catchdogs

[Scott]

I saw some responses in the dog trade section to TT looking for a pit pup. My question is, why do some people put so much thought into purchase of curs or hounds, but so little into the catchdog?

To me it's just as important to know the breeding of a catch pup/dog and the work ethic of the sire and dam as it is for the curs/hounds.

[elliscountyhog]

A lot of times the catch dog is overlooked however it is not AS hard to find or train or figure out if one will work. Most all my catch dogs, incluiing the current ones i have are all from the pound. However i dont just get a grown dog and expect it to work, i have things i look for in a pit.. Example, i dont want one of them wide chested show dogs for a catch dog, i look for a deep chest, longer legs. Everyone i have got will catch a hog, the problems i run into is whooping them off other dogs(which usually dont take but a time or two) and after one or two trips to the woods they know what a bay is.. Now there are other factors that make a Great catchdog from a Good catchdog, but for the most part them pits are natural

[Bryant]

I've thought about that a lot also, Scott.  Simply put, because I think a lot of people don't know the difference between a true catch dog, and just a dog that will catch.

Find people who have a catchdog that has been catching for more than a couple of years, who has caught hundreds upon hundreds of hogs, and through all that seldom gets hurt and you will find those that truly understand and appreciate what a good one brings to the hunt.

[elliscountyhog]

Agreed with bryant but i dont think it takes as much bloodline and breeding to find one as it does the cur dogs. The ones we have now have never been cut down for more than small cut and pokes, and most of the time wee run without a vest.. That is part of knowing what to look for, ours will catch on the ear and pull tight to under the hog that is a great. They do not bark and scream on the box. They are relaxed until the clip is undone, walk a lead without pulling, will not look at a cow. Now the ones that dont do that will catch a hog but has one or more of those flaws, and i dont think breeding has anything to do with that it is all bout training with them. JMO!!! and my experience.

[Black Gold]

I guess it's what you put your stock and pride in....that mixed with your hunting style. 

[muleman]

I think really good catch dogs are every bit as rare as really good strike dogs, bay dogs or any other dog with a job. Most bulldogs will catch on a hog but actually catching with the purpose of controlling the hog is a rare quality. I have had the fortune of owning dogs that did it right and the misfortune of having dogs that didnt. Most bulldogs do a lot of shaking. that results in a lot of damage. i like a dog to catch, on the ear, and put their body against the hog. I cant stand a dog to catch facing the hog and stay there and just take an aswhipping. I had a small rednose dog once that always caught on the elbow of the front leg. she never got cut up. the problem was that her bite was so hard that she often left a hog crippled.

I think breeding plays a huge part in the finished product. IF you are striving for the best. Just as in anything else, you cant breed two turds and get a diamond.

[longshot]

Bulldogs are a dime a dozen, a good CATCHDOG is pricless!
Longshot

[Eric]

Not sure the persons reason in the post but I also do not pay alot for dogs, especially catch dogs. Although I agree a good catch dog priceless. These are just my personal thoughts... my situation... my opinion...

-I only have X-amount of dollars to spend for entertainment in my budget. So if I have to have a lesser caliber of dog to stay in that budget so be it.

-Strike dogs typically have a sense about them. They don't typically drown holding onto a hog, they don't usually over heat themselves, and all the other knuckle headed things bulldogs do.

-I make mistakes and turn catch dogs out when I shouldn't... it happens... some times it is a very costly mistake. Until I become the perfect hunter  I better stick with what I can afford to lose.

[jhy]

I would sell both of my best strike dogs before I would sell my MAIN Catchdog!  I have been around bulldogs all my life and didnt start catching with them until a decade or so ago.  I hear folks say how there catchdogs hit hogs like a FRIEGHT TRAIN and how hard they are to break off, etc., etc.  I have seen many hogs missed by dogs like that.  Chances are the dog will just bounce off and the hog will break and run.

My Catchdog runs hard to the bay, but when he gets close he slows too a trot gets right up there with the baydogs, picks his target, and then explodes on to the hogs usually swallowing an ear or grabbing the jaw.  If the hog is trying to fight him he will just lay into the hog, but if the hog is trying to pull away he will anchor and pull back.  I dont know how many he has caught for sure but it is well over 300+.  He is obedient and follows right behind me until I send him. No lead necessary unless I am trying to ease closer to the bay.  I will follow that dog into any thicket without a second thought and he has saved my butt on more than one occasion.  He also just locks down, none of that shaking and jerking, which not only messes the hog up more, but makes it more likely that the hog will get loose.

I really have to depend on good catchdogs, because I only run 2 curs, that dont really catch and one or two bulldogs.  Folks who run a bunch of curs, especially rough ones dont know if there bulldog is a great one or not.

This boar was 250+, caught in July a few years back with him and jagd terrier.   I had gotten my fourwheeler stuck and was walking back to the camp when my jagd bayed this hog.  I saw nothing but small tracks in the road so I turned him loose into the thicket.  He and I fought this thing forever and finally I got one back leg tied to a tree and had to run about a mile back to the camp to get a gun.  The whole deal lasted about 50 min or so and he held that hog until I shot him dead.  Then Catch turned loose and walked over to me and collapsed.  I put him on pedialite and an IV and he has been my #1 ever since!
Joey

[TT]

i want everthy thing i got pretty if i got to go though a few i will but they gotta look good doing it (my vest and cut colars all match leads everything), also i wanna know there parents wat they did the bloodline i want my catch dogs like a lap dog at home and hell on wheels in the woods

[WestTexasCurs]

LOL