So uh. Whats the catch?

[BaronBoar]

Hi,
lets face it how long does a catch dog last now a days i mean there are people selling finished catch dogs and some of us like to raise our own but lets face it how long does a good dog of any variety last. lol pretty soon we are going to need a mechanical catch dog

[BarrNinja]

I am a little hesitant to be the 1st to post on this thread but here it goes.

Depends on the individual dog.
IMO, In general, I think catch dogs are living longer and dieing of old age more so now a days because of better bred dogs and the available armor thats out there for them now. There was no such thing as a cut vest 20 years ago and I didnt know anyone actually breeding dogs for the sol purpose of catching hogs with them.
People are actually breeding catch dogs more instead of just finding a bulldog and seeing if it will catch. The dogs that seem to be lasting are the dogs bred for it!

 I have had a bad run with catch dogs the last few years but it wasnt because a hog had killed them.
Health is something that really needs to be considered when buying any grown dog. Beware of heart worms.

[dabutcher]

I can think of 1 off the top of my head that passed away of old age that had seen I don't know how many hundreds of hogs.....ask Uglydog about him, I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you about THE dog.  I think a lot of it has to do with the care that dog is given.  If you don't worm em and give em heart medicine that's gonna take years off their life already. then the protection used for the dog, and then the dog's abilities is gonna effect it's life span as well.

[M Bennet]

iv got 3 cd . 1 blue 9 yr old and 2 - 5 yr old wen they die ill let  u no. i hunt alot  they get used every wkend

[T-Bob Parker]

Same song, second verse. I don't own her, but my hunting buddy has a highly skilled pit who has been catching hogs for at least four years that I know of and knock on wood, she's in pristine condition

[ChaseG]

Third verse 
I got a bulldog that ain't far from five. He's had some cuts along the way but none to bad.
And my buddie I hunt with has a lil female pit that's 7 or 8 and she's been catchin since she young and she's still goin strong.

[dub]

I do not know what you are talking about. I have not seen a single dog get killed by a hog. Maybe you want your dogs hurt. But not only do I pay lots of money for my catch dogs they are also my children's pets. If they got a serious injury it would be devastating to my family. I worry more about a person shooting my dogs or getting hit by cars. How many people post about going hunting and all the dogs did not get a scratch? It is just like the news and people only talk about the bad stuff happening to their dogs. My dogs have been stuck and were bleeding from branches but not pigs. I look at the vests and collars as insurance. Do you plan on crashing your car? I bet you have insurance, wear a seat belt and even have an airbag. Why do you even drive on the road? Do you think dogs should be allowed in automobiles? They do not have seat belts or airbags for dogs. I love my dogs and I plan on them dieing of old age with my family around them.

[BIG BEN]

 They dont last long with the group I hunt with. I think this type of post has been up before and started alot of arguements and Drama.

[BaronBoar]

dub what the hell does this have to do with anything lol

[T-Bob Parker]

Well,  I think what's getting some of us going is that we all know hogs are dangerous and working them with dogs is risky, but I speak for my self when I say that I've noticed most of your posts have something to do with dogs getting cut or killed.

We know what we do is. Dangerous, we also know that this forum is public and for the same reason we don't take pics of injured dogs, most folks don't feel like swapping dog cut stories on the web like a couple teenage boys in the bathroom with a ruler.

[uglydog]

Captain Morgan lived to 11 yrs
Lucy Lou almost 8 years
Cotton 5 years and still going strong
Smooch 4 years and many more to go
I can keep naming dogs, but the top two dogs were long lived dogs, that caught many, many bad hogs solo, This is asport where stuff can happen, and it does, but educationg yourself to prepare and take care of your dogs is the first step to put the odds in your favor, thats No garuntee but it will help.

