Another open vs silent thread!

[Wmwendler]

Well I think hounds in general were bred for "pleasure" hunting and just for fun, rather than getting a job done quick.  Ofcourse Im talking about WAAAAY back when the different hound breeds were being developed and before that.  Mostly the hound hunting was done by upper class/nobility at that time, rather than dog hunting being mostly a middle class thing nowdays.  Because of that, the open trailing was a desireable trait because the folks back then enjoyed the chase and being able to listen to it was part of the fun.  In my opinion thats why hounds are open trailing/running dogs.

Cur dogs (for the most part) were developed as a type more recently in the past 200-250 years to do a job; Find and gather free range livestock, Hunt FOR FOOD, and protect the house. So open trailing was not desirable.

I from what I've seen most dogs would be considered open mouth dogs, atleast on a chase.  This mostly from seing pets chase deer or other junk and  I've heard some pits yipping on a race when the hog broke.  So I would say in hounds the open mouth was just enhanced and in Cur was depressed or rather dogs that did'nt open on trail were used to develope the type.

One thing to think of is most guys that started hunting hogs back 25+ years ago, were coon hunters before that or cowboys with cow dogs (some both)  So the hound had his chance to take his place as the breed of choice as much as the cur dog did, back when hog populations started increasing and hog hunting started becoming more common.  Personally, my dad had both Coon dogs(hounds) and cow dogs (Curs).  It did'nt take a long time to figure out which was better suited and that was back before people learned how to hunt hogs on the internet.  lol  Now he had some hounds that worked out and one in particlar that was great on hogs, but they did'nt work out as well as the Cur dogs did.

Waylon

[WestTexasCurs]

If they dont stay HOOKED weather is 500 yds or 5 miles they dont stay at my house.

JJ

[WestTexasCurs]

Well I think hounds in general were bred for "pleasure" hunting and just for fun, rather than getting a job done quick.  Ofcourse Im talking about WAAAAY back when the different hound breeds were being developed and before that.  Mostly the hound hunting was done by upper class/nobility at that time, rather than dog hunting being mostly a middle class thing nowdays.  Because of that, the open trailing was a desireable trait because the folks back then enjoyed the chase and being able to listen to it was part of the fun.  In my opinion thats why hounds are open trailing/running dogs.

Cur dogs (for the most part) were developed as a type more recently in the past 200-250 years to do a job; Find and gather free range livestock, Hunt FOR FOOD, and protect the house. So open trailing was not desirable.

I from what I've seen most dogs would be considered open mouth dogs, atleast on a chase.  This mostly from seing pets chase deer or other junk and  I've heard some pits yipping on a race when the hog broke.  So I would say in hounds the open mouth was just enhanced and in Cur was depressed or rather dogs that did'nt open on trail were used to develope the type.

One thing to think of is most guys that started hunting hogs back 25+ years ago, were coon hunters before that or cowboys with cow dogs (some both)  So the hound had his chance to take his place as the breed of choice as much as the cur dog did, back when hog populations started increasing and hog hunting started becoming more common.  Personally, my dad had both Coon dogs(hounds) and cow dogs (Curs).  It did'nt take a long time to figure out which was better suited and that was back before people learned how to hunt hogs on the internet.  lol  Now he had some hounds that worked out and one in particlar that was great on hogs, but they did'nt work out as well as the Cur dogs did.

Waylon

I think Hounds were bred because the dogs they had didnt cut it,on the trailing and stayin hooked department.The open trailin was just a early tracking device,for a dog that would stay hooked.

[FcHogDog]

If everyone had a dog like that the hogs wouldnt have a chance haha but boy wouldnt it be fun

[JJ]

Especially on the trailing end of it!!

[Wmwendler]

I'm not bashing hounds by any means, just stating what I beleive. They do have thier place in hog hunting big country and areas where populations aren't very dense and you need a go yonder dog to find one.

Waylon

[Bryant]

But most Tx hog hunters turn their nose up at hounds.Do Bear not fall into the "I hear a dog,I'm outta here" catagory?Why would someone want to breed up a dog that is open on track?Sounds like to me by alot of the replys all a open dog does is push the critter faster

Allen,

To answer your question, most all other game pursued with dogs will tree.  A dog barking behind such game will eventually (as intended) push them into a tree.  A hog on the other hand can't tree, so what is the option?  RUN!  How is this beneficial?

[stoked]

i run mostly closed mouth dogs.

i have a few hounds  that are open. one dog is open on track and the other is open when she hits the ground.

my experience has been about the same, but it just depends on where your hunting.

if your hunting an area that gets dogged all the time, you might want to run your silent dogs.

i hunt some areas that are rarely hunted if ever, and it doesn't matter if the dog or dogs are open, the hogs dont get far.

however, i will say this much, it does get annoying sometimes when a dog won't shut it's mouth. Other times, you haven't heard a bark all night and wanna hear your hound bark even if there isn't a pig.

me personally, i like a closed mouth dog, but if my hound gets on a real hot track and she bumps a few times, it doesn't bother me a bit. cause usually in the next 20 minutes, we're hobbling the hog.

