Looking at Hog Dogs
 

I have had a few dogs raised and trained pointers and coon dogs.
I am looking to start a few dogs for running Feral Hogs which are moving into my area, I am at kind of a loss since I have not run hogs much. What breads of dog is best?

Hounds for tracking and pit bulls for hold dogs. Why don't you google hog hunt outfitters who use dogs and ask what they use.

Catahoula Cur or a Blue Lacy are 2 of the finest bay hounds out there for hog. A well trained American Bulldog (pit) is about the best catch hound you can get. Pretty much any of the Cur dogs are great for bay hounds. Since you have worked with coon dogs I would imagine you are familiar with Red Bones. I've seen a few guys cross train them to bay hogs. Smart dog and really great nose but they aren't that fantastic in a fight with a hog. They are agile but being a little bigger that aren't as agile as you really want. The Cur dogs are some fast little suckers and bay a hog well and are plenty agile enough to stay safe from those cutters for the most part. Whatever you do, keep your dogs safe and get them some cut vests. Especially your catch dogs. Some people train their bay hounds to bay up close. If you do that, make sure they have cut vests too.

I hog hunt, but never have with dogs, but from others I've met and talking to guides the advice above seems right catahoulas as bay dogs and american bulldogs or pitbulls as catchdogs.

For a moment I though you wrote "hot dogs" then got even more confused when I read "breads of dogs"... I had a Massive confusion there.

The "hot dogs" go right along with your "breads of dogs":biggrin:

Just a little info and opinion but mostly experience. It is going to be hard to find a dog that is aggressive enough to close with a good-sized Hog, not get seriously injured, and do it twice. Kind of a broad statement but more true than not.

If you want a dog kept in a kennel you have a lot of choices for a catch dog. But IMO you'd be delinquent if you let it out to run around the yard where its instincts might cause harm to family and friends. A fine line between the focus and instincts a catch dog needs and a dog you'd trust around children or even adults.

I had one that came close, he was a Czech Bear dog breed by a PHD. A mix of Rottweiler, Beagle, and Foxhound. I got him as a rescue from the Dope unit at a local international airport. He washed out of training because of excessive aggressiveness. A single-minded tracker (nose dominant) with the size, strength, aggressiveness, and stupidity to take on a sounder of Hogs. He'd dive right into a thicket and go right at them. Once Hogs get into deep cover it can really take some doing to dislodge them and drive them into the open, they'll avoid the dog as a first instinct, but may fight to stay in cover.

I actually drove a hundred miles to talk with the Breeder and I mentioned his dog was really aggressive and single-minded (stupid). He said that was the objective of his breeding program, a dog that was aggressive and stupid enough to flush the Hogs (or Bears) out of deep cover and mean enough to survive. And strong-willed enough to do it again the next time. The way he said it was stupid and aggressive.

My chase dog was an Ibizan Hound, nearly as quick as a Greyhound, loved the chase, but smart enough not to tangle with a Hog.

Just opinion but I put way too much time and effort into training a dog to have it permanently maimed by a Hog, The Vet bills can be bad enough. The Hog isn't the only danger, Hogs are tanks and have the hide to run full bore through a thicket, a dog that follows them can come out the other end of the thicket cut up pretty bad.

Side note, I once threw a roadkill Deer out where the Hogs had been rooting, the next morning all that was left was a few patches of hair and some bone splinters.

You have to wonder how many catch dogs get maimed or injured before (the survivors), the dogs you see on TV appear. Predators will pick off the young Hogs, not many predators around that can take on a full-grown 4+ year old (300lb+) Hog. You think of the Boars as being the badasses, the Sows can be worse. I have some Sow teeth, the canine tooth has a base as big around as my thumb. Teeth made for crushing.

Hog dogs, also known as hog hunting dogs or wild boar hunting dogs, are specially trained dogs used for hunting wild hogs or boars. These dogs come in a variety of breeds, including Catahoula Leopard Dogs, Black Mouth Curs, American Pit Bull Terriers, and many others.