Why We Stay In The Game

[SCHitemHard]

well seein right now that im out of the sport i can finally see why i did what i did, why i got up at 4 am when i had trouble gettin up at 7 for school, or when i hated workin on a car but loved to stitch up a dog in a heartbeat, come home covered in blood, muddy, soaked to the bone or just plum tired only to get up and do it again the next day.

i see it as my heritage almost, i was born with a gun in my hand, seriously.... it was a family outtin we would do for 4th of july and thanksgiving, its my addiction but it keeps my sanity, its like that hot donut you just saw being made and knowin that "thats my donut", and that first bite into it would be the best

[Noah]

its like that hot donut you just saw being made and knowin that "thats my donut", and that first bite into it would be the best

You're 5.0  .... ain't you.... 

[SCHitemHard]

no sir i just like donuts 

[Noah]

HAHA!  That's funny right there 

[Heaven Sent Kennel]

I've always loved dogs. When I started gettin' in a lil trouble I had to find something to occupy my mind and along came hog doggin'. I enjoy raisin' pups and seein' how they progress and just all the things I've learned in the 2 yrs of doggin' I have. Most of it coming from this site. Wether it's a problem with a pup or why you couldn't get a boar shut down to just Life in general this site has been shared by a wide variety of different personalities and backgrounds but all come here for the common good of helping others. This is what I have seen in this site. I've can't say that I've ever owned a salty hit the ground runnin, huntin', hoggin' machine. But life will give ya lemons and you just gotta make some lemonade. I don't have the best land to hunt, Have invested more time and money then I ever thought I would on dogs. People think I'm plumb nuts BUT I'm enjoying every moment good and bad. Quite a few of my life lessons have been learned from watching dogs mature and grow that you have put the time and effort into. Not just hand over some money and go catch pigs but when I do catch a good hog it's super rewarding.

Sure it's not all fine and dandy but if it wasn't doggin' I know where my money would be goin' and thinking about that just drives me harder to just keep doin' what I'm doing and improve and live life to the fullest.

Hope thangs get better for ya bryant. Don't make it a have to let it be a want to feeling and enjoy the good times and learn from the bad times.

[ole shep]

Bryant, satisfaction is greatest from accomplishing difficult deeds. Not the easy ones. Nobody likes loosing good dogs but it is part of what we do. And you know that.

[DangerZone]

BeCause the Voices in mY heAd wOn't let me STOP!!

[Reuben]

BeCause the Voices in mY heAd wOn't let me STOP!!

[tmatt]

 Bryant, I'm not sure why anyone would stay in this game or any other game like this for that matter. All I know is that we do. I have been around this game for a long time but in the last few years decided to get into it and leave the other game I was into behind. That was probably one of the best decisions I have made, not only for me but also my family. I understand losing those really good dogs, and I also know it don't get any easier with time. Each time you lose one like that you start to question yourself and your decision to hunt that dog, and whether or not you could have changed the outcome if you had done something different. I have learned to enjoy the time we have them and realize that it could be our last hunt together anytime I take the dog out. I try not to think about the investment I have in everything, I really don't want to put a number to it. I can only imagine what the numbers would be. But like alot of other people have said, if it wasn't this it would be something else and quite possibly something that cost more than this one.

[uglydog]

I've seen lots of people come and go over the years.  If some of you don't understand what I'm talking about...stay in the sport long enough, raise your own dogs and someday trust me you will.  There's no greater satisfaction than going to the woods and catching hogs with dogs you've raised, but there's no greater disappointment than loosing those you've put so much time into.

Ahh...those things that make the mind ponder.

Bryant, I feel your Frustration, I am kinda leaning on that point. I have been keeping 30 dogs for the past 10 years. When places to hunt are hard to find, the feed is expensive, the flea control is ridiculous, the FRICKEN laws about housing, caring and breeding our dogs are against us, when you got to wake up and realize is todays  struggle, and is the enjoyment out weight the Grief? I know the heat wave,  plays a role in this too.

asking Will we have to hire a lawyer this coming year because I want to breed two litters this  next year? will I have a place to hunt them after raises them for a year and all that?

Several of the dogs are old, a couple can't even hunt, got a few pups coming up, but Its just hard to think about the future of the hunting with the dogs in general and where its gong.


 

[Reuben]

I've seen lots of people come and go over the years.  If some of you don't understand what I'm talking about...stay in the sport long enough, raise your own dogs and someday trust me you will.  There's no greater satisfaction than going to the woods and catching hogs with dogs you've raised, but there's no greater disappointment than loosing those you've put so much time into.

Ahh...those things that make the mind ponder.

