Hog Dog Attributes

Posted same topic on Haynhogdogs but it seems that forum is for oiling last weeks catch more then discussing our sport or is everyone gangbanging with 6 pitbulls and calling it hunting??

Howzit Guys! I was on another hog dog forum and came across a post about what YOU look for in your dogs and how you would list them according to importance with 1 being most important and so on. As I was running multiple attributes through my mind of the "Ultimate hog dog" I realized that being from Hawaii that what we expect from our pack differs from the mainland and wanted to see what everyone else here thought about the subject. I came up with 10 attributes which I thought were of importance and my list look something like this:

1.Speed
2.Hunt/Drive
3.Nose
4.Brains
5.Stamina
6.Bottom
7.Grit/Aggressiveness
8.Handle
9.Mouth
10.Size

Feel free to add or subtract attributes if they're not of importance to you.

I do beleive in your list and yes I do hunt between 5- 6 dogs of differnt breeds ,I believe terrian and location plays a major role there,s areas that has steep pali,s that we need dogs to go high and comb the sides , theres areas that major wide with little game,and dont forget the road runners here in hawaii, then theres the big Island were we used three dogs and theres alot of game pending on what part of the island, so all in all I believe area and terrian plays a role on breed and how many dogs is fair ,just my humble opinion aloha

Thanks for the response! I see what you are saying about the palis on Oahu changing up the order of my list compared to Big Island gulches. Being born and raised here in Kona I have only had the oppurtunity to hunt on the Big Island and once I got the chance to do a little archery on Molokai with some family. I didn't mean to sound like a dick with my comment bout the bulls but I have noticed the lack of discussion and willingness to share among each other useful information has been lacking as of late( Don't get me wrong I have learned ALOT since joining going through the older posts). I consider myself extremely young and new to the sport of Hog hunting and being raised with uncles that hunt every weekend and every free moment I feel it's just in my blood to want to learn and to just be in the bush running my own pack. I currently have 5 dogs in my yard but try to only run 3 at a time and so far they have worked out pretty good for me hunting from kau forest to waipio valley but am always looking to improve what I have because I hate the feeling of missing that Monstah.

Cruzah i would go more like


1 BRAINS

2 DRIVE

3 NOSE

Stamina is your responsability you need to keep your animals in shape and not railers, Everything else will fall into place. Thats good you are willing to learn from the older hunters...nowadays get alot of know it alls.

Oahu Bulls are more like Hybrids...lol get some that bark and track

Great subject you will most likely get alot of responses over it

1. BRAINS

2. NOSE

3. DRIVE

I agree, stamina is your responsibilty, the dog and yourself.
The dogs are my tools for hunting, and a tool is only an extension of a hunters ability.
I hunt 4 dogs.

Thanks for the input Hypa & Knockout. I look forward to the responses!

I have a good friend in Kau that I hunt with, he use 5-6 dogs all barking dogs and grab only on command ,I do know you have trophies to hunt up there , what type of dogs you hunt barking , rough dogs balls to the walls ?I talked to some hunters from the Big Island and told me times has change some hunt dogs that grab you mention you hunt 3 dogs I had one experience I was hunting 5 rough dogs , the boar cut all and beat the living crap of all five dogs, the dogs knew they were beat, after beating all 5 dogs ,the boar was not to run away he looked at me telling me whos next ,if it wasnt for my pistol the boar would have walked away after kicking my ass cause he did rush me ,lucky for my tracking device cause I found my dogs lying in differnt parts of the valley maybe this is the one time barking dogs would have come in handy ,unfortuneatly the other 99% percent of boars here wants to run. Wheres the boars that wants to fight?

My pack looks like this
1. Bull/Heeler- Track & Grab if the pig like run but 90 percent of the time she gives the pig 5 feet and steady bark
2. Shepherd/ Lab- She NEVER grabs just nip for stop and then call for help. Mostly my main tracker and personal bodyguard(She is very protective of me)
3. Stumpy tail cattle dog- He will grab but is very smart about it. Alot of nipping!
4. Bull/Whippet- She is the speed of my pack with jukes that would make Deion Sanders cry!:lol:She is still young and learning but is coming along extremely well
5. Pointer/Lab- He is only 6 months old and has only been on 2 smaller pigs. Already backtracking and going out with the rest of the pack.
Yes I feel depending on how much pressure they feel the pigs in certain areas here on the Big Island are learning to just RUN! When I was in high school I had 2 pure bred blue bulls that just caught no questions asked( give me my money kine), I had one male and one female along with dog #1 doing the tracking. It was a very brutal and viscious method of hunting but most of all way to expensive for me being in high school and having to explain to moms the amount of money I paid my vet to "save" my bulls and also the fact that we spent more time recooperating then we did in the bush, It just didn't seem like smart hunting so I ended up selling the female to a friend who ended up just using her as a breeder and the male just became my ''companion'' dog and recently passed away at 10 years old! After "retiring" my bulls I then picked up my Shepherd cross and a Plott/Bull, I really liked the Plott cross but he would open on track and didn't really have the speed to stop the runners so I gave him to my younger cousin who still hunts him till this day! I then got my Bull/Whippet to fill in the space and am alot more pleased with the results. My "main" dog the Bull /Heeler is getting ripe in age already(11) but there aint noway I get up before dawn and load up dogs without her jumping her fence or yanking off her collar to get in the truck or barking and crying till my family comes out and turns on the hose! As for Hogs that just like fight I have met a few "bad boys" down south and also more then a few in Kohala and Waimanu Valley, I think it has to do with prior run ins with hunters and dogs and knowing it ain't a good experience.

