Picking pups

[The Old Man]

Years ago I hunted the BMC's on hogs but I had to travel to do it as they were also used on cattle, then when there got to be enough hogs here around home to hunt I was not willing to break part of them from cattle to hog hunt and I cannot hunt one here that will bay cattle, so I bought some Plott dogs from a good strain I had used for treedogs in previous times. I also enjoy hearing the race. I raise my own Plotts and they are from 2 strains the old Weem's blood and Ganttte blood, way back they have the a lot of  same lineage and I felt like both strains were a little "stale" at times and suspicioned that having lots of common lineage way back but having been line bred separately for so many years they could possibly help one another and since have had pretty good luck crossing them back into one another. Erlichia wiped me out about 6 yrs ago on the Plotts (I wasn't keeping enough dogs) and had to start over with them but stayed with the Weem's sort of dogs and then is when I actually got into the Gantte dogs.

As for choosing what dogs to bred to what, it first performance then production when bred, they must be well balanced in their traits, seeing as how both breeds here are already considerably line bred the blood  itself is not really a consideration in the choice. I do not wait until one is 5-6 years old to breed them but often breed  2 yr old dogs, simply because once in a while you will have a really nice bred male or female that is outstanding on the ground but for whatever reason just do not produce well when bred. I need to know this to maintain a set of dogs. I almost ran out of yellow dogs once because of this, I had kept a real good female very closely bred as the only producing female in the yard, I bred her to 3 different males within the family and culled every pup in all 3 litters but for 2 that my brother  in law had. I'm not real smart but am capable of learning and swore that would not happen anymore.

I did not breed up either breed of these dogs myself, just was not interested in reinventing the wheel, starting with well balanced family bred dogs is a shortcut to start this way as opposed to trying to "mix the paint" so I sought out a family of dogs that were well balanced for what  I liked and have attempted to maintain them since. The breeders before me had already solidified these lines. I had my first Weems dogs 40yrs ago directly from him, just got the Gantte dogs 6 yrs ago directly from him and the BMC's I have bred for 37 yrs I got my start in them from Ben Jordan but did not know much about their lineage, years later after having kept and bred them to suit me based strictly on performance for quite awhile I learned that they lined up on 2 key crosses as did Ben's Bobs and John Gays the Bigboy X Blondie cross made by Ricky Driver and the Leroy X Liz cross made by Ricky and Bob Owens dad and Bob actually initiated that cross. There was one more dog in them that was key as well it was Camps Moe, those 5 dogs are in mine, Bens, Bobs, and John Gays and several more unnamed over and over no telling how many times and were bred that way not by paper study but performance. What I am saying is several people had unknowingly (at least for many years) line bred this family of dogs with the selection process being strictly based  on performance and they lined up on the crosses made within these 5 dogs.

I breed lots of uncle niece, aunt nephew, half brother half sister, cousins and double or more time cousins. I do not own a perfect dog. I do raise culls, I know they would not suit everyone, but I do catch hogs, tree bear and pen or catch cattle with what I have and most times get my share of it when hunting or penning with other folks. If someone has a better dog than me I am not jealous but enjoy seeing him go and appreciate the job I see him do. I am serious about what a dog does and quite unforgiving, have probably culled a truckload that would have been "okay" somewhere else. Hope that answers your questions.

[The Old Man]

One thing I may not have addressed that you asked I have not bought a trained or started dog since I was 18 yrs old and coon hunting whatever I could come up with, I am now 62.

[t-dog]

That's awesome old man. Thanks for sharing that. After reading that, I think we are more alike than I thought. When I get time, I'm PM you. I had a dog from John Gay that I'd love to talk to about. I'll send you my number and you can call me if you want to dog talk lol. I won't force you to give out your info.

And Austeus I'm not an older hunter. I'm 47 years young. I'm experienced lol.

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[Cajun]

When you consider all the varibles,it makes you realize why there are so many different strains of hog dogs. You have walk hunters who do not want a long ranging dog and they might also hunt smaller properties. You have people who cast hunt and want that dog to go. You have rig dogs and trail dogs, not necessarily the same kind of dogs. There is no right or wrong way but it is what works for each dog hunter to breed what they prefer. The problem I had when I bear hunted alot was most of my Plotts were to gritty to be really good hog dogs. They put a lot of pressure on bear but put too much pressure on a lot of hogs and made them break if they didnt catch out. Now that I dont bear hunt like I used to, I have backed off the grit some. I like a trail dog so nose is very important to me as ls speed and endurance with enough grit to get the job done. I like plenty of go in my dogs. I can put breaks on one but just cannot put a motor in one. If you hunt a place with plenty of hogs, you just do not need that kind of go or nose so like said, it depends on each individual hunter.

