EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

 I am kicking aorund the idea of finding a pup /young dog to use as a winding dog. I think that it would help to move through the smaller propertys that I hunt. Now we will drop dogs unload wheelers............... by the time we are ready to hunt it is 30-45min. I think if I had a good nosed dog on the box then we could hunt more places and cover more ground in a hunt. Who here uses a winding dog........ why do you like it and what are the cons to it? thanks
Mike

Throw em on the hood and go.  Cover a lot of ground.

I have one dog that will ride and when she really starts whining you better let her down and wait a minute.  The advantage a dog like this gives you is when she hits the ground she is fresh regardless of how much ground you have covered.  When you need to hunt a big place it is the only way to go as far I am concerned.  If you have one or two of these dogs you can be pretty productive without running your dog miles and miles before getting on a hog.
MG

You pretty much nailed it right there.

is there much that goes into training one or do you just throw them up there and go like you said

My little cuz likes to ride up front of the ranger. and I hunt pretty much just like Matt described

Train them to stay there, encourage them to come off when they smell one.  Some dogs just won't do it.

I have a cur dog that winds pretty good, if he wonts off the wheeler there is a hog... I dont no that you can cover anymore ground faster but you can save some steps for the dogs for sure... as for training one... I have no idea how, mine just started doing it when he was about two, i think they all wind to some extent, ones with better noses obviously make better wind dogs... they are good to have, trying to cover more ground faster is not always the key to success though ;)

Do it whenever I can, saves the dogs' legs for when it counts.  At the very least it can help you figure out what areas are holding hogs, reducing dry runs.

I agree with MG. It is the best way to save your dogs energy until they need it.

My old Dixie would wind off the flat bed truck we hunted out of. When she baled off the truck you could turn it off and wait as 95% of the time she was going to bay him "somewhere". The thing I never could understand as we could have 2-3 hogs tied on the flatbed, alive, almost under her feet. She would not touch or bark at one, but could wind another hog and would bale off and go bay that hog. I never could understand how she could wind a hog 200-500 yards or more away with hogs under her feet.

I do know that I have seen some dogs that are better at trailing or winding, but not a lot of dogs that were equally good at both.

I love a good winding dog as it saves the dogs legs...and this old boys too!

  Thanks for the input yall.


 How would you go about looking for a pup that might make the cut? Any blood lines better then others?

The parker blooded dogs I've used have been naturals at it.

 I have two pups now that are almost 8mths old. One has been in the woods a few times. She will hunt with the older dogs. The other female pup, out of the same litter, still acts like a pup. She has barked one time at a pig. They are out of some good long range stock. I might give it a go on the slow starting gyp. Should I start letting her ride clipped to the box so she can get use to it or wait till she turns onto hogs?

I hunt with a guy who has some put their nose to the ground currs with a little hound and it really works well to ride with a dog winding and have the other ready to go. WHen the one winds you kick them both out and you have the best of both worlds on the ground, if they will work together.