how you cull

[Mike]

I posted a thread so that this one would not get sidetracked.  

For the record, you are a moderator on here.  That is great.  There are a lot of us on here that are sarcastic.  Believe it or not, I am one of them.  
However, there seems to be an issue with certain moderators liking to belittle or test certain individuals, yet don't like to be brought front and center for it.  Strange.  

Cutter, if you have a problem with any of my moderators or how this forum is ran, I can solve that problem for you.

[chainrated]

Reuben however you want to pick out pups is fine with me, everyone does it a little different and if it works go for it.
But I just don't think using food to teach a 12 week old puppy basic commands like load up or kennel up has anything to do with what kind of hogdog it will make. Any animal that gets hungry will look for food.
And as far as thinking outside the box, I really don't think it's a big time secret or takes much thinking outside the box to teach a dog basic commands that are taught in every dog training book you will ever see and is pretty much common knowledge.
I agree with your grandfather , you need to be smarter than the dog and I'm sure you're smarter than any 12 week old pup..  
But now I've seen some pretty smart dogs..

[Reuben]

Reuben however you want to pick out pups is fine with me, everyone does it a little different and if it works go for it.
But I just don't think using food to teach a 12 week old puppy basic commands like load up or kennel up has anything to do with what kind of hogdog it will make. Any animal that gets hungry will look for food.
And as far as thinking outside the box, I really don't think it's a big time secret or takes much thinking outside the box to teach a dog basic commands that are taught in every dog training book you will ever see and is pretty much common knowledge.
I agree with your grandfather , you need to be smarter than the dog and I'm sure you're smarter than any 12 week old pup..  
But now I've seen some pretty smart dogs..

you are right...I was just sharing how I did it and hopefully will get to do it again.

[ETHHunters]

Personally I feel the only reason to cull a puppy before it has the chance to prove itself as a hog dog would be a physical condition that would keep it from performing at 100%. I also feel that if you cull before every pup in your litter has had the chance to prove themselves as a hog dog your line will never be as good as it could be. Bottom line to me besides being physically unable to perform they should only be culled after they have been giving the chance at being a hogdog.

[Outback Catahoulas Austra]

I believe we as the people and/or breeders who put these pups on the ground are obliged to get them every opportunity we can to make the grade.... We all have different expectations from a dog so opinions & cull suitability will vary...
I personally do it a few different ways....

I only breed for myself if I am trying to improve or add/remove a trait (good or bad) from one of my lines.
If i'm using dogs that have matured & I know them like the back of my hand, I will wait until I have 4 or 5 suitable customers on my waiting/pick list with deposits down. I will then breed and let the gyp raise the pups unaccompanied by me (except the usual wormings, weight checks & microchipping) until 7 weeks. I will obviously observe (at every opportunity) the gyp & pups interacting, teaching & learning & trying to pick the pups that are close to the parents traits with the added or removed trait that i desire (if possible at that age), then spend a few days with some basic obedience which is only the "here" command. I then make my decision on 4 or 5 pups. The others are moved on to customers.....The remainding 4 or 5 are kept until 12 weeks, decide on 2 & give the other few to hunting buddies ( i still own the dogs).
The ones my mates get are there for my kennels use if I require. This way I actually have access to 20-30 dogs (3 or 4 different lines) but only have 12 in my yard.  

ALL pups that are sold to customers have an "18mth Hunting/Working" Guarantee!
This allows a risk free investment to customer & assures me, I will ALWAYS here of any faults that my lines are producing..    

If I'm breeding an unknown or new line I will keep ALL pups on hand and/or give a few to some close trusted friends that HUNT on a regular basis & are  competent dog people.. This is what will happen with my new import TX Mason's Hope's first litter....

I rarely cull prior to 12 mths. But I believe there are a few traits that must show up before then....ie - natural drive. Overly timid dogs will go before then!

Good thread

[Noah]

Excellent post Outback... can't believe it, but that post drew me back into this thing... 

It has been my experience thus far... you can't tell jack from what a dog is gonna do till it is dead...  some turn on early, some turn on late... pick the ones you like for whatever reason and FEED THEM HOGS.

I am at a point in my life, I do not wish to give a bunch of people the genetics that I am working with... here in Florida, especially where I live, available land is at a premium... competition is fierce accordingly...  a man's dogs get him invited back, plain and simple.  Land owners like to catch hogs... It has certainly influenced how I pick the dogs I keep, I can guarantee you... and when I DO give a dog away, it is to someone that I KNOW RESPECTS ME.... and will always do what they can to help me if I ever need it, as would I for them.

Maybe when I can no longer hunt, I will start to let dogs go out so other people can enjoy what I do now... but not yet anyways... I'm still fightin' for places to hunt as we speak 

[make-em-squeel]

Some of y'all cull waaay too early!

Unless there's a physical or mental issue, there's no way of judging how a pup under a year old will turn out. Those six month old firecrackers are usually disappointments by the time they're two or three years old.

I judge pups between age one and two... usually don't start them in the woods until a year old. Sometimes earlier depending on their maturity levels. They should steadily progress from there and get better with age.

I have to defiantly agree with you on this, no way to tell earlier than 2 unless its one extreme or the other. I do like to see positive sighns/hunts before then though, just not everytime etc

As far as picking a pup out if I cant raise the litter I just see wich ones follows a pig ear scent more frequently than the others.(bunch them up drag it and see which ones head ot) I also hide their food and see which ones find it faster using there nose, seems to work sometimes.

[Reuben]

just remember that when keeping a pup until 2 years of age before it hunts then you will eventually wind up breeding a higher percentage of these type of pups.

If you breed early starting dogs that can start a track and put a hog at the other end of a track then eventually you will get a higher percentage of early starting dogs or dogs that start in a reasonable time frame.

An early starting pup varies in age as to what it does...It usually can do things that are above average and is always ahead of its siblings and at 10 months to 1 year old or a little older it is finding hogs and can stay with a hog with very little help. Usually when these pups are ahead of their siblings it stays that way.