Bryant, I feel your Frustration, I am kinda leaning on that point. I have been keeping 30 dogs for the past 10 years. When places to hunt are hard to find, the feed is expensive, the flea control is ridiculous, the FRICKEN laws about housing, caring and breeding our dogs are against us, when you got to awake up and realize is todays  struggle and is the enjoyment out weight the Grief? I know the heat,  plays a role in this too. Will we have to hire a lawyer this because I want to breed two litters this year? will I have a place to hunt them after raises them for a year and all that?

Several of the dogs are old, a couple can't even hunt, got a few pups coming up, but Its just hard to think about the future of the hunting with the dogs in general and where its gong.


 

x2...we are losing ground every year in more ways than one...

[coach]

Bryant,
I agree with everything you just said.  I too have lost some good ones before they needed to go; for reasons from other than a hog.

10years ago I only hunted for the thrill of the kill.  That thrill is over and I am no longer blood thirsty.  I love to eat fresh meat but it would be cheaper to buy it from the market.

I find myself also searching for "why I do it"

the only thing I have is the magical moment when the relationship of man and dog come together to produce a hog in a bush that once seemed empty to human eyes and now is alive with our prey.   THE STRIKE!  Unfortunatly that too has lost it's luster after a few thousand times.

If anyone has any good words of wisdom, I AM ALL EARS
Longshot

It's amazing how many times this has ever crossed our minds. My brother stopped hunting over7 yrs ago but when he and I get together to  hunt I see the light in his eyes. It's a game. We love the game and always will, we lose sight and fall astray at times but that  feeling you get sown deep in your gut everytime your dogs strike or catch never leaves you it's the fire that keeps us going everyday. Things lose their luster although they stay with you forever.

[Wmwendler]

I was raised doing it, and there are dang sure lots of reasons to keep on doing it.  Sure there are more and more things now days that make it more difficult to do.  Loosing places, hot weather, drought, more and more hog hunters every year putting pressure on fewer and fewer places, increased regulation on hunting and raising dogs, ect. ect.  But I will never quit for those reasons.  

Why I keep doing it.

Getting a rush never was a big deal to me.  I was raised hunting with dogs and it is exciting but also just normal for me.  Never really has been a rush.  Here's why I do it.  Working with dogs. Rasing dogs.  Continuing a tradition.  Maintaining health with good enjoyable, non-repetative physical activity.  Spending time with family and friends.  Putting food on the the table and the table of others.  Teaching the younger generations life lessons throgh taking them hunting.  Learning about how hard work pays off.  learning how to build and maintain personal relationships or business partnerships through interaction with freinds and landowners.  How to work together as a team.  Responsibility and how to take care of personal property, exspecially when it is not yours.  The circle of life.  How to deal with Personal loss.  How to stand strong in a difficult situation.  Problem solving skills.  How to rise up to a challenge.  Patience.  Planning ahead.    Harvesting your own food.  Protecting crops.  I could go on and on.  These are all things I learned about through hog hunting at a young age and all things that I enjoy giving young people the oportunity to learn about.  Also, it is good for me to take the oportunity and reinforce those lessons in my self.

I think it is very easy to go overboard.  Spend too much money on hog hunting, and get way to wrapped up in it.  I personally find very easy to become overly concerned about my success on a hunt.  If the dogs don't work how I want them to,  Busted bays,  or  if can't seem to get a hog bayed are all things that can't really get to me and I will let it spoil a hunt more than it should.  It has exspecially become appearent to me when I almost dont even enjoy huting with my self over the past year or so.  But this drought and not really hunting much has put a good perspective on things for me.  When the weather moderates am going to hit the woods as much as I can and be a bit more laid back and patient about things.

A little moderation and going about things in a sustainable way is a good way to approach all things in life.  Including hog hunting.  Perhaps you need to get back to your roots Bryant and just take a few dogs and a gun.  You certainly would loose allot less dogs to hog injuries and with fewer dogs on the ground there is less chance for unusual accidents.

Waylon

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

I also have experienced the downfalls of this sport due to losing many dogs throughout several decades now. I have attempted to remedy the situation lightly by keeping all the dogs in stages of age and training. I never hunt two lead strike dogs at the same time so when the inevitable happens it doesn't close you out completly. Placement of bloodlines with close friends along with always having another youngster comin in behind to immediatly take up the lead if the old man falls.

As far as the land issue goes...I have always went far out of my way to do the right things by landowners. If a law one day prohibits me from running game with dogs...guess I will then become an outlaw...this is who I am and I have ran dogs my entire life along with several previous generations of my family.

The hard knocks come usually all at once brotha. Hang in there cause the good ones will come and go just like the culls.

[Florida Curdog]

It's either in you or it ain't. For some it's a hobby or a sport, for me it's a way of life. God willing, I'll have a good cur dog or two in my yard till I can no longer walk or ride behind them

Same here