legendary hog hunters

What are the dogs, modern or older, that are considered to be great hog dogs? This could include hunting or rodeo venues. I would assume they have game ancestry, but I would like to see peds and pictures.

 

Check out "Bull Arabs" an Australian pig hunting type, breed. Originally a Greyhound, Bull Terrier, Pointer crosss they average 80 -120 lbs good in the heat and plenty of stamina, good lines are guanteed to find and hold any size pig. In the past lots of other big tough breeds have been crossed in the success depending on survival of the fitest. They are focused hunting dogs often used with other dogs and shouldn't be HA or DA.

 

You bring up good points - stamina and heat tolerance. Also interesting - that the dogs are crossed with whatever gives ability, without concern for pure breed.

I should have been more specific in my question though. What are the names of the best-known APBTs that have/had the reputation as formidable catchers of hogs? And also, at what point could a hog dog be called game? If it has to work for an hour or more on a hot day, being gored by the tusks of a boar, yet keeps going, etc... And then related to this, do people who work dogs in this way use game bred lines of APBTs, or does their DA tendancy make them less desirable, as they are often used in pairs, etc.

I have watched hogs gone wild (I think that's the title) on TV, and some of the dogs are APBTs.

 

We had an APBT here that had a heart the size of Texas. That dog would smell out and find his hog, bark twice before he took hold so you could locate him, and then hold it at all costs until we got there. Don't recall ever hearing of any specific named bulldogs though that were specially known for hog hunting. Out of the few breeds I've seen catch though, I'd trust none more than a bulldog.

We also run Mini Bull Terriers that are excellent hog dogs but due to their size they cant run alone for the catch.

 

Research Waccamaw Kennels

 

FD, APBT's are commonly used for pig hunting in OZ and are as good as any breed. One complaint I've heard is that sometimes they try to fight the pig rather than hold it. A breeder here in OZ has video of a 35lb APBT bitch holding and pulling down 1000lb Scrub cattle (wild cattle) by the nose, unfortunately I don't have a copy to post. American Bulldogs are becoming more popular and are as good as or better than any. Trivia- mostly white or lighter colored dogs are prefered so they're easy to identify when shooting mostly black wild pigs. Most piggers prefer to use knives rather than guns it's more sporting and not as noisy.

 

Alot of determination and qualities of gameness come into play when the dog sometimes has to run upwards of 10 or more miles in an unconditioned state before a hog is even located and bayed solid. then battle the elements of the heat or cold and overcome an animal almost 3 to 5times its own size. Usually with the potential of facing the pain of having your guts pulled from your side or a collapsed lung, broken jaw bones, and smashed nasal cavities. Not to mention I've seen with my own eyes large hogs carry dogs away into the woods with their mouths. They also bite rather hard, comparable to the bulldog catching them.

I'd say at certain points in time a GREAT deal of intelligence goes into being a GREAT catch dog and varying degrees of gameness. Enough to where an intelligent bulldog fully schooled to catch and catch the right way is hard to find an animal to compare it to.

 

working your young bulldogs in a large pen (no vest or cut gear) with young boars who are just starting to develop tusk that are on the gritty side with keep them from 'fighting' the hog.

 

It sounds like you have good dogs. The thought of mini bull terriers running after the hogs almost sounds cute, but I'm sure they're tough little dogs. Is that a common breed for this purpose?

 

I checked their website, and I like the dogs, although the site was last updated 10 years ago. I assume the kennel is still active.

 

If you find that post, I would like to see it. I will attach a pic I found of a bull after Katrina with two APBTs. Unfortunately, these hungry dogs were shot dead. I'm not sure if the people who shot the dogs attempted a less violent solution. Probably assumed that bull aggression and human aggression are one in the same.




Do you come across any Goannas down there? Those are cool.

 

A lot of people have argued this one. The consensus amongst most doggers is that hog hunting does not test gameness. I will say though, that hog hunting and catch work is probably the most trying LEGAL test for bulldogs today and I'd love to get my dog in a hog pen sometime...

But hunting is centered around a predator/prey relationship. The hog is the prey, and he does not willingly seek out the dogs (who are the predators) for confrontation. He will do whatever he can to avoid it as that is natural for him. He is on the run from the very beginning, and if given the opportunity at any time the hog will try to escape. The dog is already winning the fight before he ever engages the pig, because he is fighting a cur and he knows it. almost any dog will keep fighting if he's winning. Even if the dog is injured during the hunt, he's still miles ahead against the pig who's in a fight or flight mode fearing for his life. Hog hunting can show you intense prey drive, intelligence, roughness, and grit, but there's only one way to find out if a dog is game.

 

Agree with mfern004 hunting ability and prey drive are totally different to gameness.

