Go check the Dogs on Hogs forum. Rather than type it all out, just go read it there. Bottom line is that there is a YBMC tied to a fence and the neighbor is rallying the troops to make the dog disappear into a rescue.
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M

Somebody in Magnolia has a male YBMC tied to a 4' chain link fence. The home is a tan double wide manufactured home, and the dog is getting over that fence and getting hung up. You've got problems with a female neighbor who has now uploaded video of the dog hung up over the fence, and neighbor has called animal control (who didn't ticket you or seize the dog). Now, neighbor is trying to get someone to come get YOUR DOG. He's a good looking rascal, in good shape, just needs a little.different living situation so this chick doesn't get the damn amateur animal cops involved. She's got a go fund me account set up for a rescue to come get the dog. We're a close knit group, and I'm hoping someone knows this dog in Magnolia who can make the owner aware that the dog is climbing and getting himself in a bind. There are other assorted complaints from the neighbor, so I'm thinking ol dog might need to have a kennel built so she will shut up.
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M

I keep trying to "like" these posts, but can't seem to find the button.

The Jagds sound awesome, but I can imagine it was terrible living with them. I would have hauled the dogs to the taxidermist  for killing that mount though. Word to the wise, if you thought Jagds were bad, stay far away from Patterdales.

Dinah, maybe I could send Pearl over to your place for a while since you are raising pups anyhow.

TBob, I don't need luck, I need an exorcist. This pup is bad!

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M

Dinah, Biscuit is from Chance's breeding. Pearl is off the line of Devil Dogs that have been floating around Cistern, TX for years.

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M

Biscuit is a sweetie through and through. Do not let Pearl's innocent looking angelic face fool you. It masks the evil within.

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M

The mere title to this thread should send chills through you. In case it doesn't, allow me to share my recent experiences.

This all started when co conspirators Cward and Circle C decided that we needed a young, ready to start bmc pup rather than a finished dog to help Chris' dog Ruby. Many of you recall Ruby (Brandi daughter, making her a Tweety granddaughter) from her days as a hog dog. She was too rangey and worked a track slower than you'd want, and it got hard to find enough country to turn out on. So, Ruby had a midlife crisis and was told that it was now okay to bay cows. Well, after a bumpy start, Ruby Sue took to cows like a proverbial duck to water - but she needed a helper to keep the edges down. So, Cward comes up with the idea on this male dog, and Circle C figures he wants a young pup too. A Two-fer.

Young dog ends up needing time to get a second series of shots in before she can be exposed to the kennels.  Hate to be such a stickler, but we do raise Aussie litters from time to time, and I can't risk anything getting into the soil.  Into the house comes Biscuit. Now we all love the sound of a good bay, but folks I want to go on the record here as saying that squalling puppy baying inside your house is not pleasant. Everything goes as planned with Biscuit,  she got her second round of shots, got a great start at being housebroken, and got stolen. By me.

Fast forward several weeks, and a similar scenario played out- only this time it was me who had been wanting a pup out of a certain female for years.  Pearl is a granddaughter to my Lizzie through Ben Besch's Chili. Well, Biscuit worked out so nicely, I didn't think twice about inviting Pearl into the house while her vaccines sunk in.....

People, there are some things you just don't do. You don't pee on a hotwire fence,  you don't feed a small animal obtained from an asian man after midnight, and you don't invite a six week old serial killer pup into your home. We feel like captives in our home. First, it was the squalling. Actually, that subsided the first two days because Pearl made herself hoarse. Now, our home is filled with low demonic noises emanating from the girls' room. Pearl is a big game dog. By big game, I mean that she hunts humans.  I cannot get out the door fast enough when I open the crate door. She latches onto pants legs, shoes, and I swear I almost lost my arm at the shoulder. When she isn't dining on humans, Pearl likes snacking on the bullhide rug in the livingroom. Apparently,  hair on bullhide tastes better to Pearl than dog food does, because she prefers it. Pearl works the system.  At dinner, she invites herself by scratching, clawing, and climbing your leg. No amount of pushing her away makes her stop. I accidentally pushed a little too hard the other day. She flew across the room and landed on her head. Have you ever seen a really ticked off great white shark with PMS? Well, she hasn't got anything on Pearl. Nothing is sacred with Pearl. She equally hates leather couches, fancy  bed pillows, and garden plants. Last night, she assaulted my rare Black Dragon Hibiscus. I sacrificed myself in order to save the plant, a regrettable decision in hindsight. Pearl eats your daughter's boyfriend. Okay, there had to be something positive to this creature. Now I have to find a way to explain his disappearance to the authorities and do something with that darned femur she was too full to eat.
I just want you all to think twice before you invite a cute, cuddly cur dog into your dwelling.  The cause may seem just in order to perpetuate that sacred pedigree,  but folks - it isn't worth your life. If nobody hears anything more from me, please don't come checking on me with anything less than a 30.06. Even then, be careful. Pearl is fast.

