Dear Al,
I appreciate you taking the time to write me. First, I want to thank you for the compliment. I try real hard and try to only give advise on subjects I've personally had experience with. I know Im not always right and others dont always agree with my methods, but I do the best I can. Its always nice to get a compliment. Thanks again.
You mentioned that you have a half plott and half catahoula. Well, I now have 3 half plott/half catahoula curs. I got my first one last year, and have been well pleased with his progress. I just went the last weekend of January to pick up two more puppies from the same cross.
The one thing you didnt mention is your dogs age. But age isnt always the big issue, but it does in some cases. The one thing Ive learned with puppies or young dogs is not all of them start at the same time. I have some friends who let puppies mess with or try to bay a small shoat at 2 months old and have them in the woods by 6 months. Well, every dog owner does things different and their own way that works for them, but mine are about 3-5 months old before they get to see a hog other than watching their mother bay and thats from behind a wire fence. I usually dont put a dog in the actual woods until they are almost a year old. Their bones, teeth and body are still in the developmental stage before that. Also, being young, it is extremely easy to take a pups heart away should a hog scare him. But occasionally I will run across a young dog that I believe can "handel it" before age 1.
Young dogs are like kids, its all a game to them, and their attention span is not very long until they get bored and want to go off and do something else. Pups are the same way as kids in this example. So if your dog is a young dog, I imagine he just hasnt gotten out of the getting bored stage of his training yet. What I usually do is get a pup interested in the hog, letting him bay from the outside of the fence 3 or 4 times, then I simply put him up until hes older. If he shows desire at 4 months old, he will still have it at 11 months. Back when I was training labs to retrieve, I had to make the retrieveing all a game. If the pup got tired of the game, he would quit. so dont over do it. The key word is "its a game" to them when their young.
Now, if your dog is an older dog, you can progress with them alot faster. The most recent example of this that I've witnessed is a friend of mine who has frequented my training pasture several times. I believe the dog is over 2 years old and was basically and still is a house dog but has the genes in him to be a hog dog. The first time he tried him, he did EXACTLY what you described your dog as doing. Actually he did the same thing the first time or two he brought him over. As time has progressed, the dog has improved dramatically each and every time he has come over. To the point that he will stop one and go find one all by his self. We've even got him started on "rigging or hood " hunting now.
The key to a dog is patience. There are so many fellow hunters I know that give up on a dog, if he doesnt do it correctly after 2 or 3 times. All I can say is a number of my dogs wouldnt be in my kennel right now if I would have used that rule. I've found that the houndyer the dog the slower the maturity is coming, thus some times on the hound breeds especially, your going to have to wait for that maturity to come. I have found this particulary with the females, they usually will come around if they are going to after their first heat cycle. This is not true in all cases of course, but in some.
Just have patience. Im sure your dog will come around.
Jim