because im entering

Heck I may won't some if this one

I'm in. I would like to have 2 catch dogs though. T this is a real cool idea hope it gets off the ground it'll be a blast.

Im in

That's fine with me, I got three dogs that can find and catch... But I don't think that is the point and this tournament isn't for me. You think a top bay dog can catch, other people don't, some people call that a cull. And I don't think we would have enough entries to make it worth while that way either.

A tournament like this is gonna take alot of work and effort, and I want it to be worth while to the people that place. They will surely deserve every penny and prize they get.

I think what I am going with right now is one bay dog, two catch dogs. Only one catch dog can be hunted at a time, but they can be rotated. Or do y'all think there should only be a backup catch dog in case of injury and no rotation? Only problem I see with that, is how do you classify injury?

one bay and one catch dog and one hunter. That is the best of the best. If a dog gets hurt, that is the nature of the beast. If you let one bring in another bulldog in case the first gets hurt it will open up a new can of worms. Send a spectator along with each hunter. Just them two, of course no friends matched up. The pot will be big so the temptation willl be there.
 That is the way I see it. If you want to find out who has the right dogs and spots. Two dogs and the hunter, thats it. Dead hog contest.

I agree. It might make it too complicated with the rotation of cd's.

Not really sure what to do with a bunch of dead hogs...

How is one person supposed to get a 300 lbs hog up a creek bank by themselves, dead or alive?

A real hog dog would find it bay it catch stick it and drag it up the creek bank. Lol

Good point though.

I was just agreeing to the 1 strike 1 bay to clear my last post up. I think you need another team mate though for sure but I'm fine with or without one.

Spectator can help load hog.  If the object is to have a top dog and hunter contest then that hunter and two dogs should have to bust ass to earn that title.

2 strike 1 catch... one question.. What about hand caught hogs. Like hunting at night and hogs are running everywhere. We have caught plenty trying to run by and miss judged a few and had to retreat lol.

Well its mostly about the dog, since our sport is more about the dogs... were not really getting down on our hands and knees and crawling a track. I just don't see this working out or people entering without some extra hands. I have caught a lot of hogs in places where I couldn't get a horse, much less a wheeler, and another set of hands or two pulling on a lead, I was at least able to get the hog out.

I think almost 48 hours of hunting with two dogs and a limited number of helpers, those hunters are gonna be busting their asses.

Again, whats your idea for all the dead hogs?

No help at all. Get creative load the hog yourself. Live hog is good. People don't watch a car race to see who wins they watch to see the wreck.

After the hunter weighs his hogs then the hunter is responsible for disposal I think that's what you were asking about

Dead hog. Not everyone has the equipment, trailers, to keep live hogs.  The number of entrys will be low so it isnt like a buyer will have hundreds of hogs to buy. Make the expense money of tournament on the entry money. Dead hogs mean less work for you. No need to line up buyer. No pens needed. Just a scale.


 I changed my mind after thinking. 2 catch dogs and one bay dog.  Or do a three dog Max. Let the hunter choose his dogs to hunt. Dogs names and identifyable marks go on entry form.

 Good idea tcolt.

I'm fine with everything your saying except the 3 dog deal, ive said this before that i don't know how everyone else hunts but i hunt with 3 dogs allot even on this past weekend during the tournament and put down down allot of hogs.  3 dogs won't work for me, as a top dog tournament.  JMO!

Man, I like this idea. I just see the few people who enter, not being able to get anything decent out of the woods. If only a few teams enter, by the time the polygraph and all that is done, people are puttin up $400-$500 only to have a chance at doubling their money.

I think I'm gonna stick with my original idea, maybe tweak it a bit here and there. Is there any complaints with my original idea (from people who are actually considering entering), or does it sound like it would work pretty good?

Thinking about the last weekend in march or first weekend in April. Is there any other major tournaments that weekend?

Man, if I had a dog that I thought would be a top dog, I'd be in this deal! It will separate the men from the boys, and the culls from the hog dogs. I've caught a lot of hogs by myself, it can be done, and yeah, there can be some wrecks. You just have to be prepared and know what you are doing.

There might be some fellas that have a great dog but can't physically do this kind of hunt, but you can't cover every possibility.

I've lost the only dogs I feel I could do this kind of deal with in the last couple months or I'd be in. I'm down to the b team.

