Interpretation.

[jimco]

The terrain I hunt plays a huge roll in determining what kind of dogs I prefer. We mostly hunt marsh . The dogs struggle at times, we struggle often, it just aint easy but it is what it is. I would rather not have to walk clean across a floating marsh with hip boots sinking to my waist trying to follow dogs. The dogs were using now is just about right. Short to med. range and they are beginning to shut down runners. They are just turning on and so far they fit our terrain we hunt.

                                                   BUT

 I hunted in Mississippi with some long range dogs and enjoyed following after the dogs. The terrain was much easier on the dogs,
and a  hell of a lot easier on my 50 yr old butt. I seen a totally different style of hunting . So I guess my answer to what your asking
is, I would rather long range dogs with bottom ONLY if the terrain that's being hunted allowed me to get around with out to much difficulty.

[dblackwell]

Like the long dogs that hunt for themselves. Short range dogs that I have to walk or drive them to the pigs don't stay on my yard. I rarely have a 2, 3 or 4 hour chase some of you are refering to. I have had some long walks that seem/felt like they take that long but I wouldn't trade for a dog I have to hunt for. JMO

Are you saying that short range dogs don't hunt for themselves? I know a lot of dogs that don't regularly hunt further than 2 or 300 yards but stay busy beating brush, in the woods and will leave out further in sine or on track. I prefer these dogs because I like em ruff. I don't want them caught on ol big a mile away same as I don't want to finally catch up to find a 80 pounder ripped to shreds.

[jimco]

After being on this web sight for a few years and seeing all the different styles of hunting I really can appreciate all of them. But I think one fella got it figured out pretty good. I could sure get use to riding in the cab of that truck with Monty and watching them dogs bail off
the hood and shutting em down quick. I'd like to try it at least once.lol

[TexasHogDogs]

I like my dogs short to short/med range which I call 100 to 900 yds with good bottom .  Once my dogs strike a hog normally within 400-500 yds and a lot of times closer I want them to most the time finish the race if they can.  I don't hold all the races they don't finish against them sometimes its just damn near impossible with the land we have to hunt .  There has been a lot of times I must admit am glad they did not stay on the hog and finish it because either they would be in a hell of a bunch of trouble and me too.

[T-Bob Parker]

Like the long dogs that hunt for themselves. Short range dogs that I have to walk or drive them to the pigs don't stay on my yard. I rarely have a 2, 3 or 4 hour chase some of you are refering to. I have had some long walks that seem/felt like they take that long but I wouldn't trade for a dog I have to hunt for. JMO

Are you saying that short range dogs don't hunt for themselves? I know a lot of dogs that don't regularly hunt further than 2 or 300 yards but stay busy beating brush, in the woods and will leave out further in sine or on track. I prefer these dogs because I like em ruff. I don't want them caught on ol big a mile away same as I don't want to finally catch up to find a 80 pounder ripped to shreds.

By the same token, are you saying that the "long range" or even "loose" dogs can't find the hogs that are in close too? The funny thing about a dog that hunts from feet out and jeeps going till you catchup with them, is that they'll find the hogs for you, before you could have walked or drove the 1-300 yard type dogs up to that area. I know where your coming from mr blackwell and if it means anything to you, I respect dogs like your talking about too. I've seen some real good ones.

This can't really be broke down like ford vs chevy or coke vs meth lol it's all hinged on what each man in the debate has actually laid his eyes on.

And there are hog dogs and dogs that get taken on hog hunts. They both come in all shapes sizes and styles.


I do need to defend "loose" dogs a wee but though, if the loose dog is a real hog dog, it will get any hog to stop and bay that any rough dogs will get to stop and fight. The other thing is people who put loads of faith in rough catching dogs, seem to not be aware that If that dog can't get close enough to bite, he ain't gonna "shut em down" meaning either the hog decided to stop and test the dogs, or the dog was fast enough to pass the hog and grab ear.

