Man, this is an interesting topic and one that really hits home with me. I have only been around hog dogs for around two years. My dog background is with Schutzhund trained dogs. The first time i ever went hunting behind some dogs, I thought to myself that my buddies had no control whatsoever over their dogs. But I was used to my SCH dogs that had better obey my every command the first time, or else.
In talking with my buddies and asking questions on here, I found that most people just wanted basic control over their dogs. Things like load up, come here, and get out. The opinions that I got were that too much handle on a dog will curb its breeding or instinct to get out and hunt. I have 3 dogs now that I am raising to hunt, and I still struggle with this opinion. The German Shepherds I have been around previously, could be trained to do whatever you wanted obedience wise, but come time to work, would still do the job that they were bred for. I still have a hard time seeing why that cant be done with hunting dogs. Do I think strict OB is necessary with hunting dogs? No, but it would be nice. I kind of feel that if the dog has the desire to hunt, it can do that while still listening to my every command.
With all of that said, with the dogs that i have now, the main things I am focusing on is recall(come here), and get out. For recall, when I call a dogs name and tell them to come, I want them to come back to me without hesitation. The get out, I use a "aaa aaa" sound(kinda hard to describe in text), and I want them to stop what they are doing. I have a year and a half old gyp who gets out and hunts good and has found her own pigs, but still hasnt figured out the come here, and if she dont figure it out pretty soon, she aint gonna be around much longer. I've bout had it with her and this issue. Nothing more embarrassing then chasing a dog around the woods while hunting with your buddies when its time to leave.
Have you tried feeding her in the bed of your truck or on your buggy??? I do this daily with one of my hard to catch/handle pups and its makin a difference with him already in under 2 weeks time. Some does just don't like/want much human interaction. Hope it helps.
"the sun is shining somewhere in texas" -Jason Boland
