German Shepherd or Belgian Malinois

[mod93dirt]

Let me start this post by saying I am new to the world of hog hunting with dogs, and this is one of the few forums I have come across. I have been hunting a few times with some friends who use BMCs, cats, and american bulldogs. My background with dogs is with schutzhund or protection trained dogs. My personal german shepherd is a SCH2 dog.  For those not familiar with Schutzhund, go to youtube and search it.  In a really raw version, it is a dog tracking a human, baying it, then attacking when need be. After going hog hunting a few times,  I thought to myself a german shepherd or malinois (malinois especially)would be perfect for hog hunting. But yet I see no one using any kinds of these dogs. With their incredible noses, and incredible bites, to me, it seems like these breeds would make awesome hunting dogs. I have seen these dogs drag 200lb men in bite suits around like its nothing, so my thinking is surely they could be trained to do the same thing on hogs. Basically what I am asking is has anyone heard of people using these breeds. Has it worked for them? If not, then why so. Like I said, I am greener than goose s**t when it comes to hog dogs. But from my schutzhund background, I think those breeds could work. I am just looking for anyones else opinions on the matter. Thanks.

Brandon

[TinyTexasCowgirl]

Brandon, I am familer with the GSDs, and while I have never seen one hunt, I have to wonder if it is because they have so much hair, that in the brush it would get incredibly nasty, as well as HOT. I also know that while to a degree GSDs are independent, they also very much love their humans, and want to be with them, where as most curs that I have ever been around couldn't really care less if you are there.

I know nothing and the malinois, but I've been told they are not much different than the GSDs.

All of this is just my opinion though.

[geronimo]

talk to noah on here. you can see from his old post he had a gs cross that produced tons of hogs. not sure why he never tried another one but im sure he could tell you more.

[Noah]

I had one and I believe NThoghunter has a dog named Luke that's got strong shepherd characteristics and both were/are hog producing machines... Wish I could find another one..

I like the Mals, but for $1000+ for a decent pup(not to mention how naturally catchy I hear they are)... risky investment.... that's IF you can talk a breeder into letting you have one for hog hunting...

Most GS don't have the hips to hunt hard...

[Reuben]

I knew of a good 1/2 collie 1/2 german shepard that was a winding and hunting hog dog. I have seen some natural hog dogs that were rotwieler and also heard of a doberman that led a pack around.

I think a smaller working type GSD could work.

[mod93dirt]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Like I said I am new to the hog dogging world, and this was just a curiousity question. I'd love to put my shep in a pen with a hog just to see what he would do, but I am pretty sure my wife would divorce me if "her" dog got hurt. Since my dog got hurt his leg and can no longer compete in the schutzhund trials, I am looking for another dog sport and think that I have found the answer. I will be getting my first "hog dog"  as soon as they are weaned from a friend that is 1/4 shepherd, 1/4 airedale, and 1/2 BMC. His shepherd/airedale cross is a hog hunting machine which is another thing that got me thinking along these lines. I really think that the mals would be better suited for this, but like Noah said they are extremely pricey. But with that said, I love mals. They are like shepherds on crack multiplied by 1000, truly awesome dogs to watch work. If I get wrapped up enough in having hog dogs, I know enough people that I think I could get some Malinois semen straws to try and do some cross breeding. Ahhh..the adventure begins. Thanks again everyone.

[Draggin Weight]

if you do that cross let me know. i would love 2 get my hands on some of those straws i have a cat and a bmc that would b great 4 that cross

[chainrated]

Got a buddy that's a K-9 officer and trainer that just got into hog hunting about 3 years ago. He had a retired malinois that was the most bite crazy dog I've ever seen, he hated everybody and everything and I think just life in general.. I told him I thought the dog would quit if he got cut and he disagreed completely with me. We had about a 200 lb boar hog in our 20 acre pen that had about 2 inch teeth. The dog went crazy when he saw the hog and hit him like a freight train but the hog sunk a tooth in his chest and the dog screamed and took off running back to the truck. You couldn't melt and pour that dog on a hog after that.. There is a big difference in a dog biting a man that's probably not gonna do much more than holler and a dog biting a hog that's gonna put some teeth in him...
We also tried another high dollar malinois from germany and he would bay but wouldn't run but about 5 minutes..
That's just my experience with them though. I'm sure some of them would make good dogs especially if they were crossed with the right cur dogs. They have a lot of drive...