[chads7376]

Like the long dogs that hunt for themselves. Short range dogs that I have to walk or drive them to the pigs don't stay on my yard. I rarely have a 2, 3 or 4 hour chase some of you are refering to. I have had some long walks that seem/felt like they take that long but I wouldn't trade for a dog I have to hunt for. JMO

Are you saying that short range dogs don't hunt for themselves? I know a lot of dogs that don't regularly hunt further than 2 or 300 yards but stay busy beating brush, in the woods and will leave out further in sine or on track. I prefer these dogs because I like em ruff. I don't want them caught on ol big a mile away same as I don't want to finally catch up to find a 80 pounder ripped to shreds.

Donald,
I'm not saying these dogs don't hunt but like you said 2 or 300 yards. If that fresh track was another 100, 200 or even 500 yards past that I want them to go find it without me having to walk or drive them that way.

Like stated before its all a matter of preference.

Tbob,
I agree with the loose baying dogs. My main dog always seems to be able to get them stopped quick enough and hold em there til I get there with a catch dog. She won't even catch with the catch dog 

[RyanTBH]

In our area, if we had short range dogs that came off track after seeing a hog we wouldn't catch very much pork, which we still don't get as much as some, and we'd do a lot of walking; more than we already do. Most of the hogs in our area are runners. If we had those short range dogs then they would come off track fast and get left in the dust. Sure, there would be some rough dogs that will latch on and get em stopped... But I don't want to be stapling up dogs left and right either. So to each his/her own I guess, but it's just not for me. I want my dogs to hunt for the sign, and to not stop once they see a hog or find a hot track. They may find the sign 100 yards away and stop it right there, or they may find the sign 1000+ yards away and have to chase that hog a mile or two till it stops and bays; but they are going to stay with it as long as they can and finish it unless they get outran. Which is possible with any type of dogs out there. JMO

[T-Bob Parker]

Ok, Ryan, you just touched on what I was just meaning. People often act like rough dogs stop em where they strike em and they don't have many runners.

Or... They get em stopped sure, but I don't wanna be stitching dogs all the time...

These are the attitudes I hear alot from either young folks, or people here on the net.


When it comes to the belief some folks have "we have rough dogs and we don't have many runners!" maybe, your rough dogs just;
A. Struck a group of hogs and cuaght whichever was the closest/ the one who didn't run quickly
B. Dont have enough bottom to even make you realize they are getting on runners and just letting them run off without putting in any effort.
C. You hunt spots with large populations of hogs and the ol "blind squirrel finds a nut" theory applies.

There's a group of hunters Ive gotten to go with recently who have fairly gritty-rough dogs in my opinion BUT their dogs are the real freaking deal and they can hang for miles upon miles with running hogs! What I'm getting at is dogs like those can do everything that some folks say they want in short ranged rough dogs, PLUS they can Hual ass, stick to runners, go super deep to find sign and basically everything you'd want.

TShelly describes various dogs as peewee, little league, high school, college, minors and major leaguers and I think that's the most accurate way it can be described.

When you get to hunt with minor an major league hog dogs, it becomes clear that rough loose, open silent, long range, close hunting don't make a freaking difference in the world, a bad ass is a recognizable bad ass and will make everything else around look silly no matter what his lil traits.

[dblackwell]

different strokes for different folks....I guess. The type of dogs I choose to feed have allways work good for me and many others in my area. We hunt places from 400 acres to 4000 acres w the same dogs and catch hogs. Now I will admit that these dogs do get outrun sometimes, but around here ether there here or there not so make another lap and find another one dog! So what I'm getting at is short dogs have always worked for me so if it ain't broke I ain't trying to fix it. If I have to ride another 500 yards to for my dogs to find a track then so be it! But at the end of the day when the long folks are still following there bottomless dogs ill be eating supper at home. I have hunted behind dogs of all sorts but none suit me like these. If it ever comes a time when this type dog doesn't work in the country I hunt then I may look at changing things up but I doubt that day will ever come.

