If you Had to Start Over

[hogdoggerdude14]

Y'all have. Some weird replyes

[rdjustham]

Starting over sucks....Im doin it now.  All i had was a finished (the kind thats not for sale) dog and a pup till the neighbors poisoned the finishsed dog.  So now i have two pups and no pup trainer.  Starting over SUCKS.... :'(...

[Cull Buck]

if I had to start over, I would hunt behind as many dogs as I could, and when I found the ones I liked, I would spend the money that it takes to own them.  Going through a bunch of junk hoping to find a good dog for cheap, will cost more than the "right" expensive dog in the long run.

This is w/o a doubt my answer too but I would do this for one dog.  The rest of the pack would be built around this dog.  It would be easier to buy several ready to go dogs but I enjoy working with young dogs.

[Caughtandhobbled]

Well, here we go again.... I would get dogs that I knew were hog dogs with lots of drive, I would pick my friends packs apart. Most every dog is for sale, several people have stated paying for a very good dog is cheaper in the long run.

I am partial to cur type dogs (WHO CARES WHAT I LIKE). We all think that we have the best pack and it never happens over nite. When a seller has produced the same line for many years, it is not an accident.

The one thing that I will suggest, get a tracking system and run a good fitting bay vest and cut collar. No matter what breed or style that you may end up with, they will not catch many hogs if they are lost or hurt.

[Tusk Hog]

  Don't know if I would change a thing I've had a BLAST getting to where I'm at. Not to mention how much I've learned from watching and listening.

[trey brown]

i would add the money up that i spent on raising dogs and just go buy 2 finished dogs and go from there.

[Txhoghunter]

I would try to find a line of dogs that not only hunt well, but are proven producers, and start there.

[3-Bdogs]

this is all real good advice no doubt really like the bikini one prob drop the fishing though cost to much lol... but my opinion on the subject is no matter how you start or how much money you spend in the back of your head your goin to think you should of done that or this no one gets it right the first several thousand times lol if they do they sold their soul you get out what you put in thats all i can say if i had to do it over agin though and remember my mistakes oh lord id save alot of cash nothing is cheap anymore even culls are high

[txmaverick]

Having started over 2 times both were years ago, luckly one of my blood lines was old enough and started well enough at that time that there were some dogs out there for me to go back and breed back to and had friends to run with to get dogs started made it much easier.

I guess to answer your question, it sounds like you are asking would I change breed if I/we started over? No, I didnt change breed. Over the years I have added a cross to my pack, not because I started over but or I felt it was needed because something  was lacking but because I felt it added its on hunting style.

I like unglydog have found planing your breeding program so that you have all ages of dogs on the ground is important, I have dogs that range from 6 mths old to 9 yrs old right now with 1.5 yrs gap between these dogs. So at pres I have 6 mth old, 2 yr, 3.5 yr, 5 yr, 6.5 yr, and coming 9yr old dogs right now this had made for what seems like the perfect age range (at least for me).

[BULLMASTER]

I have started over and have been trying to find exactly what I want but have yet to come across it yet.I would also add to be very careful of what other dogs you run your dogs with,thats what ruined me was that an idiots attack/catch dogs mauled the best dog I have ever owned and he quit hunting.My patience is wearing thin with dog jockeys.

[tmfc723]

Well if i had to start over .... i'd do it all again i love it an wouldn't change  anything for the world i may have not have had the best dogs but im young an they put some meat on the table an i can't hate them muts for that lol

[BarrNinja]

if I had to start over, I would hunt behind as many dogs as I could, and when I found the ones I liked, I would spend the money that it takes to own them.  Going through a bunch of junk hoping to find a good dog for cheap, will cost more than the "right" expensive dog in the long run.

Me too!!!!

Boy did I ever go through the junk when I was young!!!

Great advice!
The only problem with it is the guys I know that breed the caliber of dogs I am after do not usually sell dogs. They breed these dogs for their purpose and use only. It can be hard as heck to get a dog from them for many reasons that I wont get in to.
Buying one of these caliber dogs can coast $2- $3000 bucks (if not more). They are worth it in my opinion.

If I had to start over and didnt have this kind of money then I would simply have to do exactly what I have done in the past with these breeders.

Beg for pups!  

[djhogdogger]

I see lots of interesting answers, especially Cwards. LOL  If I had to start all over I would do it all the same. All of our best dogs were free. Now I won't buy a dog. As far as cd's are concerned, pits are a dime a dozen. When you use free dogs, you sure won't think twice about culling it because you don't have a lot invested. Maybe we've just been lucky. Our top 4 dogs that I refer to as the "A Team" were all free. They certainly aren't the best, and they are definately not the worst. We are consistantly catching hogs and having a blast. If a big bad hog wipes us out one day, it might hurt my heart but not my pocket book.