[BOBDOG]

If you were dead set on a herder, I would look into a line of Dutch Shepherds called the Arco line. Logan Haus kennels. The hardest, most pain tolerant herders I have ever seen. You can google his kennel. Better get your head right though. They an't on "Country Club shutzhund" dogs. lol

[Bino9905]

This one seems like a well built prospect

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/17949846

[mod93dirt]

Thanks again for the opinions everyone. Like I said, I was just thinking out loud with a lot of this. I am going to run a few tried and true breeds first, as I am new to this. But later on down the road I think there could be some great cross breeding potential. Give me the drive, nose, and bite of a malinois or gsd, along with the hunting instinct of a good cur dog and I think I could get some awesome dogs.

[Noah]

Sorry to bring this old post back up... but if any of yall ever come across any Malinois breeders in your travels that are sympathetic to our cause....

well, I'd be interested...  lot of intelligence/drive to be gained in that cross...

[uglydog]

Herding dog instincts they nip and tear to drive and make run so they can pursue again they dont like to " bay" .  They like to bite then they dont catch like  catch dog they thrash and tear to bring "down" the prey like a wolf that was trying to kill to eat and bring something to the ground.

Think about it. hogs dont work/act like sheep. Thats why so many different breeds were developed.

I bet if you get a hog that wanted  to stand still and bay the dog would coherse it into running and one that want to run grabbed and and then get the ears and extremeties ripped off, just thinking outloud. How do they work sheep?  as they are not even known for working cattle much at all that I know of.

Herding are "HEELERS" Stock dogs are Head dogs, or lead dogs.

why arent catahoulas and BMC used on sheep? because they are crazy enough to chase them around

[TColt]

My girlfriends aunt trains ring sport and number 2hund or however you spell it. They used to make a living at it but now it's just a hobby. But they have some along with some gs. All their dogs are imports and really nice. They are really interested in hog doggin and my dogs. I take my Dogo pup out for training on their club days sometimes. Just to get him around different dogs and people and to work on his handle. I'm sure they would be down for something. I have talked to them about a mal Dogo cross before.

The mals drive is incredibly high and they are very smart dogs and unbelievable athletes. The thing is, in most of those disciplines, like ring sport, the helpers (guys in bite suits) are not actually allowed to hit the dog or hurt the dog in any way. So there isn't really any way to truly test them unless they get on to something or someone who really doesn't want to be caught. My personal opinion, when these dogs get busted up, they will probably quit, that's the only reason I haven't really
Pursued anything real hard on breeding something like this. Might not be a bad mix with a cur dog though.

[SCHitemHard]

i had a buddy who ran from a k9 that was a mal and he was real tore up, he was hittin the dog with a pipe and it still wouldnt let go

i think a cross would work better, i did a dog class where they tested different drives and down bites on a meter and the mal did real well but the gs had a higher drive and better bite

[TColt]

Schutzhundis what I was trying to say where it edited to " number 2 hund... I just didn't know how to spell it haha.

[TColt]

Schutzhund*

I'm not mentally handicap I swear... Dang phone.

[TColt]

That's crazy, i would have never guessed that. all the mals I been around seem to have a much higher drive than the gs, it's like someone gave them some meth lol. I have taken bites from both and the gs bit harder for sure. Good gs imported cost a lot compared to the mals, and most, not all, the US gs seem to be bred pretty poor and have a lot of health problems, especially hips.

[SCHitemHard]

well if you think physics the GS head is bigger than the mals so bite force is of course gonna be higher

and like alot of US bred dogs the GS was bred to loose the drive and get the want to lay on the couch 

[charles]

I had a soldier who used his gs for hogs, but he didnt use to hunt them, just keep them run off his property. He said the gs would latch hold n tear the hog up n kill it, it wouldnt sit back n bay. The dog was his k9 when he was a cop n both the dog n him were shot n he got to keep him instead of them puttn the dog to sleep. Like said before, them dogs are herdin dogs, not stock dogs n then trained to attack on top of that wouldnt make for a bay dog, just a catch dog at most.