[ironheadknls21]

Well i enjoyed watching ole Hank work that hog the other night with i don't know how many bays and 4 turn ins of the catch dogs with him busting every time. I think he run the hog for 6hrs and 6 1/2 miles until YBM had to go head him off of some private land. But with that said i'm gonna stick with my short range sharks and just brag on the bottom of Myles' dogs 

[Reuben]

What I used to feed is a pack of dogs that will strike in fresh sign and if there is a hog in the woods it will be found... a dog that has good winding and trailing ability...plenty of grit to shut a hog down in open country...but in thick brush they would be bay busters more often than not because the hog would break and run sometimes before enough dogs got there to catch...open woods and more than likely it was a caught hog...but thick brush and palmettos and it would turn into a big race...sometimes hours...sometimes the hog would hide in the middle of a big briar patch...some dogs will give it up at the big briar patch but I like my curs to get in there and bay the hog...I am realistic as to when the dogs should quit...hot weather with high humidity and the dogs being out of shape... and they quit the track is ok with me...but the dogs better be tired and about overheated for me to excuse them...

I like gritty to rough dogs but I want them to hold the hog in a smart way that does not get them injured...works most the time but sometimes they throw caution to the wind depending on the circumstance...

I like a dog to honor the bay or strike and like them to pack up...a dog that is a top strike dog that is too ndependent or one that doesn't pack up well might not get culled right away but this dog won't get to breed anything in my yard...

I don't like a dog that is hot or cold about hunting...but I like a dog that makes loops 2-4 hundred yards in all directions and is hunting with me and checks in often as it passes by in a lope...but once he takes a track to go all the way...

there are lots of dogs that stay busy that are considered short range and some that are considered long range that rate low in my book when it comes to finding a hog...they look busy but don't find many hogs...

too rough of a pack gets dogs killed or crippled...there is a fine line between the right amount of grit and too much grit...

[Fixitlouie]

long range....i thought we had a hog problem here and having a dog that goes 3 miles away kinda sucks sometimes.right??

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

Well I also believe in the combo packs of dogs to tailor to your ultimate surroundings. But guess I need to throw my own 2cents in since I started this hail storm. Lol

I usually understand topics of conversation better through analogys.

Was just watching UFC and an analogy just came to me that I can relate to my small closed minded ADD ridden brain. 

The way I look at a bay dog .....is like having five octogaon rings with awaiting fighters in each.
Two fighters both each pick a ring and begin tying it on with their opponent. 

The first gives it a bit and decides his opponent is getting the better of him so he moves on to the next ring in search of an easier opponent.

The second fighter is also getting his rear handed to him but stays in the fight for five full rounds and wages total war on his opponent with a hard earned victory.

The first fighter finally picks off a couple of easy opponents after walking away from three tougher ones.

The result. Is two to one victories ........But who is the true Champion???

Perty sure I know who's hand would be raised at the end.
Well there is my cheap version of a lazy eyed analogy. 

Got another I came up with that analyzes the biometrics of homosexual squirrels.  But I will save that one for later!

[Black Smith]

See I am stupid when they close i want them gone when tthey gone I want them close so I am never happy!!! Really as long as they catch hogs I will take either.

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

Truthfully that was another angle being pondered by hair roots.

My interests have always been the dog not necessarily the art of hog hunting.
Don't get me wrong.....love a good successful hunt always. But if one or all of your dogs perform exceedingly well..............tons more gratification at the end of the hunt no matter the quarry. 

A very enlightening test that I believe sets the lines between good dogs and great dogs is simply ........
What are they doing in absolutely NO SIGN.

A pissed off pack of ball grabbing poodles with cement in their nostrils can put pork on the ground if walked right into the middle of a hog hotel. But what if its one single boar that drifted through a thousand acre plot an hour ago ...and is currently a mile and a half from you still ranging and feeding. 

