EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

What are some of y'all's secrets on choosing pups?

I choose by going and watching the parent hunt, then its good wheels under them large lung compasity or deep rib cage. And I like them to resemble there parents in build and color.

If they come from good dogs just grab some no way of telling what they will be in a yrs time

Mr. Orval Roberts always said "just close your eyes and reach down and pick one".

Im verry shallow. .. I pick by looks

We have always let our granddaughter pick so far so had done good.

I have had good luck with these 2 things. The runt. Look under their bottom jaw,there will be some wart like bumps,count the # of hairs growing out of each bump.The more hairs , the smarter the dog.Try to pick one with 2 or three hairs growing out of one bump.This sounds like B.S. but it has worked for me.

      lol    old wives tales one and all .  if they are my pups first one to figure it's way out of the pen is a keeper .  anybody else's , me and '' ol '' Orval have the same system .  a WHOLE LOT  of it is what is done once that pup gets home !!!!!!

Kerrydw if your watching the parents to pick then u better get the whole litter cause there all from same parents.
I usually look for bigger chest and take a chance. Bigger chest mayb bigger lungs will last longer at a bay if I can't get to them quick.

Fonzie I got leapord pups 9 weeks today that look dam good. Big chest out of proven dogs. Got a couple left if interested

hah, I haven't had to deal with choosing in a while, when the man I get em from calls and asks if I want some pups I say yes sir or no sir, if its a yes sir I drive over and pick the ones he tells me I can have  ;D

I like the one that is alone and out wondering around while the other sleep/fart around.


Sonny

when buying a pup double or triple your chance of getting a good pup by buying 2 or 3 pup instead and cull down from there...

if raising your own test them for winding and trailing and searching...take then to the woods at 12-14 weeks and see if one or more will range out naturally...testing is not training but looking for the pups with natural ability...
my definition of natural ability in a hunting pup is one that is born with the genetic make that drives him to wind or to make that lap looking for game or to take a track and put game at the other end...of course we can not expect too much from a pup but a pup that leads a pack of pups will usually grow up and lead the pack...

not all pups will be consistent but what would you rather choose? a 10 week old pup that plays like the average pup or one that is the best winder, finder, tracker and that pup that wonders off in the yard checking things out...
for me it is a no brainer...I might not be right all the time but I feel better following my method rather than just picking one up as a luck of the draw...besides it gives me something to do with my ADHD mind...  ;D

when raising our own pups we have the opportunity to watch and study all that they do...slowly cut down until we have what we believe to be the best 4 or 5 pups and then cut down another and by 1 year of age should be down to 2 or 3 pups...the pups that hang on the longest "should be the better pups"...

if we are breeding hunting dogs then it is most important to keep the very best pups...and if we are fortunate enough to keep those that are born to hunt then those traits should increase percentage wise per litter after each generation within a family of dogs...

if we are picking pups might as well do the best we can so that we can have the best possible hunting dog as well as the best possible breeding dog as well...

I get what's left over !

Get a bad bitch. Breed her to the baddest dog you can find, give the stud owner 2 pups of his choosing and whatever else she has stays. Whoever survives parvo, coccidiosis, fleas, skeeters, hungry curs at eatin time, county road in front of house, donkeys, cows, horses and eventually hogs, well those are the ones I pick.  ;)

LOL ain't that the truth Terry!  ;D

that's why I raise my on pups usually don't get rid of many until there a few months old and your rite puppys are very hard to pick just grab one

never mind I didn't know we were talking about cats good luck with that  ;D

Kerrydw yep I said cats. I can only imagine what u run let me guess curs. And good luck naw I don't need luck just got proven dogs.
But I still gotta know how u choose a pup by watching the parents. Lol

You must have got your feelings hurt a little, I'm sure he was joking...it's a common practice on this site  ;)

Yes just giving you a hard time if the parents can't hunt usually the get out of them can't hunt either and yes I hunt BMC and I also have mountain curs if the parents don't have the traits you want why bother


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I hunt what ever finds and stops them lol pups are just pups grab one see what they make

I tend to pick the most independent. Let them out and watch them for half an hour. The one that don't want much to do with you is the one I pick more times than not.

The old dog men used to tell me to take a litter of pup away from the gyp and then let her go move them back. They said she tells would always pick what she thought was the best pup to take back first. I tested it a couple times and they would usually return them in pretty much the same order every time. I don't know that it was accurate it they did it.

I have a friend that pics this way he usually pics good dogs.

usually from my past experience, these type of pups are those that grow up to be lead and/or dogs that don't mind doing it alone...they have that "certain air about them", that above it all look...