I've lost the only dogs I feel I could do this kind of deal with in the last couple months or I'd be in. I'm down to the b team.
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Welcome aboard!! It's worse than it seems! But its better than nothin! LOL ;D  Glad to have you in my circle,  ;)

The Randy Bumpurs is going to be on the first weekend of April.

I'm sure y'all have seen the size of my arms, so I would definately need a helper...   ;D

But here is something that keeps coming to mind...

Would the top dog be the one that brings in the biggest hogs or the most??

Cward can go out to the feed lot and catch three 400# tame Barr hogs and beat me when my dog works its butt off catching ten 100# hogs... I know the bigger hogs can be harder to get out, but that's on the hunter not the dog.. Now I'm sure chance won't have any problem loading his hogs in a pasture right beside a feed trough...  ;D

Whats the chances of having 2 divisions or a side pot for one of them??

It would be total weight brought in, unlimited stringer. So four 100 lbs hogs would be no different than one 400 lbs hog.

I would probably have some big boar big sow side pots as well.

If you're going for top cur dog... I think number of catchdogs shouldn't matter.  As long as you only use one at a time.

The idea of this is to have two buddies pair up, one with a cur dog one with a catch dog. Then first place receives cash and two buckles. One says "top strike dog" other says "top catch dog".

I know that it doesn't necessarily mean that these two guys have the best cd or best cur dog, but at least people are gonna be hunting their best and limitations on dogs and helpers and all that is really gonna make people work. That's why I want to allow Barr hogs, people are gonna work their ass off and their dogs are gonna work their ass of, so it shouldn't matter what kind of hog they catch it should be counted.

It's gonna be total weight so even the playing field a bit. If you don't have big hogs, catch more hogs. It takes twice as long maybe more to drag a three hundred pounder out compared to a 150 pounder, so while the other team is still dragging, go catch another hog. Yes, places make a difference, but I promise you the people with alot of good places have worked their asses off to be allowed to hunt and manage those places as they wish. If someone doesn't think they have the places to win something like this, then maybe that's what they need to focus their work and effort into. I personally don't think it would be fair to have someone who busts their ass for land owners and relationships and not be able to hunt their places just to even the playing field, and I don't think it gets any more evened out when you bring in total weight rather than biggest five hogs.
It's not gonna be catch five hogs and done, people are gonna have to hunt their asses off to win this.

Sorry if this post is a little all over the place, in between classes and have a lot goin through my undeveloped brain.

What town are you looking at doing all of this?   I really like your last post & agree with most all of it.   Keep it up

It will be near Kaufman, either my place or a weigh in not far from my place.  75142 zip

This year it will be hosted in Kaufman county. If its a success and it's an annual thing, I'm gonna rotate the weigh in north and south. There is alot of weigh ins south though, so this year it will be north.

500 dollars is to much money for most folks. Does this mean they don't have the "TOP DOG" cause they can't afford it? How about 250 dollars. You take everyone who enters put there best spot in a pot. Have a draw out on the place to hunt. You could draw your on spot who knows. This will level the playing field. Have someone take them hunting on that spot. I would think the catchdogs would need to be bulldogs not curdogs.

I was talking to Monty last night and I agree with him, if you do a "Top Dog" then I dont think you can necessarily go by weight.  You should go by # of hogs caught.  Just because 1 dog can get on and catch (5) 275 pound hogs through a 24 hour hunt and another dog strikes and they catch 15 that weigh 50-100 pounds doesnt mean the one with the most weight should have won IMO.....  The other dog sure seemed like it would have been "Top Dog".  I think if you do it, go by # of hogs and like you said, maybe # of hogs over say 50 #'s. 

Just my thought, i won't put my spot or spots in a drawing for one, ive hunted with peoples best dogs and ended up chasing cows thru fences and everywhere else and again i don't want Chance to draw my spot cause i don't want his dogs to have to work to hard! ;)  j/k

I'm thinkin along the same lines as Monty and Josh. Total number of hogs not weight. This REALLY evens the playing field.

What's better, a pair of dogs and their handlers that catch a hand full of big hogs over a 24 hour period or a dozen or more hogs over a 24 hour period.

To me...a great hog dog not only finds and bays hogs but he does it in high percentages...meaning....if said dog gets on a sounder he strikes and bays/catches...once hog is under control he rolls out and does it again...and again...and again...and again!

