People give me hell all the time because I have a black mouth as a pet. I hunted him for about a year. He just meant too much to me. He is my buddy so he don't hunt. He probably cusses me for it. He hates the fire outta a hog. I got 21 other dogs to hunt with. He stays a pet. Something to think about.
Theres a guy i know in the nome tx area that did the same with a gyp 10 yrs ago, she is his yard dog. He said he hunted her for a year and something about her just stood out to him so he retired her and used her as a brood gyp. I have hunted with quite a few of her offspring and they all hunt, if i ever come by one like that i'd like to say i'd be able to do the same BUT good hunting dogs are hard to find and harder to reproduce!