Dear Dale,
Thanks for taking the time to write. Im glad to see a new hunter trying to "break into" to the sport. Your also on the right track----your wanting a good find/strike dog... Most folks new to the sport go after catch dogs or just a baying dog first. So, hurray for you wanting the find dog... Because a find/strike dog is truely the "MONEY" dog. With out him, you can catch no hogs... Your 2 questions are truely a good one, but is not that easy to answer. But Im very glad you asked it in the way you did by asking for MY OPINION. You asked me first---- I need a good nosed dog, and what in my opinion is a good breed. Question #2 is "Is a good find dog a trainable trait for any breed?"
Question #1----a good breed with a good nose. Ive seen good nosed dogs that would find in a number of breeds and crosses, Ive owned dogs with good noses and hunting ability from different breeds and crosses. But no matter what breed or cross you get, there is no guarantee that the dog will do or hunt like you want. I have had two black mouth dogs with colder noses. I would guess they would run a 4-6 hour track. One was a long range dog, the other hunted like a cur dog. Both were dandys...But, I have to say I had to go thru maybe 20-30 blackmouths to find the ONE i liked. I think the other cur dog breeds will be about the same. But if you ever find a good one,,,its a dandy. If your really wanting a good nosed dog and want a specific breed I would suggest you go to one of the hound breeds such as, Plott, treeing walker, american walker (running walker), bluetick, black and tan, redtick etc... But not all people like hounds, including me sometimes. There are good hog dogs or big game dogs that come from all of the hound breeds. I have friends that have good find dogs from all the above mentioned breeds. Of the hounds, Ive had my best luck with Plotts. But, not just any ole plott will work. I personally dont like one that runs open mouth. And to find one that runs quiet eiether naturally or trained to run quiet is HARD TO FIND. The plott lineage that I like has alot of hunt in them, usually longer type range dogs, will run a track up to maybe 6-7 hours old, will grab a hog to sit him down to be bayed, run almost completely silent and most of all have HEART!!!!... Ive been lucky enough to own a few that would do all that. The plott is raised for big game, originally they were originally bred to be bear dogs and still are. Are they the best breed and will all of them satisfy me? No! But if I run across one or find a lineage that will do all the things I like, I find them hard to beat.
Question #2---- "Is a good find dog a trainable trait for any breed?" the answer is simply No. A dog has got to have the heart to be a find dog. And you cant teach heart..
Good luck with your quest,
Jim