EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

This is a throw back pic, my catch dog Dieseldog got tore up last night. I know each time I turn him loose there is that possibility of no return. By luck we found him in time, and I believe he will recover in time. But now I question myself could I live with that, knowing I sent him. I love this sport but the time , effort and love we put into the dogs , has got me confused. If I should hunt him anymore. We have only been hunting two years, and have been really lucky not to have had a loss of a dog yet. I know it will happen sooner or later jus don't know how to not think that thought when I unclip that clip.

This is a pic of Diesel at 5 months old after he had killed his first pig, and got us into the world of hunting wild pigs. We had went down to check a trap. Diesel was tied to the back of the truck. My husband and I was putting a snout rope on the pig to pull it out. The pig fought us and squealed, Diesel hit the rope begging to be turned loose , yipping. Chance looked back but Diesel had broke free and hit the pig grabbed it by the throat and killed it. This was his first pig encounter it happened so fast. We put the pig on the truck and he jus set there looking at it , like he was smiling and happy, like he knew this was his Job. DieselDog is two now be three in sept.  He has been cut up multiple times , some that required the vet and has pulled though, and out of all this he never has hesitated to respond to that bay. But last night he pasted a bay to strike his own hog that ran out that our lead dog was tracking, and he paid the price being caught by himself away from us.

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I can tell you this I contemplate hunting my bulldog gyp sasha all the time now since I encountered javelinas and saw haw beat up she was. Scared the hell out of me too loose her, but truth is. Idk what it would do too her too not let her go. She loves too hunt. Gets SO EXCITED. Yips on trail lol all that. And as much I love her bcuz I've had her since 3 months old and she'll be 2 in a couple weeks. I just don't think I could take it away from her. I mean she knows the risk now of hunting and yet she still wants too go. It's part of the game. But I do have that feeling now everytime we turn loose that it could be over. But that feeling will go away with more pigs you catch and you get that confidence back In him that he'll be ok. He made a mistake. And hopefully he learns with it. And overall it's your dog and in the end you'll make the choice. But that's my 2 cents hope it helps some.

The cold hard truth of the matter is if you hunt hogs with dogs and stay in the sport your gonna witness a death. Plain and simple it's gonna happen. There's no way to prepare yourself for it. You just take it how it comes. Truthfully it will be a major point in your hog hunting future. You will either strive forward and continue hunting, or the lose will end it for you. Have fun! Hunt safe! Never stop learning! Take the shots as they come.

If it were me Id ask myself what I want more a pet or a hog dog and not combine the two.

The way I look at it is. If you think that much about the dog you might just need to get another one to hunt and make that one a pet because the odds are against them and your dog might beat the odds but might not you won't know til it's to late or they reach retirement age. I seen a boy a few years back that had a bulldog he loved get killed he hasn't went back hog hunting he was sick over it so he got a coon dog which would prob have way better odds of retiring. It sucks to get a dog killed and for me it's usually one I really like. I personally think they had rather go out by a hog than being tied on a chain or kenneld for 10 years but that's just me. It's your dog you will have to make the decision if you want to hunt it or not.

People give me hell all the time because I have a black mouth as a pet. I hunted him for about a year. He just meant too much to me. He is my buddy so he don't hunt. He probably cusses me for it. He hates the fire outta a hog. I got 21 other dogs to hunt with. He stays a pet. Something to think about.

Buy your dog the best protection possible. Your letting the dog do what he loves to do. That's a part of hunting. If you cant handle what can happen to a hunting dog, then don't let it hunt.

yep. I lost a dog shortly after I got into it. It hurt but I kept on going! Could happen every time you turn em loose

Theres a guy i know in the nome tx area that did the same with a gyp 10 yrs ago, she is his yard dog. He said he hunted her for a year and something about her just stood out to him so he retired her and used her as a brood gyp. I have hunted with quite a few of her offspring and they all hunt, if i ever come by one like that i'd like to say i'd be able to do the same BUT good hunting dogs are hard to find and harder to reproduce!

I feel your concern on losing a dog you care for. All my dogs are family pets and hunters. Stay in the kennel during the day, and come inside at night and sleep in crates. I hunted for 8yrs and caught 100's of hogs before I lost my first dog. It did not sit well with me to see a friend/companion die while I was trying to save his life. Made sure that rank boar would never kill another dog! ,

I thought about the whole deal and came to the conclusion that my dogs would not be as happy just being pets, and are bonds would not be as strong if we did not hunt together! I felt it would be like if my wife told me to quit riding motorcycles, skiing, surfing etc. it's what I enjoy doing and would not be the same person if I could not do all the adrenalin laced activities.

So I think you should continue to hunt, enjoy it and do your best to make it that everyone comes out of the woods alive, but be prepared in case someone does not and know that there is no better way to go out then doing something you love to do with the ones you love!!

You know, I am about to lose the best catch dog that I've ever been in the woods with. Not just because he's mine or because he is from my line of catch dogs but because he is just awesome. He is eat up with cancer. We have more than a couple hunting memories. I didn't hunt him at all through this past summer as he is nearly ten years old. He's the dog that is out running loose when I am home and there isn't a step that I make that I don't have to look first to make sure I'm not fixing to step on him because he is gonna be right with me. It's a love love relationship. About six weeks ago, our next catch dog had a cut that was about a week old but still sore. Vegas spoke up and it was cold so I loaded him. It was like he had been hunting everyday, he didn't miss a beat. Handled like a dream and caught perfect. As I was loving on him, I found some lumps in his throat. Today I will have to put him down because he has stop eating, can't breath very good, and weighs about half of what he should. He's like my child. The most comforting thing I have going for me is knowing we had that last hunt together. I could see the satisfaction in him that day. It wasn't a trophy hog or one of his acrobatic catches that makes that the hunt that I will probably always think of first, it's that knowing that I was able to make him happy one last time. Personally, it would have been a lot easier to lose him doing something he loved than this. Just my opinion, we all have to live with our choices in life.

Dang Thomas


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Sure hate to hear that, its hard to loose a good one. Hunter, pet or both.

It's not easy loosing a good dog I lost my 2nd best dog 3 years ago on Christmas Day to a hog and it's one of hardest things to choke down. Being a hog hunter u know there is a chance your goin to come home one dog short it's just part of hog hunting. If u play this game u got to be able to deal with that. My best one right now is still fighting for his life from a puncture lung from last wk but I I were to loose him I'm still gona hunt. After my tuff dog got killed for 2 years I killed every single hog I caught but now I am back to barring an lettin a few go. My dogs are more than tools as some people call them to me they are family and it's not easy loosing a family member.

I still have that same thought process about my catchdog named Casear. He's more than just a catchdog though, he's my baby. He sleeps with me, rides in the front of my truck, the only dog allowed in everyone in my familys house and many older people didn't allow that ever. If I lose him I think I wouldn't be able to return home not because I would have him on my mind but because my family loves him.

If you want to dance...sometimes you have to pay the band. Doesn't make it easy, but it is the fact of the matter.

Well said