A Few Things I Have Noticed

[Reuben]

A few observations over the years...

some of the best hunting dogs I have owned were a little on the shy side...

some dominant dogs in the yard were wimps on a hog...

some meek and easy going dogs were ferocious on a hog...

can't stand a hyper dog but...the few that I had were not the best hunting dogs...

some of the best  hog dogs I ever had were very laid back with brains to spare...and when the tailgate dropped they left out in a dead run and were hard hunting, hog finding machines...

even when the dogs were linebred tight an unusual colored popped up every once in a while...

even without bringing in any new blood the dogs hunting ability improved without new blood...

anyone else make the same observations or other observations???

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some of the best hunting dogs I have owned were a little on the shy side...



some meek and easy going dogs were ferocious on a hog...

can't stand a hyper dog but...

some of the best  hog dogs I ever had were very laid back with brains to spare...and when the tailgate dropped they left out in a dead run and were hard hunting, hog finding machines...

even when the dogs were linebred tight an unusual colored popped up every once in a while...

even without bringing in any new blood the dogs hunting ability improved without new blood...

I agree with these.

[johnf]

my three lead dogs are laid back.if you dont hunt em their toe nails get long.my pup comin on this year is shy but gritty with a hog.she is also laid back and the only one outa 3 to make the cut.good observations.

[djhogdogger]

 Im currently working on that theory and I will have to get back with you on those results..... in a few years. 

[KevinN]

Reuben I SEEM to remember Quite a few Catahoulas back ten years or more ago being on the shy side but being jam up hunting dogs. I personally think a lot of that shyness has been bred out of them. I can't say for sure that its made any difference in overall hunting ability but like I said, those dogs ten years ago were just jam up dogs.

For the longest time I wouldn't own a yella dog because again, ten years ago it seemed all those jam up yella bay pen dogs that were winnin everything were just scatter brained as all get out. I THINK that's kinda been bred out too. It seems to me they are just as energetic and tight on the hogs as ever but not as ... ?psycho?

I think your dead on about the layer back dogs though. The ones I've owned or been around that we're layed back almost had a swagger. They knew there was nothing to get excited about until the tailgate dropped.

[Heaven Sent Kennel]

another one I'd add is not to get excited about a dog or give it a cool name until they prove theirselves. Sam is becoming quite the dog while his brother Legend (which I used to be fond of thinking he'd be a legend when he finishes out) ain't quite got it figured out. Dixie and Banshee never turned out while chiquita is coming along great. Then Bob, and Mike, Ely and Max just some plain ordinary names are out there finding and catching a lot of pigs for me lol.

SO don't get over excited about a pup.

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SO don't get over excited about a pup.

X2........................A million and one things can happen to a pup.

[Reuben]

Reuben I SEEM to remember Quite a few Catahoulas back ten years or more ago being on the shy side but being jam up hunting dogs. I personally think a lot of that shyness has been bred out of them. I can't say for sure that its made any difference in overall hunting ability but like I said, those dogs ten years ago were just jam up dogs.

For the longest time I wouldn't own a yella dog because again, ten years ago it seemed all those jam up yella bay pen dogs that were winning everything were just scatter brained as all get out. I THINK that's kinda been bred out too. It seems to me they are just as energetic and tight on the hogs as ever but not as ... ?psycho?

I think your dead on about the layer back dogs though. The ones I've owned or been around that we're laid back almost had a swagger. They knew there was nothing to get excited about until the tailgate dropped.

 I'm currently working on that theory and I will have to get back with you on those results..... in a few years. 

DJ,

will be looking forward to your theories in the near future...

Kevin,

If I had to pick a pup without much testing the trait most important to me is to look for the laid back puppy that is keen to his surroundings, these pups can play hard some of the time but will go out and explore on there own...which to me is a clue that they will hunt out and be independent when grown...no guarantees but I will always try to pick the best I can.

a great hunting dog that is laid back has an air or aura about them...kind of dignified and maybe somewhat aloof...an above it all type of attitude...once I noticed these traits in a good hunting dog I started looking at all the champion dog pics every month in the full cry magazine...  been doing it for years...to me it can be seen in the pics...a high percentage of champion hunting dogs have that "LOOK" about them...after all they say a picture is worth a thousand words... 

