EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

my dad has been hunting the past few weeks and they have bayed some hogs and they have broke loose and the dogs can't catch them. dad says they are out running the dogs. i haven't been because of school and work so i'm not for sure whats happening but what do you think is the problem and how we can fix it?

This a question on alot of hog hunters minds at least 10 times in their hogdoggin career! I believe they are feeding the hogs nitrous and jet fuel and when they see a dog they are gone!  :laugh: Really though depending on how rangy your dogs are when they hit the pig or how fast you can run to the pig the easiest way to fix this problem is a RCD. I like my dogs to shut um down as soon as possible but depending on how much pressure the pigs in the area have felt some will take the best of dogs on a journey! Good luck on your next hunt and getting them hogs stopped!

half hog have horse what yall think ??????

If any of us knew a way to fix that problem we wouldnt have to work any more. 

Hogs really arent all that fast compared to dogs but they are good at using the terrain to their advantage.  They can bust through thick vines and briars easily and take a break while the dogs are fighting and picking their way through it.  When they get close porky will just run a little further.  If he can get far enough ahead and doesnt do anything foolish like go out in the open he can stay ahead.

You can try catchy dogs or just one or two loose baying dogs or keep doing what you are doing.  Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose no matter what you do. ;)

there are many things to consider when this is happening, from the country you hunt to how old are the dogs with many things between those two....................there is much more that would have to be known about the situation before a good idea can be presented.

Do others hunt the area?
How big is the place?
Is it wet/dry there?
How old are the dogs?
How do you hunt?
Are the hogs baying at all, if so how long, will they bay again..................................need more info before anyone can help

The hogs that we hunt have been chased down by dogs, teenagers on 4-wheelers, pist off farmers with a-k 47's, hunters with guns, and bows. These things are skiddish like deer, can wind better than a bloodhound and outrun anything on 4 legs. So I can sympathize with people who's dogs get outrun by a hog. The ones that we do catch are the stupid ones. Which means that the smart hogs are left to produce smarter hogs. LOL ;D

djhogdogger, you said it all when you said that the ones caught are the stupid ones.  It makes you wonder that at some point, the stupid is gonna be bred outta these hogs, cuz all the smart ones are left for breeding.  Before its over, the hogs will be born with running shoes on, and everyone will have to buy glasses for their dogs to keep the dust cloud from blinding the dogs. ;D

I have faced that same problem many times, one certain area it happened every time, though about adding some running dog blood to see if it would help. I later found a guy who hunted the same pigs with a pack of 4 to 6 full blood pitbulls and killed hogs almost every time out, so i dont know if speed really was the problem cause i would think a catahoula as leggy as mine could surely out run a stocky pit????? I am raising a half pit/half hound hoping he might help if so gonna breed my catahoulas to a plott i got and maybe mix a little pit blood in to :-\ ??????????????????? GOOD LUCK!!!

This is why I like rough catchy curdogs with very little bay. The hogs were I usually hunt won't stop for a baydog if they do you hear about 2-4 barks and the race is on  :o

 I agree with Florida curdog, I use 3 rough dogs. I haven't hunted much with my new pack but I have been lucky enough to stop them so far. A guy in Victoria who some of you might know runs everything on the ground, like 10 dogs catchdogs and all.

Had a runnin bunch last night. I'm just gonna say it was a long night with no pigs.

The dogs we run will catch most hogs one on one. If one or two gets on a big rank boar hog sometimes they will bay until we get there but they catch it as soon as you tell them to. I use to run bay dogs and got tired of tracking dogs all night and ending up with no hogs. This is what works for me where I hunt.

Over and over again to much is left unknown in most of these cases to know what trully is going on.

So here are some things I think about before hunting a place I know has sure enough runners.

First, what dogs will I take, the number and roughness of the dogs?
My pack ranges from very rough to loose bay, on places where I know there are sure enough runners I like trying first; one loose bay dog, and turn 2-3 rough dogs to him/her. If this proves wrong then I will mix it up on what dogs I use all the way back to only loose bay dogs if needed.

Second, know the place. Get a map and learn the place like the bakc of your hand.