Cheers
M

We had the remarkable fortune to spend time with Stacie, John David, and the kiddos when they were down here in Houston for treatment. Stacie was always so positive about her illness and her path to a cure. More than that, she was absolutely dedicated to her Lord and Savior. She was a rock for her young family, and she was an inspiration to all who met her. Stacie was a model of strength, courage, and the ability to look into the face of darkness knowing that her Lord would show her the light. Stacie wastelling me about her continued fight just last week, and she was as confident as ever.

When I learned of Stacie's passing, I didn't for one moment think that she had lost her battle with cancer. In my heart of hearts, I know that Stacie beat her cancer at it's own game. Cancer tried to bring Stacie down, but her Lord gave her wings. It is hard for us who loved her to accept that we can't talk to her anymore, that we can't gush over the latest styles of western boots, or giggle and laugh at each other's photos of crazy vehicles we see driving down the roads. That said, I know that for the first time in a long time Stacie isn't having to fight. She isn't smiling her way through pain and sickness. I have no doubt that Stacie has finally met her Lord and was so excited to meet Him. For all we loved Stacie down here, He loved her more and she has taken her place at His side.

What a great lady.

Cheers
M

Thanks for the kind words about Foxy. She was a once in a lifetime dog, and I miss her terribly. I shouldn't have hunted her again because I knew I couldn't handle losing her. At least on the bright side, she went out with a hog in her sights, and stretched out at 50 mph - two things she loved the most. It was a fitting way for her to go, as she will never know what it's like to be washed up and feeble like some of my others. It's sad to see my Lizzie not having the lungs and legs she used to have. I can imagine getting old would have been worse for a Greyhound.

The wounded warrior hunt is always such a rush for me. I get to show a token of appreciation to the folks who have sacrificed their own bodies so that I can live in a country where I am free to hunt, ride, and enjoy my life. Without those dedicated soldiers, we could not enjoy what we have come to take for granted. We had a great group, caught some swine, and really enjoyed being in the woods. The best thing for me was not having to crawl into a rose hedge to catch a hog, and having the bays right out in the open so that our new friends could get the best experience without all the thorns. Thanks to all for their help in making the event another success, but most of all thanks to the men and women of our Armed Forces.
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M

From my experiences with collies, curs, and the people who use both types, my money is on the collie for precise handling of cattle. I can recognize the usefulness of a good set of cur dogs, and have seen some great ones in action. However, for my own taste, the collies are where it's at. Think of a collie as giving you remote controlled cattle. Plus, when you're not working them, Collie Quirks are hilarious to watch. It's a lot like owning rainman.

Cheers!
M

I have gone round and round with blowing pads. Tuff foot, iodine, keeping the dog on concrete, nothing seemed to work. Even went so far as making duct tape booties so my dogs could hunt, and that was an epic fail. I started noticing that the pads were fine until the dogs got them waterlogged and then continued to hunt. It seemed like the process of waterlogging got them too soft no matter how tough the dog's feet were when dry. Once waterlogged, the pad was allowed to slough off and leave big sore spots.

Now, I simply slather udder balm on the feet the night before a hunt as well as just before I turn out. Let it really soak in, and the balm will help make the pad repel water. I have noticed a HUGE difference with the use of the udder balm. This past hunt, Lizzie came home with only a mild pad imperfection, whereas without the udder balm she would have been laid up for weeks. I'm a believer, that's for sure.

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M

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M

PETA isn't the most danger to us as dog owners and hunters. HSUS is far worse. I found a quote of Wayne Pacelle this week which said " We will use the ballot box and the democratic process to end all hunting in America". That is only part of their agenda, and this is one of the richest non profits out there with a budget of literally hundreds of millions. They rake in the donations through those sappy commercials saying how they save dogs and cats from their abusers. In actuality, save for a few appearances tailor made for media, less than 1% of the Humane Society of the United States' millions go to actually help shelter pets. The rest is spent in ad campaigns and campaign contributions to your elected legislators as well as purchasing large numbers of stocks in companies to gain stroke in implementing their radical agenda by force.