4 dogs:

1. pure red nose 9 yrs old, my anchor grabber, tracker, can find its own pigs.
2. hound/whippet 5 yrs old, my main tracker. Will grab pig if under about 70 lbs, if over will bark and stop pig, will jump inon bigger pigs when the rest of the dogs get there.
3. bull/whippet 3 years old, tracker, can find its own pig, will grab any size pig.
4. bull/airdale 1 yr old, solid dog that grabs any size pig, been on about 10 pigs already up to about 120 lbs. answers bark, and hunts with the pack, looks like she just started tracking small kind, still learning, looking good.

All my dogs are real short range, they really don't go more than 20 yds. ahead of me, but i hunt small pockets in the pastures, and this works out perfect. I don't use tracking collars because they are really short range and don't go that far. I also use a mini 30, if they chase the pigs out i shoot em, if they grab i poke em. they also don't chase cows or horses. I know a lot of guys wouldn't like my dogs cause it seems that they are always around your feet, but the pockets we hunt are really shallow and long, and we run the dogs downwind of the pockets and grass in the pastures, so it works well. Also get plenty pigs. Avg huntig trip is about 3 hrs.

Your pack sounds solid Knockout! 3 hour hunts sounds like something my other half would really be happy about I could be home while still get light out! I forgot to mention my Bull/Whippet sounds pretty close to yours, She grabs and grabs pretty solid! I currently use a Rossi M92 .357 for majority of my kills but also carry a Buck 119 for stab when I run with friends bulls or other guys dogs.

some of my friends call me "hollywood hunter" LOL, but it dosent bother me...If they could, they would too...! I can still be at home for dinner with the ohana!

for the most part I agree with what has been said but one thiing I have not heard to much about is how the dogs work as ateam this to me is most emportant I hunt dogs that do not bark most times three older dogs two traing when I hunt I will find his mark and track only him in a day of hunting we will go past many pigs somtimes the young dogs will stray to other pigs I bread my own line for 16 years

ABDA PIT/reg------------LONG FRONT LEGS OPEN GATE FOR RUNING/loyallty
OLD FAMILY REDS PIT/reg-----------HEAVEY LOW END POWER/loyallty
US STANDERED BULL T-----------REFLEX SUPER FAST
AUS BULL T/reg----------------------BIGER BULLT SIZE
PLOT/CAT------------------------THE NOSE AND THE BRAIN AND FOR THE HUNTS THAT LAST ALL DAY


all of these breeds make one today it works for me

Hog428: If I understanding correctly you said you run 5 dogs of the same cross consisting of a few kinds of Bull/Catahoula/Plott?? So I guessing they straight grab?? I have never tried to put my trackers on a trail and follow it but if that is your style and you have done it for 16 years, I have nothing but respect and big props for you. Thanks for the response, Time for moemoe!

I know its hard to breed your own line it takes years to get the dog you want and some people dont have the time or the space todo this but if you can i strongly recomend it.

All my dogs except for 2 are related brothers sisters most of them ....I keep 2 from a another line thats not in them just so i can mix up the blood after so many breedings, But all my dogs have redbone in them but some grab like bulls because i have bred the bull in them and some of my bulls track cuz i mixed the redbone my mids are mostly airdales I hunt only 6 but do bring 1 pup at times.

I trust in the redbone hound/bulls and airdales/german short hairs......Then cross the two lines and keep a bull off to the side just to keep the lines healthy. I believe that you can have the same speed that whippets have in a larger dog, and that helps when the hog and dog are somewhere in an area were you cant get to. plus cold country the smaller dogs end up shivering all day. plus if its just me and the boar and 1 dog and a knife I wanna see a nice healthy dog with a heavy jaw there next to me




heres a dog that has only 1/4 bull the rest is red bone and german short hair/airdale......but people think she is all bull