That is the best of the best! Not a dog that is strictly lucky enough to be in big hog country.

Now...if you have the kind of dog I'm talkin bout AND your in big hog country...then dang...your gonna be hard to beat and your dogs deserve the buckles.

x2!!!!!!  :o

x4

Numbers don't impress me as far as proving a "top dog". Hell, I had plenty of places years back that I could take pups to, catch 5 or 6 in a couple of hours and go home. I've hunted with countless people over the years that had honey holes where you could pile the pork up and it didn't take good dogs to do it. Those same dogs would be culls on most of the spots I hunt today.


Take a dog where hogs are scarce, been dogged for years and run like hell. Mold you a competion around that and you'll find out what a "top dog" is in my opinion.

Agree with alot of what you say but you ask the impossible.

That type of "Tournament" would have to be like....1500 acres...hunt 1 team every other week for a year...what...26 teams I guess. Even then it's still not totally level ground. Would need to be a high fenced property. With a known number of hogs and a time frame.

Freakin awesome concept but would be hard to do.

I just believe weight is more a luck of the draw type deal...as is numbers of hogs I guess...all comes down to location I suppose. Location/hog population/size is the key factor.

Rambling....but believe.....maybe a high fenced property with a set number of hogs released for each team, with something like 4 runs per weekend (8 hours each), over a month, run day/time would be by draw. Amount of hogs caught in shortest amount of time...1 cur/hound - 1 CD on lead...not released until first bark. Anyway...hard to have a completely level playing field.

I would be in. I like the idea of 2 dogs only. Durability should be a factor. Would prefer dead hogs but would require that they be stabbed and not shot. Would also prefer that total combined weight (unlimited # of hogs) win the contest. This would balance the quality versus quantity debate. Alot of factors would have to line up for a man/dog team to win this type of event. You could easily be 1 hog and done or win the whole thing with a couple of decent hogs. It would certainly determine who was the best that weekend. I would probably be donating $500 to the winner. 

Glad you chimed in Leon, been a while bud...  I'm all for total weight cause that's a about the only level ground in this type of comp. 

Mike- years ago yes you could take pups but not really sure on your area but in the last 5 years things have changed hell the last 5, 10, 15 years have really changed.  Yes you COULD take pups years ago on a place with allot of pigs and stack them up but TODAY i have allot of pigs but i assure you you've got to have more than puppy bottom to finish them out. 

Brian, I agree those place are few and far between, but they do exist. People save them for contests such as this, especially with that much money on the line.

There's very few hogs on my places compared to 5 to 15 years ago and they are very educated. We may spend a whole day or night and catch one... any more than two and you've had a helluva good hunt. It sucks, but it is what it is.

Well if you know of one i need one this month for Monty's tourn..  ;)

We hit a sounder on mine and catch one out of it and yes i have some dogs that will go and catch up again but it's like 900 to 1000 everytime then catch one and go another 900 to 1000 again  it takes the fun out of for me!  Man i sure wish it would go back to the way it was but it won't ever...  Its just going to turn more into races the more this sport grows and the more the culls run them around!  >:D

Make at date with enough time for this Florida girl to try to get up there. I like the two dog two person concept.

Just a couple thoughts  I like total weight.  An eliminations type hunt.   Say 10 teams entered 1 find dog I catch dog, & each hunter hunt their properties.  Then take top 3 and hunt 3 separate places that had very similar hunting conditions, land, hogs, ect.    This could truly help detriment a top dog!    Just some thoughts I really think you are one to something special.

I'll trade with CWARD then!  ;)  i promise i got a good spot for you in Graham Chance! I want a shot at some of them BIG toothy cattle!  ;)

Txhogsanddogs
I no you are just picking on Cward....I may have not explained what I was trying to say well.  Let all 10 teams hunt their own properties.  Then take the top 3 teams and then have 3 separate but similar properties in a ore designated  area & have a hunt off.

Heck just take the top three to someone's place that has hogs go some where there is no hog sign and cast all of them first strike takes all get a judge to watch a garmin

Has anyone thought of a playoff system? Say pair 2 top dogs together for whole day an whoever produces the best wins. Then the winner pair with another top dog for a day until only one dog is the champ

go by what dog catch most hogs not wieght

I'm with you Monty