These guys have lots of power these days, and not only hunters and pet owners should take notice, but all of animal agriculture needs to get on the offensive. PETA does stupid stunts, HSUS is calculated and patient to get their way a "brick at a time".  They even got the US department of agriculture to promote their "meatless mondays" to its employees. Ask yourself how much stroke an anti meat organization has to have in order to get the government entity who regulates and promotes agriculture to actually publish that they support the same campaign sworn to end meat consumption in America. Of course, usda's support was withdrawn when the cattlemans association squealed, but usda had already tasted the kool aid.....

Unfortunately, if more "general public" is not made aware of this organization and stop funding it, we may be going the way of California sooner rather than later.
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M

Joey, we do need to worry about how we look to the general public because the general public is who gets to vote on these measures when they come up. Look at the poor fellas in California who are about to be outlawed from hunting bear and big cats with hounds. The whole argument against that was that it was cruel to the wildlife and cruel to the dogs to "make" them hunt. There is a huge difference in using a hound to track and run an animal up into a tree, and using a dog to actually grab hold of another animal with it's teeth. That is where the public's perception of us can really hurt if we have not been on our toes in keeping ourselves regarded as empathetic houndsmen with a respect for our animals as well as the game we pursue. If we look like goofballs to the general public, they won't lose too much sleep about branding us unfeeling idiots and removing our rights and privileges to hunt with our dogs.

Honestly, as chic as it is to "rescue" animals from perceived "abuses" which typically start with whether you believe it is cruel to keep a dog outdoors with no air conditioning, I am surprised we still can hunt with dogs anymore at all. Heck, here in Texas, I am pretty certain that as of September 1 of this year it is illegal to house a dog outdoors at temps above 90 degrees. That is the type of idiocy we are up against.

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M

Joey, you are absolutely right about Mr Campbell being entertaining. I have enjoyed watching the show on his account, and he certainly exemplifies what it is to be a character. Now the fact that I see the program as detrimental to the sport does not detract from the entertainment value. Again, I am sure the Campbells are good folks, I just believe that we as a whole need to be mindful of the bigger picture before we go entering into agreements with production companies in order to promote ourselves. There will certainly be no shortage of copy cat shows being fished around, and if we are not careful the sport we love will be a thing of the past within a few years if it continues to be portrayed as it has been.

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M

Accidental double post.
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M

I know everyone has an opinion, and here is mine.

A couple of years ago, myself and Uglydog were approached about signing with a production company from California. They were interested in us because we were female hog hunters who had our own packs of dogs. One phrase really stuck with me from my telephone conversations with the company, and that was that they were really looking for "Characters" to sell to the audience. For some reason, that struck a note with me. This fella was less interested to hear about my dogs or my experience, and more interested in my ability to be a character. I politely declined his offers when I got a weird feeling that all he was fishing for was ratings and didn't care what he had to do to get them. Production companies are not our friends. They might lure you in with the idea of showcasing your sport, but I assure you that their motives are not to put you or your sport in a good light. Their motives are to show blood, guts, and drama. They want the real train wrecks because that is what the public likes to watch on TV.

As for the American Hoggers program, I believe it does damage to us in a couple of ways, and through no direct fault of the Campbells. First of all, if I were a landowner watching the show, I would see the APPEARANCE of disrespect on the part of the hunters. Be it the hot rodding of buggies on the property, the plastic bottles flying out onto the ground behind speeding buggies, or the idea that my invited guest hunters were exchanging insults and "threats" of gunplay while on my place, I could easily deduce that hog doggers are likely more trouble than they are worth. While there was footage of littering and bad driving, there was no footage of the hunters stopping to retrieve and properly dispose of the trash they lost. Furthermore, the ending to the Campbell Vs Creek episode ended with Mr Campbell not even shaking the landowner's hand. That to me just screams disrespectful. Now I am hoping that all of this was the work of the production company, and not how either party conducts themselves in real life. Not knowing either party, all I have to go on is what was broadcast on TV. If I were a landowner with a hog problem and this is all I had to go on, I would be dead and buried before I let a hog dogger on my place.