Third, know the hogs. Learn from them, watch where they go to get away. If you need to go out in the daylight to look the place over and get a feel for what they are doing and why.

Those 3 are just to get started there are many other things to do and remmeber while on the hunt.

The WHY of anything is often the key. If you can figure out the WHY and stop it then most times the hard part is over.

Pigs are super fast. One thing i've noticed, some are twice as fast as others. I've seen this with my own eyes on day hunts with open ground.

Our dogs get out ran all the time....

BUT....They can't seem to out run their noses.

Sooner or later the hog will get to a place or point where he will have to slow down or stop.

Put some nose on the ground, you'll get em. good luck...

Nose will only work in some areas...............what works one place wont work others and what works on one hog wont work on the next.
Nose is what made the hogs in the hill country what they are today as for a running.

There are to many varibles from place to place and hog to hog to blanket the running hog problem with statements like "more nose", "more catch", "more................the list is long".

It is a problem that will be here as long as there is hogs, and as long as we keep loosein them. It will never change nor improve.
We can only learn from these happining and hope we can do better the next time.

Last night on a ranch that has runners ..................
Knowing I have been out run several times now on this ranch I loaded 6 dogs instead of my normal 4. One hound/cur for lead dog and 4 catahoulas and a dogo/ab pup. Didnt take a catch dog, instead of hunting 2 out like i normally would here I hunted out all but the dogo/ab pup. We hunted 10 mins and instead of a bay we heard squealing, they had caught a sow 135 lbs or so and never barked that I know of.

This was a hunt where I heard,  "I got some ruff yellow dogs!" He told me not to bring a catch dog. Said we wouldn't need him. I always bring a pitt with me....always, I had bad experiences where big toothy was standing there choppin' his 4" cutters in the middle of a swamp and no way in hell was any bay dog gonna shut him down.  I don't trust bay dogs for catch dogs. I've seen some rough bay dogs and I personally, am a HUGE fan of yellow black mouth curs "yellow dogs!" They're what I've been raised around, what I started with, trusted, and learned to love. However, I now own one of about every bay dog. I wanted to see for myself, the pros and cons of all dogs. The best way to do that is to hunt them all. Anyway, with that being said, I don't want people to think that I'm talking smack on yellow dogs. I think they're probably my favorite and one of the best.. all-around, most consistant, hog dogs. So yeah....sometimes, i don't think gritt will stop certain hogs and as much as I hate to say it, sometimes yellow dogs aren't enough. It takes speed, power, numbers, and a dog that has good accuracy with his catching ability. A dog that will lock, hang on, and not get slung off. I don't know if this dog exists?. Txmaverick is probably right, every situation is different and sometimes the nose is only good for so far or certain conditions. A rank leggy boar is gonna out run everything you got sometimes because of the thick cover. They are like mini army tanks in the brush. They already have the advantage before the race begins. We're in THEIR territory on THEIR home field. They have the advantage. Sometimes, It's not just one pig either, it's 20 runners. The dogs don't work as a team because they are chasing multiple hogs. OK OK....i'm getting carried away here.... ;D


Here's a pic of some ruff yellow dogs...THAT WERE ALL BAYED. Had to suit up the CD.  :-X The dogs caught after the CD got there.

This pig wasn't that big, maybe 175lbs, but knew how to run and cut dogs.


(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f236/JaredJHarms/DSCF0380.jpg)

(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f236/JaredJHarms/DSCF0378.jpg)

(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f236/JaredJHarms/DSCF0382.jpg)

(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f236/JaredJHarms/DSCF0381.jpg)

very well said

After 35 yrs of this i have lost hogs for about every reason you can think of............
they smelled us on way to bay
heard us on way to bay
lights spooked them
turned the catch dog loose to soon
turned the catch dog loose to late
drove to close
should have driven closer
the list is endless, but that is why they call it hunting

We are hunting an animal that is about #5 on the list of intel in the animal world, useing an animal that is about #10 on that same list to do it with which is handled and trained by us the all powerful human that cant even physicaly keep up with either one on foot. Its a wonder we ever catch a hog at all if you really think about it LOL.

Stoked if he was standing choppin 4" cutters and you could see he had 4" cutters ..................."he was shut down" what more could you ask for...................shoot him. They dont have to be squealing to be "shut down".

