Question???

[MUD AND BLOOD]

How many of you drop your bulldogs at the same time you drop your curs or hounds and let them run along with them. I have been thinking about doing this since the last couple hogs we have gotten on we have never seen or we catch them miles away.

[halfbreed]

that would work out fine if you are thinking about getting out of the dog huntin world . first you are going to loose your bulldog when it catches a hog and you can't get to them quick enough and then if your other dogs catch with the bulldog same results . catchdogs are like a pistol and shouldn't be used till you are close enough to your target to use it . just my honest opinion .

[mountaincurs]

I run my bull dog loose but she woulnt run with them you get her 100 yards from the bay shell go to it but when they take of on a track she hangs out. I run fairly gritty dogs but they normally woulnt hang on to the big ones. Had one that did but lost him last month so there ya go. If my bull dog wanted to run with them i wouldnt let her cause 9 times outa 10 she wouldnt do any better at stoping a running hog and shes nowhere near as quick as the curs. But i know people who do run 4 or 5 straight running catch dogs a hunt and they have hogs out run them to so it is what it is.

[broncobilly]

[txswamphunter]

i would not do that, bull dogs will over heat alot easyer than curs or hounds , they will be cut to heck if you dont get there fast or they could catch in the water after a long race an be wore out an drowned , if you wanna do that get a few catchy big leggy curs that will have hog streched out an no get cut so much

[bjbmtry]

I agree with halfbreed. We usually turn our catch dog in when we get about 100 yards from the bay. When it catches, from my experience, the bay dogs will get in there too and you risk getting them cut up.

On the other hand, a couple of the guys I hunt with have terrier crosses (Airedale type dogs) which are extremely rough and tire out somewhat quickly. If we have a few of them on a hog, and you can hear a rough brawl, it is better to turn the catch dog loose sooner than later so it can take some of the butt kicking. I don't like saying this, and it may sound pretty rough, but catch dogs are somewhat of "disposable heroes" when it comes to hog hunting. It takes a lot more time and effort to make a strike dog than a catch dog.

I have also noticed that my bay dogs (usually Catahoulas), after being taught to hunt with catch dogs, will catch when i get close even when I am not hunting with a catch dog. Seems to me that when they know i am close, they will catch because it is the way they learned. Kind of off subject, but this all feeds off the main question.

[MUD AND BLOOD]

I appreciate the advice. For some reason lately, we havent been able to stop the hogs. The bay dogs often get into a group of hogs and split up or by the time we get to the bay it gets busted. Granted, we hunt some thick crap- the last two times we went out we started off hog hunting and ended up dog hunting. I talked to a guy around here that hunts and he said he usually turns his bulldogs loose as soon he hears the first strike. I never done that and just wanted to see how popular that tactic was. I think the bottom line is- I got to get my best dog some help. Thanks again.

[mountaincurs]

well ive been in the same boat past couple weeks hogs are really putting the running shoes on (most of them are running a mile or so beofre they stop or get stopped), are yall hunting the same areas alot or hunting places that other people dog alot cause this time of year i always have problems with the hogs that know what a dog is. might need to get some real gritty cur dog and try it out.

[txswamphunter]

get rough dogs if you want, my dogs catch under prolly 150 or so usally one bark then caught so you might catch 2 or 3 hogs easily when they split up

[Pops]

i'm gonna disagree. you CAN run bulldogs IF you get them in shape to run. most people don't. they either don't know what it takes to get them in running shape or aren't willing/able to put in the work to get them running.
i will also put forward the possibility that you're running too many rough bay dogs. too many baydogs will sometimes make the hogs break bay & keep running.
also when it comes time to get another dog you may want to consider a bulldogXgrey or stag for a better running catchdog.

[halfbreed]

yeah pops my ab/pit crosses can and will run all day ,BUT i don't want MY dogs caught on a bad boar hog a half a mile away from me and getting worked over cut down or kilt . but yes you can run one all day long when in shape . but i've seen things go way bad when i turn the cd loose right on top of the bay . just not a good idea in my opinion to let em run with the pack . i hunted a long time with just my catahoulas didn;t even own a bulldog and they would bay till they seen me or i hollerd catch it they was some gritty sob's and i got the vet bills to prove it but i've since bred em into some hounds for a little less catch and use a cd for that now , they'll still catch when he hits or on small hogs but i'm right there on top of them .

[hamilton10]

I never turn loose the catch dog until me and him both are looking at the hog. As soon as he catches an ear I catch the back legs and throw him. Then my buddy uses a breaking stick to open the catch dogs mouth and ties him to a tree. Then the hog is tied up. Usually by then the mountain curs have another one bayed up and we go do the same thing again. Its alot easier on the dogs and the hogs.

[MUD AND BLOOD]

Since I have been Hunting I have noticed there are two types of hunters. One cuts the dogs loose and just sits there and waits until they hear the bay. The other cuts the dog loose and tries to stay somewhat close to their dogs. I was wondering if that has any bearing on the original question?

[halfbreed]

that would probably be the type of dogs you huntin long range verses close or medium dogs . me an my bunch try to stay up with the dogs as best we can . if the dogs are movin we walkin in that general direction . you should know by your post that a movin hog can cover some country quick i run medium dogs and can usually be pretty close when they strike a hog and if it decides to settle down and bay up i walk the bulldog in as close as possible and cut him loose and then help him subdue the hog and get it tyed up or kilt quickly as possible . but regardless of where you cut the cd loose things can happen . like when you send the dog into a thicket to catch and you are almost there and you look up to see your cd flying back out of there over your head you just never know

[Lowcountryhunter]

I do not run my catch dog on the ground. However i do run one or two bull and hounds or bull and catahoula on the ground at all times to keep me from having to go back to the box so often on bigger hogs. However it does have its down falls you may have to use the staplegun more than you want to and there is not much ear left if you dont get there in a hurry, but with the laws in sc u have to
Stick them soon as you throw them so its not like u keep them alive so ears dont much matter