[kaycee]

I have several dogs that are in the double figures of old age.  All of them have spent their life doing the various jobs they were bred to do, they have all been hurt at some point and time in their life.  They now life a nice comfy life and will continue to do so until the pass on to the big hunting land in the sky.  Nobody wants their dogs to get hurt but LIFE happens.  Everyday you wake up there is chance something could happen.  One of the worst cuts I have seen hog hunting actually happened on a barb wire fence...go figure....  We don't go on about our dogs getting hurt because its part of life, if it wasn't there wouldn't be near as many vets, but truth be told ignorance and vehicles cause a whole lot more injury to dogs than hogs.  Just like accidents cause more injuries to people..  Why do people want to know about dogs getting hurt when they could care less about the stupid ways people get hurt?  Bet nobody would be interested to know that I dropped a wooden doghouse on my foot a few yrs back and broke bones in 8 places, other than to say that was tough luck....

[dub]

dub what the hell does this have to do with anything lol

Exactly! You don't know. My dogs are not dieing, getting cut to pieces, or anything else. It seems you are in some strange world full of danger and death. So I wouldn't expect you to understand. I have been charged by boars but amazingly I am still alive! I even survived without Kevlar. But you have no idea What I'm talking about. lol

[BaronBoar]

I think some of you are getting the wrong message here, dub please put the statement where i said that your dogs are gonna die and getting shredded to pieces. Just wanted to know how long cd are lasting now a days, god i aint sharing stories on how this one go filleted or this one got cut here or there. And dub you aint the only one to get charged by a boar, heck ive been maimed a boar but i aint gonna put that up.

[cantexduck]

Pissing match.   .  It happens. Lost a few 2 years ago. I think a lot is human error. Dub, I can respect your view on dogs but I think you might be setting yourself up for something bad. Do you hunt with any regularity? 

[dub]

Just so it is known I did not post any of my views. My views and opinions are withheld. I have seen lots of things but do not post them online for the world to read. I have seen lots of people's hunting styles. Some I liked and some I did not. But I hold my opinions private out of respect for my fellow hunters. I do not want anybody telling me how to run my dogs so I do not tell anybody else what to do. I believe in live and let live. Some people seem bent on tearing others down and making them look bad. I do not ask anybody to air their dirty laundry and keep mine private too. I have reached a conclusion on my opinion and I am not making it public. I am sure most that read this will have no idea what I am talking about. Those that do know what I am talking about already know before reading this.

[BaronBoar]

I have no idea what going on here at this point , boarninjas answer was good. but hey i think its nice to say "ya see this dog here, 8 year old 1 cut on him" it takes pride. my catch dog is 2 old i got a fine vest on him and you know what i just wanted to know how other people are fairing with their own dogs. I mean heck i know its dnagerous at 10 i saw a bulldog run into a group of hogs and never come out (in one pieace) i know what can happen was just curios to see how the rest of the forum fairs against the tusk and luck

[Bryant]

I think a lot is human error.

Ditto.  I don't know anyone who hunts regularly, and has been hunting for any amount of time who hasn't lost dogs.  Not a part of the sport I enjoy, but it happens.  A good many people during their years of driving have also gotten into an automobile wreck...doesn't stop us from driving.  Heck, I've lost five (good ones) curs in the past two years and not a one was even directly related to a hog injury.  Go figure...

Dub, I can respect your view on dogs but I think you might be setting yourself up for something bad. Do you hunt with any regularity? 

Dub...you do what you want, but if your choosing to double the working dogs as children's pets I'd start thinking of some good excuses right now for the first time one doesn't come home.  Not if, but when.

Having said that, my main catch dog is over six years old, and I'm his fourth owner.  Between Krystal, Mr. Mason, Tim Nichol and myself owning him, the number of catch dogs alive who have caught as many or more hogs than Zeus would probably be very few.  Not being reckless as an owner, and a dog that catches correctly are key. 

I haven't been hunting with catchdogs but about five or so years, but it's been my observation that finding a good line that suits me has been difficult to say the least.  Contrary to popular belief (perhaps standards are low??) good catchdogs AREN'T a dime a dozen...

[mex]

Hey Dub I wish I could be in your hunting world.Dogs get hurt bottom line.This is a public forum but we still have to stand up and talk about what we do.

[tnhillbilly]