Nose is what made the hogs in the hill country what they are today as for a running. Can you explain this statement a little more?Never heard that before.

We are having the same problem in our area. Once they decide to run it'll take a grizzly bear to stop em.  We hunt a lot of bayou land and when they break, straight for the bayou.  Swim it and never look back.  I have been looking for a running catchdog, I've heard these Mason catdo's are the real thing.  I lost a good bulldog a while back that would run to any bay he could hear and catch.  He didn't survive very long. This is what concerns me on a running catch, making it to the bay before the dog recieves to much damage. A friend of mine also had a good BMC that was catchy. They bayed a pile of hogs, the BMC caught a sow and a big boar came and hit him from the back. Took quite a few stitches to repair him. This is another thing that worries me on a running catch. What is ya'lls recomendations on a good running catch?

Well back in the day when you never saw hogs at feeders or on the highway, the days when the only time you knew a hog was around was when it was killing sheep and goats; the only dogs used to hunt them were full blood hounds, mostly running walkers. They were used because of thier nose and bottom, even tho they could trail a hog that was 12-18 hrs old they would also bark everytime thier foot hit the ground and would never put a tooth to one. I remember 10 hounds on one boar for 12 hrs and they never stoped him long enough for us to catch up.
The nose that was needed then also had some negitive things with it, all the barking being the main thing. This I believe started the training of the hogs we have now days in the hill country. Those barking hounds spoiled lots of hogs that later taught young ones that if a dog is barking you better haul a@@. I have seen hogs move out of a canyon ahead of bawling hounds 300-600 yards just because they knew where the dogs were.

So it really wasnt the nose but the barking; but to get the nose we needed back then we had to put up with the barking. You get my point, it was a package deal, barking and nose.

When most people talk nose they are refering to hounds, and stoked it looks like has bluetics. To most in the hill country a full blood hound of any breed is not wanted in thier pack just because of the barking even if you do want the nose.

i bought a couple of hounds for picking up where the other dogs loose the hog. my bluetick is open but doing better every hunt. she also does better in wet conditions and swims well. a lot of the time, we keep hound in the box or boat for backup dog. the plotts we hunt are mostly silent, so they usually run with the other dogs. any way you slice it, sometimes the hog is gonna get away, but we catch 3 out of 5.

That is great stoked glad it works for you, but many times i think young hunters dont understand the diff between nose and bottom.
A good cur dog with with a med nose but lots of bottom can sometimes do much more good than a cold nosed hound.

The fact is in most cases its not the dogs looseing those kind of hogs but the fact that they just give up. You put a cur with tons of bottom on the same hog and you would most likely see a change.

These don't work in thick stuff very well, but there just isn't much out there that can outrun these in the open. We have used her in some open-to-wooded situations, and she was able to get there and make it happen. She is basically treated as a lead in. She will honor a bay and has the legs to get to those hogs who break and bay and break and bay and so on. As well, she's pretty fun to send to a group in the wide open. Believe it or not, that fine little snout has a heck of a bite, and she many times has to be choked off. She will back up and bay on a big hog, but at least she gets there to slow them down. As long as it is something she even remotely thinks she can handle, she is caught. For sure Foxxy isn't the answer to every running hog problem we have had, but she has sure helped in certain situations. They want me to cross her on Clifford, but I really like that she backs off the ones she can't handle since she is a pet 90% of the time. I would think that a few greyhound/leggy bully crosses would be like a pack of fast piranhas in the woods. It's likely they would stop the hog, then eat it leaving you once again to believe you were outrun.

(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee228/aladatrot/foxxy.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee228/aladatrot/foxyhog.jpg)

i have that same problem in some of the places i hunt . what works 4 me is just put one or two grown dogs that know what they are doing and wont get to rough but rough enough make him turn . to many dogs put to much pressure from what i have witnessed . that is what works for many on the ones breed with a race horse. and dont ride the four wheeler to close walk in with the catch dogs from 150yards are so and let the catch dogs handle the rest. thats just my .02 on the subject

well, im fixin to go hunt some pigs. ill tell yall if they get away.