Hounds vs Curs

[matt_aggie04]

  If I have a young dog progressing good and showing it is making a hand...I have had a good day.  I like listening and watching the dogs, learning about how they work and what they are doing.  If you can understand a dog and let it teach you and you teach it you will both progress alot in the same direction

I think that is a very overlooked part of this whole deal, catching is fun but sometimes you learn more when you just catch one or even none...

[tnhillbilly]

theres a huge different between potlickers and good bred hounds

[Beejay]

  If I have a young dog progressing good and showing it is making a hand...I have had a good day.  I like listening and watching the dogs, learning about how they work and what they are doing.  If you can understand a dog and let it teach you and you teach it you will both progress alot in the same direction

I think that is a very overlooked part of this whole deal, catching is fun but sometimes you learn more when you just catch one or even none...

100% agreed, I get just as excited seeing a young dog finally go as I would if I had caught something. I enjoy watching a hard working dog, no matter what breed.

[Wmwendler]

The thing that I have found is that breeding dogs is not like mixing paint.  White and balck don't allways make grey.  When you mix hounds and curs their is usually not an even mix.  You will get some crosses that are real houndy and then some that are real curry.  If you could just get the long range, nose, and bottom of a hound and them be silent.......everybody would have them.  

The problem is that there are very few people that really know dogs.  All they are interested in is putting their hands on a hog.  That is great because it is what we are all after.  I can have a good hunt and never touch a hog.  If I have a young dog progressing good and showing it is making a hand...I have had a good day.  I like listening and watching the dogs, learning about how they work and what they are doing.  If you can understand a dog and let it teach you and you teach it you will both progress alot in the same direction

Heat....Let me say I agree 100% with the last paragraph.  Its about seing the dogs work and them doing it the way you want.  And I agree that crossing dogs is not like mixing paint.  Which is why I beleive that if a man wants to increase the range or bottom of his curs he should find a rangy cur to cross with, not a hound.  That may not be as easy as finding any old hound that will hunt but it works out better.  Also, in my opinion silent mouth is low on the list of things a cur dog would conribute to a cross with a hound.  Things like handle, working ability, and finesse  are more important to me because if they dont work a hog right I am not happy with them anyway and silent or open is not an issue because they are a cull for me anyway.  Ive never seen a hound that had the hog working traits and finesse at a level that I am looking for in a hog dog.  #1. Most people expect to bay single hogs and dont think twice if they strike a group but only bay one hog.  If there is a group I expect to bay the whole group and anything less, even baying the single biggest boar out of that group, is a failure in my opinion because the did not get the group bayed.  #2. Things like finesse where a single dog can be hard on running hogs but have the instinct and finnesse to bay soft on gentle hogs that will stand is what very important to me.  As well as on a single hog a dog needs to start eating hide when he runs but have finesse to back up and bay when the hog decided to turn and stand.  That is rather than eating hide and having the hog make the dog back up and bay which is ok and will get some hogs bayed but the first example is much better in my opinion.  In my opinion there is more to baying a hog that just barking or even biting at a hog like some may think.  The barking is a result of the hog being bayed where as the hog being bayed is not a result of the barking.  A dog can bay a hog an never bark.  The only problem there is, you wouldnt be able to find them without a GPS collar on them.  But more importantly baying is not about forcing the hog to bay it is about convincing the hog to stand if it does not want to... or if the hog allready has a notion to stand at bay its about encouraging that notion and controling them as they do it.  In MY opinion hounds just don't have those instincts to bay groups and use finnesse.  Sure they might bay some groups by accident but they don't have those istincts or the drive to actively do it because they are not a stock dog.

Waylon

[cetchdawg]

I will put in my 2 cents !! for what it worth!
i have always had big headed yella cur's and  catahulas !! i have stuck with the catahulas in the last ten years or so and it seems that some dont like em ??
 Also i have always had at least one hound in the pen !! the one i have now absoluty loves a hog !! she gets after it !! I mainly use her for the glades in the deep water !!
throw her off the buggy/airboat first let her run the hog a bit then when she gets hot turn the catahulas down to finish up !! But thats a different kinda hunting !! 9 days soild  of catching hogs !! so ya gotta save yer dogs as much as you can !!
With that said i can admit she does not leave the yard as much as the others cause i agree she has her purpose !! she will find a hog but like it was mentioned she will take a cold track and not stop till the job is done !! sometimes she bays close by and sometimes im picking her up a county over !LOL !!

but i would have to say they all have their purpose !! and i catch my fair share !!
Oh yeah if ya dont think a catahula catches hogs plan a trip and we show ya !! 

[BarrNinja]

I go to bed and miss all the good conversation. Boar Ninja you just can not beat a good hound cur cross. You can have the best of both worlds. And when a conversation like this comes up you can laugh and chuckle from both sides. I personally have never had the kind of dog I LIKE with a straight cur. I know there are some good ones. Just not my style. If I hunt with one and I like it well then get ready because I might try to buy him!

Thats a whole nother subject right their and one I am definitely interested in seeing discussed on this board!

"Hound vs Cur" has been a big debated as long as I can remember when it comes to hog hunting. One that will probably go on forever and that is fine with me because I will never get tired of listening to it.
I just dont see both sides ever completely meeting in the middle were the hound/cur cross guys are already and laughing at the rest of us.

With the doubts I have on both sides of this argument their is one thing that I still remain convinced of.
Their are cur dogs out their that will change any hard core houndsman's poor opinion of them if they could only see them hunt!

I have a pretty good feeling there are good hounds out their that will do the same for the cur dog guys.
They both have their place in hog hunting and I will never argue that.

