hawgs, dawgs, & huntin'

Thanks for taking the time to write. I know the feeling of the two loves. When I was rodeoing, I just couldnt get into team roping, but thinking back about bucking horses, bulldoging, the road, and all the life long friends that crossed my path in those days, I know where your coming from.

In reguards to the cur type dogs you have now, sounds like you have a good start. first, you asked about age. I usually like to start mine barking on the outside of a round 48 foot round pen with hog pannels at about 2 or 3 months. I usually use their momma to help get them started. The momma goes in the pen and barks, and her puppies are on the outside barking at that mangy critter "my mommas" barking at. I dont do this all the time, pups get bored easily, but once a week is plenty.

After the momma is pulled from the pups, if I have the area to do it, I just let the pups run loose in the yard, and they will go over to the bay pen themselves, sometimes several times a day till it drives you crazy barking at the hogs. The main thing is, i dont want the pups to be able to get in with the hogs at that age. One big trauma to the pup by the hog could ruin him/her, some recover from traumas but more dont do it any longer.

When they get to be 4 or 5 months old, i will put them in the pen with a hog that wont eat them up and one that is lively. After I get them going good, I personally put them in the pens and dont bay them anymore until they are nearly a year old. I want them to get alittle maturity on them. At that time, I will usually start taking one at a time on hunts with me and turn them into a bayed hog when I hear the dogs bay up. I usually do this procedure for several hunts on sending them to a bay before I will let them try it on their own.

The main thing to remember is you cant build Rome over night. It takes time on some of them to get them trained. Ive had personal friends who have culled young dogs simply because they could bay in a pen pretty good and then took them hunting and put them on the ground to find a hog and the dog is lost. The bottom line is the dogs dont know what their doing yet. The way I looks at it is, When I was about 6 i learned to ride a bicycle, but just because I could ride a bicycle didnt mean I could handle a harley davidson motor cycle. I had to grow up to that one.

Hope you under stand what Im trying to say. Just dont rush them, sounds like you have some good pups on the ground. And above all----have lots of patience, all of you are learning at the same time.