The second way I believe programs such as this are detrimental to the collective "US" is by showing the general public that Hog Hunters are a bunch of classless hillbillies. Again, I am not saying that the Campbells are classless hillbillies - but I am saying that is how they are portrayed on TV. It is much easier for anti hunters, anti hog doggers, and animal rights activists to go to the public and to our elected officials with a copy of (insert hog dogging reality show title here) and point to it and say "Look what these ignorant redneck hillbillies are doing to these dogs and pigs!" Strictly from a standpoint of putting our best image forward, we try to look and ACT professional whenever we are hunting. Furthermore, we try to remember that ANYTIME we are in public with hog dogs, we are representing not only ourselves, but Hog Doggers in general. I'm not saying that we need to wear suits and ties in the woods, but I am saying that acting in an appropriate manner in the presence of John Q. Public. We do not want people believing that all hog doggers are ignorant lowlives. Unfortunately, American Hoggers has exploited the Campbells, and made them look like hillbillies who do not know how to conduct themselves. This looks bad on all of us.

I also need to mention that during shooting, it may seem to the Campbells that all looks great. Much can be done in editing to skew how things look in the finished product. It is my hope and assumption that the Campbells and the Creeks did not intend to act in a manner which would be hurtful to their sport, and that any of the negative attributes of the show have been put there by the production company. I feel like it is highly likely that the Campbells are merely pawns in a production company's game. They were likely lured in by the prospect of money and acclaim, but were dealt a dirty hand once the contracts were signed. I find it unfortunate for all of us, but all we can do it work to better our own image.

As far as trash talking anyone's dogs, I can say that from the footage I saw I would not feed any of the dogs showcased. Not that they are bad dogs or potlickers, they just aren't my style, and it is possibly a regional difference that dictates the type or style of dogs you hunt. I guess my own expectations in a dog are different than theirs, and I see that as a good thing. If it were not for the many different styles and types of hunting dogs, hog dogging would get pretty boring.

Cheers
M

Kind of freaked me out seeing that White Sharks are listed as common residents of the Gulf Of Mexico on a TPWD poster. I am infatuated with sharks, especially White Sharks. Scary and exciting to know there is one here in our own back yard...

Cheers
M

 I must say that I have always been a proponent of AI even when both stallion and mare are on site. I personally believe it is easier and safer for all involved just to collect the stallion and inseminate the mare. You can get multiple cycling mares bred at once, and no chance of the stallion being injured from a well placed kick.

However.... I have had the fortune to get to see show horses - the kind which could not walk past the breeding dummy at the lab without getting excited about "her" - breed in a pasture situation. We had a harem of mares, and allowed our older stud to live out his years as nature intended. He was present through breeding, foaling, and rebreeding for the years he had left. Not one time did the stallion ever injure or harm a foal, and I dare say that any of his actions in the pasture setting were instinctive since he was born and raised as a show animal, living as far from the way nature intended as possible. Stall kept, doted on, rarely bred a live mare, he was always collected. At 19, he was finally allowed to be a real horse. We had excellent conception rate in the pasture, 100% foal success, and a very fulfilled stallion who was finally able to interact with species of his own kind. The mares ran the roost, and all was well. Even had a couple geldings out there too.

If I were going to pasture breed though, I would have a group of mares, not just one with a foal to focus his attention on. Give him five or six - even pregnant ones will help keep him in check.
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M

Several of you know that I have been battling a rather odd medical issue with my Lizzie dog. I said I would post a pic, so here it is.

What this is a photo of is toenail type material growing from the large pad on Lizzie's left front foot. I have removed it several times, providing relief to the dog. However, it regrows and causes considerable discomfort and lameness. This represents about a month's worth of regrowth after the last removal. Keep in mind that a fair amount of the nail gets worn or filed down by the rough concrete floor of the kennel.
 
Lizzie is an older dog and has not had this problem throughout her life. This has come up within the last year, and I thought that removal of the nail would allow healthy pad material to regrow. This has not been the case. Even with constant wearing on the kennel floor, the toenail material grows faster than it wears down.

This ranks up there as being one of the strangest medical oddities I have seen occur on a dog. This dog has blown her pads plenty in her years, and I can only assume that this is related or was perhaps triggered by her having to regrow pad tissue over the years. Whatever caused it, I am interested in seeing how the vet wants to treat the issue given that we know simple removal does not work.

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M

Actually, the bits are from Colorado. Northern Colorado in Larimer County outside of Ft Collins. Rocky mountains. I do prefer historical items from Texas, but I like anything old and western. I love New Mexico history - the wild and wooly days before statehood. I love all things gunslinger, outlaw, and cowboy in the late 1800's. I guess you would call them the cattle heyday. Colorado doesn't too much figure into the Old West as I see it, but these bits were pretty cool.

Cheers!
M