Can a dog be taught to wind a hog?

[jimco]

Can a dog be taught to wind a hog or is he or she born with this ability? I walk my dogs around an island surrounded by bayous and canals.
I have a hog in a pen on the Island. The dogs can't see the hog. Some days they can smell him and some days they cannot. The hog is about 75 yds. across the canal in the woods. Yesterday they were running behind the four wheeler and they locked em up and went down to the edge of the canal and started barking even though they couldn't see the hog. Is this something I should keep working on ?
    A few pics from yesterday when they caught scent of the hog.
                   
                   

[justincorbell]

I know this is off subject but.....

If i didn't know better i would say that black/ brindle trimmed dog came off my yard, i gave a buddy a pup that grew up to look exactly like him, i mean identical......ill try to get him to send me a pic.

As far as your question goes I personally have never really done any "training" to get em winding, just throw em in the bed of the truck or buddy and ride, sometimes they do sometimes they dont.


"the sun is shining somewhere in texas" -Jason Boland

[justincorbell]

Buggy*


"the sun is shining somewhere in texas" -Jason Boland

[catmando]

atmosphere conditions have a lot to do with what a dogs noses picks up humity,dry air ,wind ect. If you readup on search& rescue dogs youll see why one day a dogs a superstar  next day he may sucks.You  ever notice how somedays farts hang  around longer? Those are some  good lookin dogs what are they?   

[Reuben]

atmosphere conditions have a lot to do with what a dogs noses picks up humity,dry air ,wind ect. If you readup on search& rescue dogs youll see why one day a dogs a superstar  next day he may sucks.You  ever notice how somedays farts hang  around longer? Those are some  good lookin dogs what are they?   

x2...

you can't train a dog to have a better nose but you can train him to bark or whine when he smells a hog... either from the hood or in the back of the truck or even on the 4 wheeler...

the way I know how to train a dog to wind and bark is to stage a hog cross wind from a road or straight away. mark exactly where the wind is crossing carrying the hog scent. now go and pick up the dogs and set them up the way you will rig them...then slowly drive along and when you reach the marked spot slow down and see how the dogs act...you might have to sic and his the dogs into a frenzy...once you know they are smelling hog cut them loose and they should go to the hog...if they don't it could be that the scent is rising as it is coming across the road...you can help the dogs by acting excited and you will act like you have winded the hog and you run toward the hog. The dogs will eventually pick up on the scent and should get ahead...do this a couple of times on different days and you will have some rig dogs...sometimes as a handler you will notice that the dogs can wind one from the on top of the box...but when they hit the ground they lose the scent...so as a good handler you lead them toward the hog and then they will move ahead when they pick up the scent again...

[pigrig]

i agree you can't teach a dog to wind; to a point eg; you can teach a man to improve on his ability to run but he won't make the olimpics you can enhance the abilities your dog already has or take it to the next level .but next to a dog that poseses natrual ability your dog will be a;dog!

[jimco]

atmosphere conditions have a lot to do with what a dogs noses picks up humity,dry air ,wind ect. If you readup on search& rescue dogs youll see why one day a dogs a superstar  next day he may sucks.You  ever notice how somedays farts hang  around longer? Those are some  good lookin dogs what are they?   

Thanks,  catmando and pigrig. The gyp is a 3 yr. old double Sandhill bred Catahoula. The black male is her son he's 13 months. The
Sandhill line of Catahoulas are one of the oldest line of Catahoulas in Louisiana. It don't mean nothing but that's what they are.

Thanks, Reuben and Justin. Always helpful.

[M Bennet]

yes you can teach a dog to wind. iv taken my ground dogs and turned them in to wind dogs . put them on my hood and they learn to wind or smell the air as we go down the road. and they always try and face the wind when there on the hood. if a dog can smell a track on the ground and thats the way it was taught to hunt , you can put him on the rig and teach him to wind off the rig or box. it just takes time and finding the right way and easies way for yur dog to learn. remember to keep it simpal for you and him

[hogaholicswife]

They have to learn to trust their noses and it is a learned behavior IMO, some catch on quick and others take a little while.  With our young dogs if my husband notices them throw their heads up trying to wind he sends them on to what ever they are smelling.

Our old dogs wind from the truck while the younger ones typically do it from the ground but they are all wind dogs for the most part.

[halfbreed]

yes you can teach a dog to wind. iv taken my ground dogs and turned them in to wind dogs . put them on my hood and they learn to wind or smell the air as we go down the road. and they always try and face the wind when there on the hood. if a dog can smell a track on the ground and thats the way it was taught to hunt , you can put him on the rig and teach him to wind off the rig or box. it just takes time and finding the right way and easies way for yur dog to learn. remember to keep it simpal for you and him

 i have to totaly agree with bennet on this one . cur dogs run the wind as much as they nose the ground . it is probably more teaching the owners to watch the dogs reaction in certain situations . just like running mock hunts put you a hog hide or pig out in the bush and start by driving to it from downwind and watch the dogs . if they are hog dogs to start with they will perk their ears up and be looking into the wind . to many people holler and whoop a dog for barking in the truck these days lol when i go hunt the fields i try and allways come into them from the downwind side and hunt into the wind . i have a couple dogs chained behind the cab of my truck and they will wind from there , hell my bulldog will wind a hog in the brush !! he allways rides chaained behind the cab on the drivers side . it's easy to do but like everything else it takes work and PATIENCE .