Hello Brandon,
Thanks for writing.
Yes, at a baying contest, if the dog catches and doesn't let go within 5 seconds, it is a disqualification.
Here's my opinion about how to possibly win at a baying contest. I use to enter at a lot of them when I had dogs that were good contest type bay dogs. But have gotten away from it. I don't really have any contest type dogs anymore that I feel I could win with, but, if I did, I would probably still go sometimes. Its so competitive now days with big dollars changing hands for contest winning style dogs. I also was asked to judge many a one also so here goes---
To win, a dog needs to be ALMOST a catch dog, the tighter he bays, the more intense he bays, the more slobber he can get on the hogs nose from baying so close the better without ever -ever- ever looking away from the hog. If the hog runs, the dog needs to latch on to the hogs hind end to make him stop and "bay up"……. That's about it in a nut shell of what I think it takes to have a winning bay dog. On thing I didn't mention is I feel a dog needs to have a good strong, loud bark, not a squeaky or quiet bark.
Now, to your dog. You mention your dog is a puppy, but don't give his age or size. I call dogs puppies until they are a year old. You also don't mention if your baying him alone or with other dogs. So Im kinda speaking from guessing. If your baying him with other dogs in the pen also, pull them out and let him bay by himself and see if he still catches. If your baying him by himself and he's catching, you just need a bigger hog most likely. A 60 pound hog is what I call a shoat, or a small hog. I can almost promise you when you go to a contest, that the hogs will be no smaller than 150, which makes lots of difference.
USUALLY, a dog that's wanting to catch and is not a true catch dog breed will back off some as the hog size increases. Also most will back off after they get knocked around pretty hard or cut up. Some even quit the pen, and some even get more fierce.
My basic suggestion would be for you to go to a contest and enter your dog, if he's young enough, he might be able to get in the puppy bay, if not, the 1 dog bay. Let him try his catching on a larger hog and see what happens.
One final note. My brother use to have a plott hound named Sambo, and without stretching the truth, If he entered him in a bay contest and HE DIDN'T CATCH, he won first or second. He was so intense and a fierce competitor. The bay would last for 2 minutes, and you could almost set your watch by when he would catch. At about 1minute and 30 seconds, there he would go. Sambo was also a excellent woods hunting dog for us also, a little slower on the track than I like a dog to be, but ran quiet as a mouse until the hog was found. What my brother tried doing with him was clipping down the length of his canine teeth to where when he did catch, he wouldn't be able to lock on. My brother was kind of nervous in clipping the teeth and didn't clip them far enough and he could still catch. He finally got tired of donating his money in entry fees about 9 out of 10 times and quit hauling him.
Some other folks around do that and it helps. But the bottom line is, he cant catch over 5 seconds in a contest.
Here's a couple of tricks to the baying trade.
To make your dog have more slobber-feed him a Hershey's chocolate bar a few minutes before you go in. Their mouth will foam like they have rabies.
Don't feed your dog the day before, let him compete on a empty stomach, he will look trimmer and will feel better not competing on a full stomach. Think about it, you wouldn't want to have to go run a mile long race on a full stomach.
A lot of dogs have problems with dogs smelling around at another dogs pee spot or poop spot when they get in the pen, Get you a bottle of mentholadium (I cant spell that) rub like your mom use to put on your chest when you had a cold to where you could breath better when you were a child. Remember the intense smell? Well, rub some of that on your dogs nose before you go in to where they cant smell any thing but that smell and it opens up there sinuses' so they can get in more air.
ALWAYS-ALWAYS-ALWAYS walk your dog until he poops and pees before you go in, That's also a reason for holding the feed and water especially the day of the contest. At least until after he has competed.
Feed a good quality, HIGH FAT content dog food (high energy). No walmart old roy, kibbles and bits type stuff with corn as the main ingredient. There's lots of good ones out there. Diamond premium is a good one. I personally feed a brand called Sportsmix High energy. Its something like 18-20% fat. Bottom line is, if you were an athlete competing in the Olympics, I don't think your coach would like it if you ate junk food all the time when you had access to good quality type food that would help you in your competition.
I always liked to give my dogs I was taking to contest vitamins. There's lots of good ones out there, but the one I liked the most was Canine Red Cell. A bout 3 cc's by mouth every other day. The dogs felt good and had good blood flow. Also helps if they get cut in producing red blood cells.
Believe it or not, a lot of folks give their dogs shots. I would be lying if I said I had never done it, because I have. Normally the shot they give there dog is a B12 shot. BE SURE, IF YOU EVER DO not to give B12 complex. That's another story all in its on :, but, a lot give their dogs a B12 shots to basically "hop them up" to where they are faster, more aggressive, more intense.
There are other things people do and I've done but these are just a few tricks of the trade you don't ever hear anyone talking or telling you about.
One last thought, some dogs are catch dogs, some are bay dogs, and some are both. Just like some boys are more prone to get into a fight or tussle with someone than others. Its just their make up. Dogs are the same way. Some are naturally wanting to grab the hog where others are happy with just barking at it.
Good luck with your dog. Let me know in a few months how he's done at the contest.
Jim