Here, RD, I'll help you out a little---here's an example:
My time has loosened up a little, and I’d like to share some of our hogdog philosophies with the honest hearted who are interested. I will tell you about just one of my Saltydogs, for sake of time. He is my newest stud dog, a gorgeous red leopard about 3-1/3 years old, representing about 14 generations of Saltydogs. His name is Saltydog’s Raunchy, and representing about 14 generations of culling hard, and genetic design. First, some back ground which touches a little on the philosophy behind how I view working dogs—my opinions only, but what works for me.
What Saltydogs do,, or how they work or what makes them tick----- for those who are truly interested, I have raised catahoulas for 22+ years. I have sold dogs all over the country, and internationally, with many repeat customers over the years, selling a few for cowdogs, a few for search/rescue, a few for just companions, but most for hogdogs. Why do these customers come back? —simple---- Because they like my dogs—they do what’s expected of them.
How do my dogs work? I was asked this “general” question on a different thread, and a question like that is impossible for me to answer, for this reason, which any real dogman can understand. A '”quick/easy” answer is a shallow thoughtless answer, in my book, and that’s not what I want to give here. As some of you have seen, I will not be prodded into a quick answer to something so deeply rooted in my kennel philosophies, just to satisfy the impatient. There are several major problems that are a key factor about the “how a dog works” question/answer deal. Here’s a few brief factors that come into play of how “dogs work”, that most good dogmen easily recognize and identify with.
1) Dogs are genetically individuals—and every individual is different. Hypothetically, you can breed two of your best dogs, get a litter of ten puppies. Two of those pups will likely rise above the rest of the litter in ability and achievement. Six of the litter will make good dogs. Yet two will likely be under achievers/culls—not representing their breeding very well. It is nearly impossible to see this play out unless you keep the whole litter for 6 months and work with these pups and really observe their development. Perhaps you have a brother or sister, and as you grow up, it becomes evident many subtle differences.
The way I run my breeding program, is to recognize the traits I want to see expressed in my dogs---my idea of how my catahoulas go about the business of representing what the breed is all about, and through generations of breeding for those traits, my dogs become the rule, not the exception for those desired traits. I have genetically streamlined my dogs.
2) Pilot error. That’s right, the dog’s handler is a HUGE factor in a dogs development for better or worse. I have seen some handlers do all the wrong things and literally kill the working desire in a GOOD dog. People like this should not even be allowed to own a working dog. A good dogman knows how to bring out the BEST in a pup/dog. I know guys who have a yard full of dogs some one else threw away ”stupid dog won’t work, won’t look at a hog---blah-blah-blah”, yet in the hands of a real dogman, these “culls” bloom into great achievers.
3 Personality clash. I have seen good dogmen not get anywhere with an occasional dog. I have personally taken back a dog or two from trusted customers (whom I KNOW their handling abilities and have seen their dogs work fantastic), and placed the same dog with another customer, and the dog excels. Sometimes it’s simply a personality clash. Again, dogs are individual personalities, as are people.
So, the “canned generic wide open for argument” question of “How do your dogs work”, has quite a bit to it, and no simple answers. Boils down to “which dog do you want to ask about?”—remember, they are all individuals.
My current string of dogs vary, just like anyone else’s would. Some dogs will hunt close and some range way out. Some bay back a ways, yet some are gritty enough to go in and catch. Wouldn’t we all love to have a yard full of strike dogs, but not every dog is going to finish out as a jam-up strike dog. Just the way it is.
My best dog is a VERY nice strike dog, and he is who I’ll spend a little time about—‘ole Raunchy. He was baying through the fence at 3 months old—not strong, yet enough to know he would be good some day. 4 months he was in the pen working with the other puppies—still not strong, but yet he was showing enough. He was about 8 months old when he was introduced to the woods---a little late for what I like, but never the less---------This pup was paired up with a jam up strike dog bitch my friend has (acquired from my kennel, an amazing story how this bitch was rescued, and turned into an incredible strike dog—another time on this story, though) The pup went out his first 19 times with his mother and had a hog caught 19 times. It was what we call a “honey-hole”—perfect for training woods dogs. Most of his early hogs were about 100 lb shoats—ideal size. A couple of the later catches packed some hard core size—350 LB range. (we do not use catch dogs) Since then, this dog has gotten stronger and stronger in distance and try. His best run, according to our Garmin, he ran out of the tracker’s range, and half hour later run back in, on a running hog. 18 miles is what the Garmin recorded. He’s the kind of a dog, when you start a hunt, he hangs around for about 15 minutes, and starts to move out to about 300 yards, then on out to about 700-1200 yards. I do know, we have followed hunters through the woods by an hour or two, and pick up hogs their dogs missed. So goes quality. Small hogs, he will just snatch up. Bigger, he waits for support, then goes in. His name is Saltydog’s Raunchy. He is an own son of my old Saltydog’s Legbone and out of Saltydog’s Nevermind, who is a daughter to Saltydog’s Earl out of Saltydog’s Eva. Earl goes back to the hardest knocking gritty strike dogs ever out of my kennel, and that’s the old Bozo/Haint cross. Raunchy represents the rangier built dogs—built for speed and endurance. He weighs 65lbs.
More later/another time.