[Eric]

I think these last three posts pretty much summed it up.

[Cutter Bay Kennels]

Individuals that are unwilling to consider other options quit growing at an early age.  JMO!!!

[tnhillbilly]

Whew! man i'm just going to jump in the fire here I hunt mostly open mouthed hounds. BUT, i also live in the mtns. of east Tn. there has been some very good points so far, but let say something about hounds, just because they are open mouthed, DON'T mean that they are good track dogs. they are like those curs, there are good ones and bad ones, some have good noses, some don't, some run with their nose on the ground(which will be slower), and some run with their nose in the air, some have the brains to use their nose and some don't............... me personally, i like the cur crossed with the hounds for hog hunting, for several reasons, I like a little mouth in my hog dogs "very little" just enough to know what direction they are going. if you hunted silent dogs here you wouldn't never find your dogs. example: i'm standing in a branch, there is mtn on all four sides, no roads, just trails. it would only take a dog a few minutes to be topped out, and out of hearing. if the dogs are bayed and i can't here them, i don't have a clue which they went. and its at least an hour in all directions to top out to hear better. well you go left, after climbing for an hour, only to find out they went right and are getting cut to shreds. and yes, my dogs dont get loose without tracking collars on them but they aint worth a dime deep in a holler. there is soooo much more i want to say, but i ant that good at typin and my hands drawin up already  it MOSTLY depends on personal preferance, are catchin hogs for fun, damage control, money.........if i was catchin for damage control or money, i would want to catch as many as i could as fast as i could. it would be a job, and in order to do a job correctly you need the right tools for the job. if your hunting for fun well, it don't matter as long as you are having fun.  i bear hunt too, and when i am bear hunting i want a cooooold nosed dog that can move a track and has alot of mouth, and my opinion about curs on bear, well, i wouldn't even consider it, not that i don't like the cur dogs they just aint got what it takes to run bear in these mtns. "THE WAY WE HUNT" don't anybody go and take that the wrong way, i'm not saying that there aint curs that can tree bear, as i have read that they have. but like was said previously. the way we hunt and the guys i hunt with and the terrain..... they just wouldn't work. like i said i can go on and on about this subject, and yes i have caught plenty of hogs with these open mouthed dogs. some races didn't last but a few min. strike to bay, but there were others that were longer. most of the fellers i hunt with like to here the race, as this was the way they was brought up, which i think has alot to do with it too. but not only hear the race but have the meat at the end of it. now keep in mind that we don't have the hogs that you all do down south, and may take 1/2 a day to find a bear track to even turn dogs on, so it helps to have dogs that will open so that we can keep up with them, as they may trail miles before they even jump the bear and then another several miles before it stops to fight or trees. and if you had silent dogs "in the mtns" you could never find them. i have been right on top of dogs before and not heard them and them baying or treed, so it helps tremendously to know in general which way they are going so you know in which general direction to start looking.   WHEW!!!

[Cutter Bay Kennels]

To keep it short, they both have their place in the overall scope of hog dogging.  Generally, it is the size of the land, the experience of the hogs, and the group you hunt with that dictate what will work best for a specific parcel of property.  I only own hounds that are very vocal on track, but I can certainly aggree that there are times I wish I had a perfectly silent RCD.

2nd verse same as the 1st.

[WestTexasCurs]

But most Tx hog hunters turn their nose up at hounds.Do Bear not fall into the "I hear a dog,I'm outta here" catagory?Why would someone want to breed up a dog that is open on track?Sounds like to me by alot of the replys all a open dog does is push the critter faster

Allen,

To answer your question, most all other game pursued with dogs will tree.  A dog barking behind such game will eventually (as intended) push them into a tree.  A hog on the other hand can't tree, so what is the option?  RUN!  How is this beneficial?

I asked for guys opinions,thats yours.Thanks for it.

[pig snatcher]

So, a barking dog will push a full grown bear up a tree?

[JJ]

I have treed several bear with my hog dogs, I can Honestly say that I have never heard or seen a bear go up a trre and wait for the dogs to get there. all the bears Ive seen treed were because of the dogs pulling hair and making him go up a tree, not because he was tired of running from the dogs.

JJ
just my 0.2

[Noah]

I would be interested to hear a real deal bear hunter's opinion on this....

[tnhillbilly]

Yes jj you are right. on an average race. usually the more heat the dogs put on the bear the more likely he will tree, BUT not all of them will tree. and thats a whole nother deep subject  

[pig snatcher]

So you fellows would say that a barking dog does not put game up a tree simply by making noise?

Although I am not a bear hunter so to say I have had my dealings with bear before and god willing it will continue.  Just wanted some other oppinions about treeing big game.

Got a few freinds I would consider real deal bear hunters, one even trains dogs for other people and is a respected person in the bear hunting comunity. From what they tell me and from what I have seen, you gotta put some heat on him to get him to tree or fight.  He dont respect a stand back and bark dog just like porky dont.

You got dogs of all sorts and breeds, then you got hog dogs and bear dogs.