It's been a few since I posted a hunt , not because we are not in the woods every other day. It's the fact that my pack has had a major turn over, and being able to stop a pig has become my problem now. I have gone from medium range rough dogs that shut down pigs in 900 yards... To long range loose dogs that strike multiple pigs and run them for miles till the pig stops running. Needless to say I'm not a great fan of this so far but I have been patient trying to figure it out.
Never thought jus a few dogs made such a big difference in a pack in how they hunt till now. I discovered that out of all my dogs only three dogs was rough enough to stop the pig. Which is now my problem...
Three months ago I retire a dog, he is a special dog to me not ur superstar hunter jus a consistent dog. I have hunted him for 4 1/2 years he is a rough sob but will get back to bay on a larger hog. He is always getting cut up and I jus thought it was him trying to catch , but now I'm thinking he was jus stopping and holding the pigs . The years have not been kind to Creesus and the last few hunts he was on he stroked out from heat exhaustion (it happen three times now) because he won't quit till the catch dogs get there. So the last time we carried him out of the woods I told myself this was his last hunt and retired him.
Tank and Yella took up the slack, Yella came in heat so i bred her to my plott x so she is out not able to hunt, but recently my Tank bayed up a rank boar on the river 400 yards out in a creek we got 67 yards from the bay cut my pup cd Hum-v and Chico loose to them . I honestly think my pup feel off the high embankment on to the pig busted the bay. In the process my Tank got wrecked ( gut cut) and his neck was opened up. Took us a bit to pack him out of there after finding the catch dogs. It's been three weeks and Tank has heeled and alive but herniated so I don't know what my plans for him will be jus yet.
So now this is where my problem begins
We been Chasen pigs for months! And I'm so frustrated because out of my five strike dogs not one of them is putting teeth to stop the pig, instead they have become long range loose dogs. I'm talking miles! Till the pig stops running then they tree up barking. On more than one occasion multiple bays ( up to three at a time) miles apart from each other. So now getting to them has became a problem to drop the catch dogs. We have never experienced long range dogs but getting a crash course in it now.
Out I'd frustration I brought Creeksus back out of retirement ! He is normally shaved when I hunt him but the rain kept me from it yesterday!
Once again my dogs got on a sounder each dog picking a pig , running multiple directions. I had three bays going and miles between them. So I picked the closest dog which was creeksus and Clyde. They shut down this nice sow round 230 in a cave. Out of the six bays today we only got one pig and that was where my rough dog was. I got a crew of rough cur pups coming up but at 6 months I'm not ready to take that chance at loosing a pup till I understand how these long range dogs are gonna be. Any advice is very appreciated.