[heat]

Wm-  just like I said...you have a list of traits that are very important to you and the dogs that you have found that get you there are cur dogs.  I on the other hand don't place finess and style on the top of my list.  I have literally hunted 3 big boars on 8,000 acers for several months.  (Off and on of course).  If these finess dogs could not trail a track off of a corn feeder several hours old they would just look really stylish riding around in the back of the truck.   
On the other hand I have a cousin that lives in South Fl.  He had a really nice gyp a while back.  She bayed over 200 head a year from the time she started at about 14 months until she was well over 9 years.  She would not find a hog that had been gone over 30 minutes nor would she run one over 15 minutes.  She was flat sure a hog dog.  I have taken my dogs down there hunting and them get on a runner right to start with and be gone for several hours before they bayed it.  This ol gyp would be back in front of the Buggy in just a few minutes and we would catch 5 or 6 while chasing my dogs around.  Which dog was better??
He came up here and we put on some hogs just off of peanut field.  The dogs only trailed for @ 5 or 6 minutes and maybe 300 yards.  This same gyp was standing at my feet when my dogs came bayed with the hogs in the bed.  She took off to them but it was evident she would not have bayed them on her own??
I guess they need a dial right up under theri tail where you can adjust them to what you need at the time.

[cetchdawg]

Well said boarninja well said my friend

[BarrNinja]

"heat"

I sure like the way you put things!

You know, after reading through this thread and considering arguments on both sides, some may even conclude that, the more fertile the hunting grounds with high numbers of hogs, the more the cur dogs shine. The same for hounds when the country is big and the hogs are few and far between.  

Nah. More than likely the hound guys will be thinking of the super hounds that can do it all and cur dog guys will be doing the same is my guess. 

Anybody out there hunting a Dogo/Jack Russel cross? 

[heat]

I have a buddy with two 1/2 pit 1/2 airedale's.  They are only @ 7 months old but I can already tell they are gonns be fun while they last

[Wmwendler]

Heat.....First I'm gonna say I have enjoyed this post and the back and forth conversation.  I can definately aprreciate a good hound beacause when I was a kid dad had hounds and Curs.... Like I said before.  One in particular was a walker hound named Doc.  He was a reject coon dog that trashed on hogs.  So dad took him from the man and put him to work on hogs.  He was a GREAT hog dog and in the list for the best hog dogs I have hunted with over 18 years.  Ultimately his bottom was his demise in the days before tracking systems were common, he took a hog across the Brazos river and we never found him.  But the same can be said for many Cur dogs before tracking collar days.  BUT....he is the only hound on that list, the rest are all Cur dogs.  There are lots of Cur dogs that have bottom and many of them will stick with a hog longer than most people prefer.  Now as for me I don't think a dog can have too much bottom.  Bottom is very important to me.  I think this is something we can agree on.  I don't care if a dog stay on a hog all day and all night.  Infact I really hate for a hog to get away and want them to stay with any hog as long as it takes.  Now I know what you mean about 15 minute cur dogs because I have seen them and hunted with them.  However, I don't consider them good cur dogs and It is not the standard for cur dogs.  No for this part I am going to leave myself and my dogs out of this, because I know what I have and thats all that matters.  But there lots of Cur dogs out there that are long range, lots of hunt, and can easily take a track that is many-several hours old.  And lots of Cur dogs out there that will stay with hogs for hours and miles.  You don't have to beleive that but it is the truth.

Waylon

[heat]

WM- I agree with everything you say and have seen cur dogs that had great noses, plenty of bottom and could get it done....The only thing I disagree with is when you say there are "alots" of them.  There aren't alots of any kind of dogs that do that and even fewer curs.

[Wmwendler]

Well "a lot" is a general term and we will have to dissagree on that point because I am confident that I could make some phone calls If everyone whose dogs I know was available and willing to bring thier dogs I could have a 32 foot gooseneck load of dogs that fit that bill, put together before sun rise.

Waylon

[TieEmUpOrLeaveEm]

Wm I got the spot bring them curs lets see how good they are! Can you be here by sunday?

[LionandBoarHunter]

well just got in from a hunt im goin to get my popcorn ready after i get all the blood off my hands looks like is goin to get good agin!!!!! 

[HogzgoneWild]

YeeeeHaw....I'm so glad I'm neutral

[Circle C]

y'all keep it clean. Next person that wants to break out the meausing stick will be doing it on a different forum. This is a place for discussions, not pissing matches.

[coach]

YeeeeHaw....I'm so glad I'm neutral

Quit riding the fence jump in with both feet. LOL

[TieEmUpOrLeaveEm]

Oh its all clean fun... I just wont to see that 32ft trailer full of Great cur dogs Because i have only been around 4 in my life time that suited me
Thats all No harm    Ill hunt and style dogs, hell I got a weeiner dog that will run and bay the snot out of a Hog

[scdogman]

Hounds vs Curs
cold nose vs hot nose
Open vs Silent
Long range vs short
Handle vs No handle

Many think of hounds as open ,long range dogs with great nose with less handle than curs.

And see curs as silent, short range dogs with hot nose that handle like a dream.

The fact is you can get any combination of hounds or curs.  Because of the number of hounds, you can get all the variety you need.

Finding some type of curs might be a tad bit harder, BUT are there.

The best trailing dog IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  have ever seen was cur dog named """""""Tazz."   I have never seen a hound take a track he could not take. 
 
The above debate will never end.

Last thing, I don't believe you need great dogs to consistently catch hogs in all areas. 


Debate on.