The short range dogs with limited bottom ensures you will only catch one dimension of hog.
Longer range endless bottom......perty much covers em all.  BUT YES I AGREE.....THEY GET FRUSTRATING .......But exceptionally more gratifying in the end.   Jmo of course

[Reuben]

Well I also believe in the combo packs of dogs to tailor to your ultimate surroundings. But guess I need to throw my own 2cents in since I started this hail storm. Lol

I usually understand topics of conversation better through analogys.

Was just watching UFC and an analogy just came to me that I can relate to my small closed minded ADD ridden brain. 

The way I look at a bay dog .....is like having five octogaon rings with awaiting fighters in each.
Two fighters both each pick a ring and begin tying it on with their opponent. 

The first gives it a bit and decides his opponent is getting the better of him so he moves on to the next ring in search of an easier opponent.

The second fighter is also getting his rear handed to him but stays in the fight for five full rounds and wages total war on his opponent with a hard earned victory.

The first fighter finally picks off a couple of easy opponents after walking away from three tougher ones.

The result. Is two to one victories ........But who is the true Champion???

Perty sure I know who's hand would be raised at the end.
Well there is my cheap version of a lazy eyed analogy. 

Got another I came up with that analyzes the biometrics of homosexual squirrels.  But I will save that one for later!

I agree...the dog that picks and chooses and gives up most of the hogs because he is looking for the easy ones are culls to me...but there are hog doggers out there that if the dogs don't catches or bays with 1/4 mile or 1/2 a mile for the dogs to come back and look for another...

I want the hog caught in the first quarter mile too but if the dogs are not able to do so then I want them to stick with the track...I want to catch hogs but what I want first is to see the dog finish what he has started or at the least give it one heck of a try...

[Black Smith]

I like a dog to make at least a 600 to 900 yard loop and if he don't find anything come back and we move and try again. But if he gets on a track I want him to finish it. Knowing that sometimes they get out run and lose the track or we have to cut them off before they cross lease line witch really sucks but comes with the territory. That's why I don't even hunt my lease in Brady because in Texas you can't go on someone else lease and get your dogs and we only have 1200 acres so you cant keep one on that small of a lease.

[TexasTransplant]

Not a big fan of long range dogs, I like to spend my time finding and catching hogs, not chasing dogs all day/night.  Short range that goes when it gets on one...

[Coady Curbow]

To me, there is a difference between range, and what I call "stick".  I like dogs that make 300 yard circles while hunting, then "push" when they get on a track, or in hog sign that they can smell.  When they jump a hog they better "stick" for five or six hours or I don't want them.  We bay a lot of hogs within 15 minutes, but around here a 125 pound boar is usually going to show you some country.  If we get after him I want him caught. (We do get outrun sometimes, not too proud to admit it. LOL)

[shsu11]

Ok, Ryan, you just touched on what I was just meaning. People often act like rough dogs stop em where they strike em and they don't have many runners.

Or... They get em stopped sure, but I don't wanna be stitching dogs all the time...

These are the attitudes I hear alot from either young folks, or people here on the net.


When it comes to the belief some folks have "we have rough dogs and we don't have many runners!" maybe, your rough dogs just;
A. Struck a group of hogs and cuaght whichever was the closest/ the one who didn't run quickly
B. Dont have enough bottom to even make you realize they are getting on runners and just letting them run off without putting in any effort.
C. You hunt spots with large populations of hogs and the ol "blind squirrel finds a nut" theory applies.

There's a group of hunters Ive gotten to go with recently who have fairly gritty-rough dogs in my opinion BUT their dogs are the real freaking deal and they can hang for miles upon miles with running hogs! What I'm getting at is dogs like those can do everything that some folks say they want in short ranged rough dogs, PLUS they can Hual ass, stick to runners, go super deep to find sign and basically everything you'd want.

TShelly describes various dogs as peewee, little league, high school, college, minors and major leaguers and I think that's the most accurate way it can be described.

When you get to hunt with minor an major league hog dogs, it becomes clear that rough loose, open silent, long range, close hunting don't make a freaking difference in the world, a bad ass is a recognizable bad ass and will make everything else around look silly no matter what his lil traits.

X2