Lots of questions, Need answers (dogs)

[smwilson]

I have been trapping hogs for several years now. I am interested in maybe getting a few dogs. Had retrievers for duck hunting. Never trained a hog dog. How many dogs does it require? Is there a better dog to hunt.  I just went on my first hunt with dogs, was really fun. Is it better to find a finished dogs to start with or buy good puppies and have someone train them. retired from feds. in the woods at least 4 or 5 days a week. Have plenty of time to work with dogs just need to know what direction is best.

[cantexduck]

 Where are you located?



   I would hunt with a few differant types of dogs and decide what fits you best. Then if you have the funds by a close to finsihed dog. Get refrences for said dog as well. Alot of JUNK is out there. A good almost there dog is prolly gonna start around 1k and the sky is the limit. Heard of some for 4k and then some that money wouldnt buy.

[Circle C]

First off, welcome to ETHD!

In order to get good answers, we need some more information on how you are wanting to hunt the hogs with dogs.

Do you want to shoot the hog over the dog/dogs?  Use bay dogs and lead in a catch dog? Use a pack of rough dogs without a catch dog?  

How much land area do you plan to hunt on before hitting property lines?

With the answers to these questions, you ought to be able to get some useful information from ETHD members.

[smwilson]

I am outside of Wheelock Texas. Want catch  and keep alive, to sell and donate meat.

[smwilson]

have several places I trap and hunt from 40 acres to almost 2 thousand.

[Texas_Cur]

Welcome to the board. 

The number one piece of advice I would recommend is do NOT start with just puppies.  Just like Savoy said get you a finished dog or nearly finished, then get you a couple of younger less experienced dogs.  The finished dog will be able help you train the younger dogs, and will enable you to get on hogs right away.   

Before you buy any dogs you should try to go on as many hunts with as many different people, using different styles as you can.  I would try to go to some of the bayings and meet people, talk to them about dogs and hunting.  As well as all of the help that you will get on here. 

Good luck

[Circle C]

Plenty of hunters on here not too far from Wheelock. If you would like I can get you in contact with a few that will get you the opportunity to see different styles of hunting.  One of them ties every hog, and sells them to a couple of game ranches outside Centerville.

   I agree that starting off with pups is an uphill battle. Sure people have pulled it off, but they are rare. Go hunt with as many different people as possible, then decide what type of dog you like. Loose, rough, open, silent, etc.   I know that the type of dogs I wanted when I started out are vastly different than the dogs I am currently running. Caught hogs with both, just prefer what I have now.

[craig]

welcome  

  i would go hunting with some different dogs, i would buy some type of cur dog if you have some small places, med range type dog.

like others have said your way ahead to spend the money and buy a finished or good started dog , , make shure and hunt behind it to see if its what you want.(silent , hunts out good, dosent trash, ect)

 after you get 1 dog then you can put some young dogs behind it,,  looks like you have alot of time so you should get along good, and having some dog handeling back ground will help alot..

i like to hunt 2 bay dogs and 2 catch dogs

the catch dogs are the easy part, 1 or 2 everyday on the dog trade board.

just post up any ? you have , alot of good help here

  

[duece24]

like everyone said depending on what style you want is going to depend on they type of dog you get. notice i said type not breed. the are variations in every breed and in every litter. personally i like getting pups that i way i know how they are raised and how they were trained to hunt. it takes longer and you can run through some dogs to get what you want but it's just fun for me. i also have the luxury to hunt with a guy that has several finished out dogs so i'm always able to walk behind dogs that will show me meat 9 times out of 10. plus my pups learn form some jam up dogs. it allows me to gauge how my dogs are progressing that way.

i would hunt with a dog several times before i choose to buy them. i would hunt them in the comfort zone then i would bring them to your spot and see how they handle what your will be hunting most of the time. a HUGE word of caution, this is one addicting sport. once you get bit seriously with this bug it's a hard one to shake. it's loads of fun!

when i first started before i let my dog loose the guy i went hunting with told me before i let him go that i run the risk of me not bringing him home. if you can't handle that burden then i would highly suggest not getting into this. you can read some past posts of people loosing their best most favorite dog to a bad hog. there are many people on this board with great knowledge and will be more than happy to steer you in the direction you want to go. they can hook you up with people that have some great dogs and great pups. the biggest piece of advice i would offer is to be patient, it pays off in the end(i'm a very impatient person sometimes and it has bit more times than once in my butt...i'm still working on it..lol)

welcome and look forward to seeing the fruits of your gained knowledge here.

[smwilson]

I am willing to learn, can make any day hunt. Willing to pay my way, have truck, trailers, four wheeler or buy gas, will work it out.  anyone in an hour or so of Bryan/college station. Contact me at smwilson@hughes.net.