Bull arab?

[dabutcher]

Dem are sum big dogs and sounds like they are purty smart,,cross em up with a BMC and I wonder what you would get?

a slower dog. 

Ned,

you're right in the fact that not many hunt in the same style as you guys do.  I just started getting into the Ozzie way, i was a bit skeptical at first but man, it really is effective here.  And i was certainly surprised at the amount of nose a great dane actually has.  I plan on starting my own cross here but am seriously thinking of importing a couple dogs one of which from Mark Simpson or you friend David Wilds.  i really like that DanexDeerhound cross dog.  Soda i believe is her name.  David did say he was gonna cross soda over another Bull Arab to try and reproduce a dog like his Max.  Tried to jump on that but he doesn't think he's gonna have any extra pups because he has a few guys waiting in line already. 

[Ned Makim]

That is likely to be the case but sometimes things happen. Often it's a matter of just getting to know the guys more and beeing patient. I'll talk to a few people...
Cheers.

[cantgetright]

Great thread. I thought I read on here somewhere that most of the mods dismissed the idea of the RCD as just a fad or a death sentence. Shocking to here that yall are talking about clifford over a greyhound.

[Circle C]

I don't know that I have ever read a mod on here badmouthing a RCD, hell I have had some, and still do.

[Mike]

Great thread. I thought I read on here somewhere that most of the mods dismissed the idea of the RCD as just a fad or a death sentence. Shocking to here that yall are talking about clifford over a greyhound.

I guess I missed that part too?

In my opinion, most of the country I hunt in a RCD is a death sentence... there's no way to get to them quick enough. In the thick stuff they can't move... you better be right behind your bulldog when it hits. My opinions are based on what i've lived and learned over the past ten years after hunting with hundreds of different people and dogs.

And who might you be... since you obviously know my dog?

[T-Bob Parker]

I think maybe 5 weeks ago the whole forum was swamped with RCD stuff dog trade, dogs on hogs... every Johnny come lately was posting an RCD thread or ? And you gave an answer just like that one, not a bashing comment just stating the fact that running a RCD can be a liabilty... I think that's what he was refering to. Btw I agree I recently lost my job, got rid of all luxury dogs and tried to hunt my old cat one out TERRIBLE IDEA

[Circle C]

to clarify things, I am the one that wanted to cross clifford on foxy,the greyhound. If we bred the two, I planned on keeping all of them and running them as a release at the first barkk pack of catch dogs. I won't run rcd's by themselves though, because I am not sold on the idea of a solo catch dog being caught in a rose hedge thicket.  As it is, we did not make the breeding, and I probably won't do it in the near future, as I have a couple pups coming that will require my attention

[T-Bob Parker]

Am I right in my assumption that bull Arabs are sighthound type dogs? I have noticed a lot of Australian photos where dogs ride hoods til the hunters spot a pig.  That's basically what I tried with gator a few weeks ago and though it worked well twice the third time he ignored the little pig at the feeder and made a 1/2 mile beeline to a bad boy and niether he nor the boar made much noise and by the time I got to him we were all three tuckered out. In theory I would love a bad ace bull Arab but wouldn't they require daylight and open country?

[dabutcher]

Am I right in my assumption that bull Arabs are sighthound type dogs? I have noticed a lot of Australian photos where dogs ride hoods til the hunters spot a pig.  That's basically what I tried with gator a few weeks ago and though it worked well twice the third time he ignored the little pig at the feeder and made a 1/2 mile beeline to a bad boy and niether he nor the boar made much noise and by the time I got to him we were all three tuckered out. In theory I would love a bad ace bull Arab but wouldn't they require daylight and open country?

nope, the vast majority of the australian pig hunters breed for nose first and everything else last.  bull arabs are no exception. i'm sure Ned will chime in on this.  they're riggin those dogs just like guys here do with cur dogs....  letting em wind off the truck.

[Ned Makim]

Correct. We all want nose dogs. Bull arabs are finder holders. Same as our dogs. We also expect our dogs to grab the biggest available whether it's seen or not. There's lots dogs can do if they are bred right and given the opportunity. We have a real crossbred culture here and it tends to release traits that you might not otherwise see in the original parents.
Crossed danes often have an excellent nose, and (don't laugh) crossed English bullys will show remarkable noses. Ours are predominantly wolfhound bully bred down in size but they can find like mad. We mostly hunt steep stuff with blackberries and other scrub so you often have to belly crawl to get to the dog and the pig. The finds can be close or over a mile from the jump. We have one dog, sometimes two loose on the truck and if they wind em they just go and grab it. If the dogs are very good they will grab one each.
RCD as you call them can definitely get cut up or killed but it happens surprising infrequently. Some of that is one or two dogs tend not to trip over one another in the hold and can position themselves better to avoid the drama.
That's the experience here anyway.
Cheers.

[dabutcher]

so not to high jack but..

Ned,

How often would you say your dogs get hurt i mean..... it's a pretty low percentage like  number of hogs caught to a dog getting injured. 

just trying to get an idea compared to most bay dog hunters.

[Silverton Boar Dogs]

Ned,

What size dog do you find make the best finder/holders? I realize that holdind style keeps them from getting cut but how tall and how heavy to best controll the larger hogs?

Thanks,
Paul T

[Ned Makim]

Sorry for the delay guys, I missed the questions.
First one first, they will often get little skin rips or small punctures but injuries that require staples or stitches let alone the vet are surprisingly uncommon. Our dogs are not terribly stylish in working a pig, they just smash into them head on if the pig is standing or run beside them and grab if they are moving. It might be that the country is different (although we have blackberries and other tangled stuff that increases risk of injury) or it might be the lack of other dogs bumping into one another. I don't really know and don't know how it would relate to the US situation.
Maybe one (proper) boar in 20 might produce a stitchable wound. Real injuries, life threatening could happen on the first boar you see but maybe one in 50 really cut the dogs up. We dont (and the bull arab blokes) don't religiously go one out on boars but most don't go with more than two dogs because it ends up a bit of a tangle.

On sizes, anything from 25 kgs to 40 kgs will do the job but ideally I like the 30 kgs range (a kg is 2.2 pounds) so a b it better than 60pounds. Height, I'd be guessing, I'll measure some of ours. For us it's not so much the size of the dog as it's will and athleticism.
Cheers.