So first off, sorry for reviving an old post! But, I didn't want to start a new topic when there are so many on puppy training and this one has some great information! Anyways, my question is this... when doing mock hunts does it make a big difference if you have a pig at the end or if you just use a cut out of hide? I did two mock hunts with my puppies when they were about 3-1/2 months old (same day) and I had a potbelly piglet in a dog kennel at the end. Since then I've made a pen at my house and I currently have a 30lb little boar/shoat in it. Since it is in the back of my fenced in yard, every time I let the puppies out of the kennel they get to go bay as much as they want through the pen. I know that they shouldn't get to bay all the time or they might get burn out and I'm currently in the process of making half of the pen covered so that the pig is only in the fence section when I WANT a dog to see him. As far as doing a mock hunt, the best place is my parents land which is 15 minutes away. But where I am at it is illegal to transport a live hog. I believe you can get a permit as long as you don't cross county lines but I'll have to look in to that more. So that poses the question, is it worth going through the trouble to have a caged/tied pig at the end of the trail? Or will a piece of hide suffice? I really want to focus on doing some drags and mock hunts so that the puppies don't get used to the pig just being there.
Good question and you're sure to get a lot of mixed answers. My thought on it being with just a hide they're still having to use their nose to run the track which is great but on the same token their not getting the idea of running the track to the end and getting bayed.... also with the pot belly pig, in my experience even dogs that were just getting started will not bay a tame hog once they know a wild one well. I don't believe the smell is the same. I've put 2 started hounds in a bay pen with 150 lb feral boar and a 250lb tame boar hog and they wouldn't even look at the tame hog.
not sure where the dogs are but there's a picture from that day. We might have been trying to get that 2nd wild hog out before putting dogs in the pen. But there it is to add some merit to my opinion
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