I keep as many pups as I can then pic thru them when their older.

choosing pups from 4 or 5 generations of above average hunting dogs that are related and there is one great dog that is related more so than the other relatives to the litter of pups...breeding this way greatly improves our chances of getting a good pup...more often than not a high percentage of getting above average dogs goes up and sometimes the whole litter will turn out...

the dogs I have now are decent dogs...but they are scatter bred so the chance of me getting  good pups is quite a bit lower...but keeping the litter as long as I can hang on to them and testing those pups along the way...then I will cull based on that...at some point I will be down to 2 pups and hope that my testing pays off with at least one pup...a plus will be having 2 or more turning out...a big problem for me is not being able to keep very many dogs so I don't have much room for error...

a good breeding program is only as good as picking the very best pups...and those that we can not keep should go to close friends so we can have that dog available for a breeding or 2 if that pup turns out to be all that we hope it to be...

when we breed to a different good dog every now and then we will have a 50/50 chance of getting good dogs if we are lucky...then we have to rely on luck when choosing the pups if we get rid of most at 6-8 weeks of age...it's even worse if we do not know much about the dogs behind the dogs that are to be bred...

When I got ole "Sam" from Mr Masons yard, I had kicked around breeding him to one of my gyps and even kicked around the idea of buying a Plott gyp and breeding her so I could some colder nose dogs because of the low humidity around here. He told me that Sam was no superstar but if a hog was around, he'd find it. And he has turned out to be exactly what Doug said, and exactly what I wanted in a puppy trainer. Well, during our move to this place, ole "Sam" and my lead-in catch dog ( 3/4 BMC and 1/4 APBT ) somehow exchanged flowers and the pups were on they're way. They hit the ground June 28 and they turned 11 wks old last Saturday. They all look like Sam, but have the fire of Gypsy. A friend down the road got 4, and I kept the other 4. Saturday morning I had thawed out some pork liver and gave them a sample, then drug a good sized piece for about 30 yards with a treat every 10ft or so to keep them going in the right direction. As soon as I let the little scamps out of the kennel, they're nose hit the ground, and they got to the end before I could get my phone video fired up! Did the same thing this morning but went about 60 yards with a curve about half way. The wind was kicking up pretty good but almost the same thing happened, except this time, when they got to the curve, they all started goofing off except the bigger male. He stayed hooked, I could tell the wind was throwing him off, plus his siblings were jacking around, but he stuck to it, and stayed with it to the end! He had most of the pile of liver slivers down before the others showed up! So after all this, I'd have to say in my opinion, that out of these four pups, Im gonna end up with some good dogs plus a little superstar in the bigger male. So genetics are a certain part of the equation for sure, but halfbreed's right on, when he says its what happens after you get them home. These guys will stay on liver for about 2 more weeks, and  only 2 at a time, then go train on scent/hide drag for a month, or until the are as big as my shoats, then, they'll be on the outside of my pen until I think they are ready to play in the big pen, again only 2 at a time. They'll train on the inside until they start getting to rough with my shoats, then its back to the outside of the little pen they go. By this time, I'll be taking the same 2 with ole Sam to the woods at least once a week. Everything that's happened up to this point, will continue to happen except for the liver part. The training for me and my dogs never ends, they might only reach a certain level and stop, but the training never stops. I hope this helps you out and gives you a different angle to chew on. PS, I aint no world class trainer or breeder, just a busted up ole ridge running cowboy that love his dogs, and mule. So, there's my 2 cents my friend, and good luck!

That's pretty intense training there bootheel.  I wished I had that much time to spend with a pup.  It should definitely pay off.

Well, it is kinda/sorta intense, but when everybody's having fun, calling it training is way down on the totum pole. Ive learned just about every technique and little trick right here on this website, by reading what the ole timers and the true blue pro trainers and breeders post on this site. Besides that, huntin pigs and training hog dogs is about the only thing a Christian man can do for entertainment that's still moral and legal! Sorry fonzie, didn't mean to run off with your thread. God bless yal! 

I like your ways there Bootheel...to me it is not training...mainly testing to see who has natural ability which helps in selecting as well as for breeding at a later date...and training is an added bonus...killing lots of birds with one stone so to speak...

Old time bulldog men used to dangle a pup in the air, holding it by one ear. The that did not cry or whimper was the keeper. I picked a lot of pitbulls and american bulldogs like that. But I have found there is no secret except luck. Pups that looked like bombs turned out great and visa versa. Course how they are raised/trained can turn a winner into a looser.