Nose, nose, nose and more nose... with the heart, brains, drive, determination and bottom to finish the track.
I like to see a dog you can put on a track, turn out in sign or at a feeder and cold trail that hog to where ever it may be. A dog that takes a track that 5 others just passed up acting like they couldn't smell it. One you can watch on a Garmin, grind that track out a 1/2 mile, a mile or more and bay or jump the hog. That's what I want in a dog.
Range is good, but lots of rangey dogs wander around aimlessly in the woods, bumping in to one here and there. Same thing with hunt and hustle... what's the old saying, "A blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then".