[Corey]

I totally agree with  those top dogs having that heir about them. They got the stuff and they know it, couldn't care less about other dogs, hunting buddies, style of hunting. I personally can't stand cocky ness but if it comes with a large serving of humble proof....what ya gonna do.......

You have a very trained eye to pick that out in a picture, guess I need more exposure the hone that sense. Lol

[DWEST]

A guy i hunt with has some sure-nuff good dogs!  Out of his 3 GOOD gyps i couldnt even think about trying to help put in the box at the end of a hunt.  His one up and commer male is the same way.  Now (depending on how long its been since i've been out with them)  I can handle 2 of them and atleast open the box for the third.  They aren't bad when you get to the hog, all buisness.  But if they dont roll out they might try to shy away to try to collar them.  But, i've had and seen good dogs that if you give a few seconds and they can kinda tell you mean buisness too they'll deal with you.
Dogs are like people, some are shy and some want to go meet new people and everything in between.  I personally dont think it effects their drive or ability to hunt.
But, what i have noticed...is that good dog men can get a shy dog to break out of its shell and hunt its arse off.  Myabe, just maybe that we notice that dog more because it stands out, cuz nobody else can catch/work that dog

[Noah]

The longer I'm in this, the less paterns I seem to see...  appreciate the time you are priviledged to share with the great ones... "try" and enjoy your time with the rest.

As for "my" paterns...

... if the dog ain't built right, I'm not gonna waste my time.

... if I don't like the dog's personality, I'm not gonna waste my time.

[DWEST]

The longer I'm in this, the less paterns I seem to see...  appreciate the time you are priviledged to share with the great ones... "try" and enjoy your time with the rest.

As for "my" paterns...

... if the dog ain't built right, I'm not gonna waste my time.

... if I don't like the dog's personality, I'm not gonna waste my time.

I agree!!  But, sometimes those are the one's that the outsiders remember....Sometimes....

[txhogsanddogs]

A few observations over the years...



some of the best  hog dogs I ever had were very laid back with brains to spare...and when the tailgate dropped they left out in a dead run and were hard hunting, hog finding machines...


anyone else make the same observations or other observations???

I agree 100% with this one for sure Reuben...  i very lucky to owned one of those laid back dogs that you would think he couldn't find a tick on his A** but he is truly a treat for me to raise as well as own. 

[mod93dirt]

Reuben, I hope your observations hold true.

I'm just starting out but have a dog who is extremely shy, and extremely laid back around the house, and seems to show more brains than most dogs I have ever been around. I have an extensive background with German Shepherds, who are suppoed to be some smart dogs, and she is smarter than most of them that I have been around.  She dont hunt out very far, but she works hard in the ground that she covers. In my yard she will come right to me when called. In the field, she will come right to me when called as long as we arent near the truck. However, when she sees everyone loading up dogs, she wont come to me for nothing. If she sees dogs goin in the box she is headed back out to make another loop. Kind of a pain in the butt sometimes, but I like that in her at the same time. Shows me she wants to get out and work. I have just learned to make sure she is the first dog caught when it is time to go. She aint been on a caught hog in the woods yet other than staged hunts, but she is hell on a hog in a pen in the few times she has been in one. But at home she will curl up at my feet and try to love all over me. In the woods, open the box and she is all business. She is just now a yr old, and like I said while she dont hunt out that far, she is getting farther out with every trip to the woods, and I still have high hopes for this pup.

[Reuben]

it seems that a lot of curs tend to be a little timid..so have to be careful just how much discipline is given... I spend quite a bit of time socializing the pups...but some of these slightly timid pups seem to be born that way and one must noty over discipline them and they need extra training with the cap gun and they tolerate strange/new hunters but are wary of them...but I would rather have a completely stable dog that has nerves of steel and can get it done as good as the best...

but like Noah, I like conformation and I must like the dog...I like a 55-60 pound mtn cur with a good length of ear...leggy, slick coated, well muscled, yet showing refinement, speed, agility, stamina, and power...so where can I find one of these??? 

but that calm dog that is laid back is a trait I looked for in my pups...years ago a dog writer wrote a sentence or two about the same observation...

not too long ago I was reading an article about this hunter and breeder of coyote hounds from back in the 1960's. This old man was known for having some of the best coyote hounds around...and a comment was made by the writer of the story  that the man's dogs just layed around and didn't move much when on the chain...

I am sure that some laid back dogs are probably just lazy and won't hunt...  but there is that possibility that it could be a once in a lifetime dog...