[t-dog]

That is EXACTLY right Cajun. Style to terrain to color preferences, etc. We may be a part of the most diverse groups of dog hunters there are.

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[Austesus]

T-Dog, older is a relative term. You’re older than ME, haha. Not a bad thing, the man that took me under his wing is 56 I believe, it was a blessing to have someone with that knowledge to bring me hunting with him. Because he hunts so fast and so long, most people can’t keep up. Well being in the army and in good shape I did, and I learned he doesn’t like to talk much when hunting. So I shut up, followed him watching, and occasionally would ask a question. The time for talking was always after a hunt. Not many others would’ve started taking a complete stranger hunting with them every weekend like he did.

I’ve learned a lot from him in the past few years. One thing that most people seem to over look is learning pigs, not just dogs. I’ve seen him take dogs lower caliber than someone else’s, both drop in a block where there’s pigs, and he caught more. He has patterned the pigs where we hunt almost like a 6th sense. No kidding i was having trouble finding them and from Florida he sent me and map and a long message describe a route to hunt that was a 10 mile loop through the swamp, describe where to turn at different landmarks and such, and he put me in the pigs. He knows the way they move and can tell you what property they will move to next after you hit them. That kind of knowledge can’t be bought, only studied and learned. I think of myself as a student of dogs, pigs and hunting. Every time I hunt, I sit back after the fact and think about how everything went and what I could do better next time. Hitting on what Reuben says about offering the dogs the right guidance, I think the same. I think about what I could change to help them have better success on the next hunt.

I guess I like taking thing to the extreme, I used to do it when I deer hunted too lol.


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[Reuben]

I guess I like taking thing to the extreme, I used to do it when I deer hunted too lol.
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Austesus...you can probably tell by my writings that I take things to the extreme a lot of the times...especially when it comes to dogs, hunting dogs, learning certain new technologies and improving the reliabilities of the few places where I worked and work...I reckon you can say I march to the beat of my own drum...

Like you mentioned about knowing where the hogs are is good to know...so we can move in that direction with the dogs...always trying to keep the wind coming to you whether walking into it or once close walk cross wind so dogs can pick up scent whether the bed, track or hogs...either way the dogs will go to it and get on hogs whether it is there or a mile further by following a track... your speed will teach the dogs your style of hunting and they will adjust to your speed...if you walk very fast most dogs will look for hotter tracks and will not be as thorough...slower walking will teach the dogs that it is ok to work colder tracks...especially if you stop and wait on them they will become more thorough when hunting...I see it that I am the captain and I plan the hunt and then go forth with the hunt...it is all about making the dogs better at what they do...

When I was a little boy I hunted my mutts almost daily and sometimes twice in one day...in most any direction...I learned where to hunt during a drought and also where to go during flood conditions...I could tell what the dogs we baying by the sound of their bark and I knew what they were running by trail bark...
Never underestimate what a kid can learn on his own with his dogs...it seemed I became one of them once I was out in the brush country leading the pack...

[jstankus]

Really good stuff guys. I'm in the process of bringing up some pups, but we're keeping all 12 among the 3 of us to see how they turn out. I have 5 pups at the house and have been studying them. I really learned a lot just letting them chase my free range chickens when I turned the out of the pen, and now I have identified the 2 dogs out of 5 that will beat the shrubs to death hunting for them and run them until they give out and catch them, they were around 2 month old when I did this and now are over 3 months old. Obviously, I had to stop this so they didn't kill my flock but I have a real good ideal regarding their drive.

I recently, cleaned some hogs and kept a head and used it to work them on a rope. It's funny the alpha male which is very aggressive and quick to jump on someone (food aggressive) was scared of it the calm male will latch on to it and stay there until I put him back in the pen. I do like the idea of using meat for winding. That's something I'm interested in trying. Good stuff here on this post.

[Reuben]

Jstankus...that is awesome...the good thing about raising your own pups you get to see how they work and what makes them tick...