 

You my friend have never ran up on or cornered a large dominant boar...... He doesnt run from anything... he owns the woods, marsh, and swamps that he runs and feeds in. He doesnt scream whenever he is being jumped by a gang of dogs.... he grits and takes it. He knows he can kill your dog and the only reason the dogs live against a large bull of a boar is because you are there with a team of dogs and assisting with the catch.

Also on more than one occassion I have seen sounders round up a group and kill multiples dogs.

Come join me for some wild boar poker down here at Fort Bayou ranch and we'll see how long you're willing to sit with that boar.......

 

I think I saw your website once, do you also breed patterdales a dogos?

 

HAHA you couldnt pay me to feed a shit eating dogo my friend!

We are investing in some patterdales though.... damn foxes and racoons have been getting brave and have been trying to burglarize my chicken coop.

 

Interesting, I saw a kennel page running Bull Terriers on hogs that is why you sounded familiar. Do you have a site? I'd love to see your dogs. How are your Bull Terriers working in a pack, are they dog agressive?

 

English Bullterriers have been used over here on wild boar with plenty of success!

In fact most of these guys that doing catch dog over here in germany or ex Cssr and so on didn´t even want any part of APBT or Dogo for it!

There has been one man and a club arround him called Dr. Rudolph Sewerin, Friar Tuck´s Kennels and chairman of the Bullterrier Verein e. V.

These Bullterriers haven´t been show dogs these have been strictly performance bred lines!

Believe me, I owned some and there is no compare to the show dogs in no way!

They have been selected pretty hard from the first imports to germany in 1840 and maintained as strictly working and partly show dogs, read up the articles about Dr. Emil Hauck the Bullterrier Pope in Germany and Austria!
These guys culled harder than even the toughest of the dogmen arround in the game.
Emil Hauck believed it´s better to only feed and raise 20 dogs out of ten breedings than the same amount out of three or four breedings.
Believe me, if you have an opportunity to read what he dictated to the german and austrian breeders (and his word was their gospel an believe) you would call this guy inhumane!
This was about to change from the mid 1960´s but some people just kept up with what he tought them!

I know some of you won´t believe this but these dogs have been the worst nightmare for many boars and they even travelled to spain on a regular base to bait some bulls with their dogs!

That´s no hearsay these are facts!

Dr. Rudolph Sewerin was also the first one that imported the Alano or Perro de Presa Canario or today known as Dogo Canario to germany as things were getting tight for the Bull and Terrier breeds!

Just google these two guys and may you´ll find what I´m talking about!

There has also been contests like the Candy Pokal after the legendary Candy vom Igelberg that gaves hell to the majority of considered good working dogs! Only the toughest could get this test passed!

They invited many breeders and trainers of various breeds and almost all refused to sign in!

And running Bullterriers in a pack can work under certain conditions!

 

Well i had a scene just like that in my yard a few months ago. I had a young Catahola that got away from my son and my two bulldogs both Colby Gyps were running around in the yard with me as they always do. Well the Catahola saw my cows and ran in the field and started to bay. My oldest Gyp Freija AKA(Freija Train)did what she does and ran straight to the bay and caught! ZeZe the other gyp followed suit and did the same. Well it took me almost 45 mins to get them off that dang cow. Both bulldogs were beat all to hell but would not let go. I only got them off because the cow became so exausted that she fell down and could no longer stand. That is when I broke them both off. The dogs could not even walk for 2 days after and did not really run for about a week and a half due to the beating that cow put on the. Between the 2 of them their combined weight is not even 70lbs. Freija about 39 and ZeZe is only 29lbs. Freija has caught about 60-70 hogs in the woods and has really been a great CD for me. ZeZe just did it on instict.

 

I hope you don't feel like I'm talking down the sport hog hunting. I know what a bad boar can do. I know I wouldn't take one on empty handed because he could make short work of me. And I know a big hog can seriously injure or kill dogs. I'm all for hog hunting with dogs as I believe it is the purest form of sport in the world of hunting. The hog actually has a sporting chance to take your dogs out, and he might even get you. Like you said, the catchdog's survival depends on you and your team assisting with the catch, and your survival depends on the dog doing his job because if the dog wasn't holding him that boar could kill you. That takes a lot more than lining up a shot and pulling the trigger of your 30-06 from 200 yards...

And I had to lookup Fort Bayou Ranch to see if you were within reasonable driving distance because I would certainly come out with you and the dogs! Haha

All I'm saying is that hog hunting and pit contests are two different proving grounds. Comparing apples to oranges. A great hog hunting dog might not be able to prove game in the pit. And a proven gamedog might not make a good hunter. Part of the APBT is his lack of regard for self-preservation that comes from the generations of selective breeding for the pit. A hog on the other hand is a wild animal and his #1 concern is self-preservation. Hogs don't roam the woods seeking out dogs to kill. But we all know what happens as soon as a pit dog gets loose from his chain on a yard full of dogs.