when hunting spots are all thick briars and palmettoes and the only good openings are the small roads or pipelines then a true running catch dog just won't be very effective...his life span will be short If he is of the type that will use his nose to stick with it or if he will run as long as it takes to catch, especially in places where the hogs are dog smart...
I will probably never own a RCD because of the places we hunt...I like gritty to rough cur dogs that are border line RCD's...meaning a type of dog...whether alone are in a pack to stop and even catch a hog but to have the since to back off and bay before he over heats or gets beat to death by a big boar...that is my goal...I bred and raised gritty mt curs in the 55-60 pound range for many years and they were close to what I have described... back then I hunted some woods that were fairly open in the winter and a hog was caught is his bed or in the woods usually where they came up on him or in a short race...The dogs took care of themselves and sometimes would get hurt usually by getting caught between a dog, tree, steep bank or just plain ole thick brush, where a dog could not maneuver and get caught between that and a bad boar...not that often but once in a while is too much if it is a crippling hit...but I will also say that these dogs were bay busters in certain situations...these dogs had enough sense to not go in if they knew they were going to take a hit and maybe too cautious at times...in these situations where the dogs can't set up because of the thick briars the hog will break and run...these types of terrains make it hard to catch hogs especially if the hogs are dog smart...the hog gets way out in front in these thick places and the dogs will have to trail and sometimes the dogs will have to circle to find the track because of losing the track at times...all this is definitely to the hogs advantage. he will run hard and set up and rest in the next thick jungle...I like a dog that can get out there quick and trail one up or wind one, a dog that can make it look easy finding a hog because it is just as important as stopping one...
my heart is in the rough cur dogs that can be turned out with any dog and always look good against any dog...that is the goal...
but finding the exact dog that can breed true to my liking is very hard to obtain because it is a fine line...in my minds eye the dog should be almost a RCD but smart about not getting hurt...A true RCD if he bails out into the river while caught solid has the potential to drown. he also has the potential to over heat if he is deep in the woods caught on a big boar and possibly out of range to track...or the hog gives a good hit because of the duration of being caught...the chances of the average catch dog getting hurt goes up by the second or minute...that is why so many people turn their catch dogs into the bay from less than 100 yards and some wait until they know exactly where the hog is bayed before turning the dog...these folks are doing their dogs right...they are putting their dogs health above catching a hog...
I do have one 1/2 hound 1/2 pit , 2 brothers that are 1/4 pit and 4 pups that are 1/8th pit and I like all of them fairly well...all look much like cur/hound...
as already mentioned...we all have our preferences and will stick by them and make the changes until we are at or close to our goals...
a good running catch dog in the places I hunt might work after the dogs have ran one for a few hours and then turn him in to hammer down...
This is pretty much what I was lead to believe when I first started out but have discovered different. Not all RCDs are created equal and some have the jobs of working for contract guys who make a living off catching pigs with them in exactly the scenarios you just described they aren't fit to work in or couldn't.
The RCD types I see here a lot and see how they are paired often times leads people to this conclusion. When analyzing the situations they are hunted in, I'd say your analysis isn't to far off but the mistake in the analysis is your analyzing poorly thought out dogs with the most extreme of hunting style on top of the dogs being hunted / paired poorly. Their are dogs bred to do this work, just a different style of hunting and type of dog than your used to.
To say an RCD type dog can't effectively and efficiently do the things you say they can't and do it with only few injuries through their long lives and hard working careers is like saying a black mouth cur is only good for bay pen work. These dogs are out there but your just not familiar with them.
