EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

JUST SEE CAN YOU USE PITBULL AS A RUNNING CATCH DOG.HE NOT DOG AGG.

Is your post a question or a statement?

question?

yes-until he gets cut down or killed.The time it takes you to get to him after he catches is what matters.Thats why most of us walk our catch dogs to the bay and then release them.

Pitt bulls have the catch down pat, but they usually lack in the run department.  They just arent built for long runs.

Unless you hunt off of horses and cant lead a catch dog I would stick to lead in.  Get a lot more injuries and dead dogs using a runing catch dog which may catch a looooong way from you as opposed to turning a bulldog loose from 20 yards out which will only be on a hog for a matter of seconds.  Just my observations.

Tim Nichol on this board happens to own a pit that I have hunted behind with his previous owner. This dog has the lungs and disposition to run loose. He stays close with the horses, when the dogs bay he heads that way. Not much different from a lead in, depending on how close you try to get before you cut the catch dog loose.  Some lead in all the way to within a few yards of the bay, others cut loose as soon as the bay is solid.

A typical Pit Bull doesn't have the stamina to keep up with a pack of dogs on the ground.  With most, it's even beneficial to get as close to the bay as possible.  They are tremendously strong and hit hard, but the power they bring to the hunt is usually a pretty short lived package.  Having said that, the benefit to using pitbulls is that they are much more easily obtainable (and therefore usually cheaper) than some other breeds that are used.

My main catch dog could (and has) run for miles.  However, I am very particular at what point I send him into the battle.  If the hog is medium size or smaller, my dogs will be catching and I can usually tell by the sound / squeal.  At that point, he's usually cut loose much further away to seal the deal and I feel pretty certain that he'll be able to control things until I get there.  On larger hogs, I like to get as close as possible so that when he catches I'm right behind him to take control and fulfill my part of the deal.

The fun thing about having a leggy type catchdog is that on several occasions, I have been able to let him go by himself to run down and catch hogs in the open.  It's very impressive and someday I hope to be able to get some good video of him doing so.

hey hoghitters, sorry to hear about your pit, this is ash by the way

There are Pits out there that do it. You probably can't run Pit with hounds... but then who would use an RCD like that any ways.

In my opinion, a good Pit will do it... is the water-downed ones that can't. ::) It would not be my, personal, first choce when looking for a RCD because in my opinion a good cross will be easier to manage. As with any RCD they typically live a short life.

I agree its possible but not very common to find a pit that can run with the other dogs (wind + stamina), is trash broke (no chasing cows or deer) and isn't aggressive towards other males on the team.  I'm lucky to have found one that fits this bill nicely. Heck of a sweet natured dog too, my wife and daughter have become very attached. My biggest fear is that he'll not make it back from a hunt one day soon and I'll have to not only deal with the loss to my team - but have to face the wrath of 2 women in my household!

Tim

I have two pits that I use when i go horseback they will stay with me until somthing bays they are a more leggy type of dog both are males and not the least bit aggressive to other dogs i use them to catch both cattle and hogs and they wont catch a cow unless i send them to one with my cowdogs bayed on them when we get around alot of fences i usually snap them to my rope and lead them just so i can make sure i can get to them quick after they have caught