trailing dogs or winding dogs ?

[buddylee]

Wanna get some opinions on pro's and con's of each. I have always thought a winding dog was faster at finding hogs and a trailing dog better at finding a running hog. Is this too general of a thought ? I have two bird/bull pups. One seems to use his nose more in the air and the other one tends to always have her nose to the ground. I like a winding dog but worry about whether or not this type of dog can follow a track after a hog that breaks bay.

[rdjustham]

i prefer wind dogs.  i like my dogs riding on top of the box, seems i can cover more ground that way.  as far as running a track after winding?  with my last finished dog when she bailed off there was a hog at the end of it so who really knows..preference hunt with both and see what you like the best..

[chase]

a true finshed dog has to be able to do both wind and trail  they can be one or the other just my two cents

[Rockin-P-Ranch]

A really good dog should be able to do wind & track.And wright now my dogs will do either one.But that is what I expect from my dogs.And just my opinion

[duece24]

i feel that if you have a dog that does one and not the other you will be catching less hogs. most dogs have a preference, but they need to be able to do both. the ones that are really good at both are your #1's. my two gyps are like yours. i have one that likes to put her nose down and the other likes to wind, but both will do the other if they need to.

[make-em-squeel]

Any strike dog can hood, but not vise versa. My good dog that can track the single hog in a sq. mile can obviously wind as well. I think dogs that wind find hogs faster, and with experience become well rounded and learn to work a track.

[elliscountyhog]

Any strike dog can hood, but not vise versa. My good dog that can track the single hog in a sq. mile can obviously wind as well. I think dogs that wind find hogs faster, and with experience become well rounded and learn to work a track.

I somewhat agree but the other hand i have to disagree. I have owned and seen several dogs that were great dogs on the ground. And i have seen great dogs on the hood, and i have seen great dogs do both BUT, i have also seen great dogs on the ground taking a track and couldnt HOOD worth a darn because they wanted to be on the ground, now winding dog is diffrent, a winding dog is simply that a dog that relies on the pure smell of hog and can follow that smell in the wind and find it from the ground , while a track dog relies on a track that it can follow and i belive a good track dog can do both. A hood dog is a great winding dog that knows how to ride on the front of a wheeler or truck and as it winds a hog bails off and goes straight to the hog and bays it up never putting the nose on the ground or even trying to wind while on the ground becuase at times they will loose the scent once on the ground, so they have to have a good memory and since of direction of where it smelled the hog while on the hood and running as fast as it can to get to the hog. Which this type dog in my opinion would be best if you are in a area with a lot of hogs. Where in my part of the country (vertually no hogs ) a track dog is a must because the track may be 1 mile long or more and i find it hard for a dog to wind that far although some may say theres can which they may. Also i once talked to a guy that said his dogs would wind or hood a fresh track and bail off and take the track. So i am not sure if i belive that any hood dog can track buty dont thing that any track dog can hood. JME and i may be way off

[sfboarbuster]

I like to have 2 trail dogs running on the ground, and keep 1 or 2 good wind dogs on the truck.
They both have their advantages and disadvantages, so I like to use them for what they are good at.

[hogdoggerdude14]

I would thing that if ur hunting in an area trailing would be the best but if ur in a open area winding would be best

[Florida Curdog]

The dogs we use wind. They work well in all conditions    I have one dog that is 5 years old and I have never seen him put his nose to the ground to trail. I prefer a good wind dog.

[sfboarbuster]

Florida Curdog, you mostly hunt orange groves right? A wind dog is definitely an advantage there.
I think the wind dogs are better where you have more roads to play the wind.

So pretty much what im saying is it all depends on the property

[Florida Curdog]

I hunt the groves when I go with Gil. Any other time I'm in the thick palmettos, cypress heads. But I still get to drive around the roads until they bail off the truck. I would be a lot thinner if I walked all the time 

[sfboarbuster]

I would be a lot thinner if I walked all the time 

Doubt it, I walk most of the time and chasin these chitty dogs and im still fat.

[makenbeans]

My cur when working the palmetto edjes he will work with his nose up in the air, I guess this is what they call windin.
However put him on a game trail or if he crosses a game trail its nose to the ground.
I hunt off a swamp buggy so i have an advantage seeing over the brush, Ive watched a hog brake from the palmettos and my dog has gone from windin to nose down on the ground, then he will hunt with nose on the ground but occasionally looking up trying to spot the hog, once he sees the hog he opens the afterburners and hes huntin with his sight.
He will whine out of his dog box in the buggy when their is a hog near by.

[DanS]

Buddylee,   to go back to your original question......I don't believe that a dog's ability to wind or track has much to do with how far it will take a runner....that is just drive alone.....

Really a good wind dog doesn't have all that much to do with whether the dog runs head up or nose down.....it has more to do with the dog's manners on the box....

What i would call a good wind dog (which is the style of dog i prefer)  is a dog that can ride the box without being clipped.....and have good enough manners to ride the box until it get's a solid nose full of swine.....this kind of dog doesn't jump off every time your truck hits an open field where the wind blows strong ......if you know what i mean.....

I have two very solid grown dogs right now that will strike off a box as good as any.....but if they are not clipped to the box....they will be on the ground......runnin.....they just don't like to ride.....so i guess what i'm tryin to say is they will wind on the box as good as any.....but they do not have the style to be good "wind dogs"......

[tompkinsgil]

we hunt every where groves ,ranches,thick woods where ever theres a hog to be caught  from south fl to north fl mine will work in where ever usually let them wind off the truck ,but we also walk them and hunt them in front of the truck or 4 wheeler.

[Pecos21]

I think a good strike/find dog has the ability to do both.........our dogs will have their nose to the ground in the woods a lot more and then you will see them drifting with the wind more so in pastures or more open country.........

[buddylee]

PECOS21, the dogs I'm referring to are my Campbell pups.

[duece24]

pecos..mine do the same...if we are in the woods they are more nose on the ground looking for a track, but you put them in a field and they are much more heads up(at least my bmc is like that). my bmc/dogo will keep her head up 90% of the time checking the wind, she will also stop and check the wind a lot. every so often she will put her nose on the ground, but the strong the trail gets the more she picks her head up..