New to hog dogs

[Meatdog]

Hello, my name is Patrick and I live in central Texas.  I'm 32 and married.  No kids but have 4 dogs, 2 labs and 2 English setters.  I train and sell hunting labs as a hobby but with all the hogs around me I'd like to get into hunting hogs with dogs.  I am buying a Lacy dog(1/16 pit) in about 6 weeks and I'm trying to learn as much as I can before I get dogs, gear, etc.  I will have a chance to hunt with a guy here locally but I wanted to do my research on hunting philosophies and training methods.

What tips would you give a guy starting out?
How many dogs would you recommend and what type of dog?  I know I want my own catch dog.
Any threads already devoted to this topic? Any websites you recommend?  I've searched but haven't really found anything concise or too helpful.

Thanks in advance
 

[Purebreedcolt]

You need about 50 dogs and all the most expensive equipment.  Lol just playing.  Sounds like you have the right start with your background with dogs but the real way to know what you like is to go with a couple different people with different types of dogs.  Don't jump in head over hills and go slow it will work out better and less frustration.  If all you have is pups to train you will be at wits ends sometimes lol.  Where you located you said central tx I hunt some around here.

[Jasonmac]

Welcome aboard if you have any question just ask there is some good info on these boards.

[Meatdog]

Thanks,  Pure I'm in Mills County, Goldthwaite to be exact  I am on pace to have 50 pups.  So would you suggest buying and older proven dog to start?

[SCHitemHard]

welcome welcome this is the place to be, nobody agrees around here

and if you wanna start off get a great dane and name him riddick nah im just jokin 

lacy dogs are good lines

[lazyM]

i started with a catahoula pup, i had a good buddy that ran dogs and went with him and i was hooked so i hunted my catahoula with some dogs that knew wat they were doing and he caught on so then after i had one dog that knew what he was there for i bought a catch dog and then eventually got some more strike dogs and im still going steddy lol welcome to the sport by the way!

[ETHHunters]

Some people may disagree but if I were you and could afford it I would buy an older dog that you can catch hogs behind. Its easier said done. Good dogs are hard to find and honest people even harder to find. You want to know kind of dog you want before you get any. I would take the advice hunt with as many people as you can and figure out which style you like and go from there. Good luck and welcome to the boards

[SCHitemHard]

best thing to do is find out where you wanna hunt, then find out how you want to hunt your dogs, example do you want long or short range dogs, do you want RCDs or strike or catch dogs, etc.

willin to help out just pm me

[Purebreedcolt]

Hey I'm not to far from you im in hico might make a run this weekend need to anyways got a couple landowners complaining if you might want to go.

[5150hogdogs]

best thing to do is find out where you wanna hunt, then find out how you want to hunt your dogs, example do you want long or short range dogs, do you want RCDs or strike or catch dogs, etc.

willin to help out just pm me

x2 all depends what you want but be sure if this any finished dog get a trail or hunt behind before you by being your new you can some times get burnt on dogs just remember this have fun with it and don't buy a dog that you haven't seen hunt in this game in the pen don't mean sqwat make sure the dog hunts get you a garmin and when you do trail it put the garmin on him they don't lie hope this helps a lil pm if need anything else  

[Miller Lite]

Go yellow an you can't go wrong

[captaincraig]

It honestly depends how you hunt. Do you want your dogs to hunt or if you're going night vision. Maybe you want catch and bays or run catches. You could go for a nice finished dog just so the pups have something to work with

[weller44]

Do you already have plenty of land to hunt? Are they small or big places? What are the neighbors like? Those are big questions on trying to pick the kind of dogs you want to hunt behind

[TimmsHogDogs]

Depends on what type of dog you like, I like plotts, lacys, black mouth currs and catahoulas, aslso like some walkers, if you want something silent your not gonna go for a hound unless you know its silent, if you are wanting something with alot of distance go for a hound, lacys and catahoulas are usually shorter range dogs, black mouth currs can be both and it depends on your preference for catch dogs as well, we have full blooded pitbulls, biggest babies in the world with my kids but hell on a hog. I do have a few running catch dogs, they were bred to be strike dogs but they will also catch everytime.

Gear wise you want a cut collar for every dog you hunt, cut vest for your catch dogs you may also want to get a bay vest for any of your dogs that are very gritty, you want a tracking system, Garmins are best but I own a tracker maxima and it works great. If you are gonna bring the hogs out alive you might want to invest in a polaris or a four wheeler and hog hobbles, a four wheel drive truck is nice as well but not needed. A dog box is nice to haul your dogs in but you can also put a lead on them and snap them to the side of your truck.

Warning about catch vests they do make it hard for the dog to swim so be careful and watch the dogs if you get close to water so they dont drown. DONT hunt in the heat of the day unless you have plenty of water to keep yourself and the dogs hydrated. I know some people in Fredricksburg that have dogs for sale his pups are a little pricy $400 each but they come with papers and they are hell on hogs or anything else you want to put them on. I used to live in Junction, Tx so I know about where you live. GOOD LUCK and GOOD HUNTING!

[Meatdog]

Great!  That's a lot to think about.  Thanks!  I have some guys here to hunt with and we have access to a lot of ranches.  I am going to jump in with them and see how it goes.  They hunt on horses with Lacy's so I will have to see if I can get in with some other guys that run other breeds.

Can anyone vouch for a reputable breeder or started/experienced dog listed in the classifieds?

Thanks again

[uglydog]

Before you buy, find out what stle you will be hunting so you pyrchase a dog that suits the way you will be hunting. There are 50 different way to nix and match styles and types, and you would be wise to hang out and hunt with several other hunters for awhile and get a feel from talking to many different folks, and not just getting stuck in arut of "one way " works, because it does not.
Good Luck

[Amokabs]

Hook up with someone and hunt and learn all you can. This board is about as good as it gets as far as hogdog info etc, you'll pick a ton of info up here. Good luck.