Gritty Cur Dog, HELP

Myles Man · Postby **Myles Man** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 7:29 pm

I have a 20 month brindle, bob tail, big chested male. He is a Plott X Blackmouth. I have had him for 3 months now. Hes been on 12 hunts or so. His 2nd bay that I know of was the 10th hunt I took him on. He got hooked by a 175lb, 1" cutter on his left shoulder. Thats not the problem... I've put him on some staged hunts since then to see how he works. He's not using his nose like the experienced curs (though he is starting to), he will follow them pretty good and "join" the hunt, not really "make" the hunt. When it comes time to bay, it seems he is holding the bay with real good grit, but the 50- 60 lb boars we are using for training BEAT him like no tomorrow-AND HE TAKES IT WITH PRIDE. With that in mind.....does it seem like he is stupid-crazy brave to be so gritty? It seems like suicide. So, when we get a big boar with big cutters-it seems like he will be the first to take the beating, in which he will prob get split in half. Now I am wondering what to do with such a gritty cur. My guess is to vest him up and take what comes, to put it simply- thats the nature of the sport. Help me with any experienced wisdom on how to deal with this very gritty cur, I'm new to runnin dogs/hogs. Thanks

mountaincurs · Postby **mountaincurs** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 9:43 am

sounds like hes gonna be a good hog dog then lol. all mine catch. some learn to back off after they get wooped some dont just the way it is. you either gotta run all gritty dogs or just bay. you can run both but when one dog catches i want them all caught.

Myles Man · Postby **Myles Man** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 3:28 pm

OK, that is what makes sense. I am at the "do i keep em" or "do i get rid of em" stage. That is the question.....im thinkin hes a keeper, just not 100% sure, that comes with wisdom!

coolerman · Postby **coolerman** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 4:12 pm

50-60 lb shoat vs a 20 month cur dog really aint stress testing him in my opinion IF HE DIDNT catch one that small I would frown on him . I say you keep him and see what he does in the woods ..no matter how rough or loose he is ....I alwalys ask myself when judging a dog .... was there a hog caught at the end of the day ?did he do his part and did he put forth an effort worthy of eating my feed and taking up one of my kennels

Myles Man · Postby **Myles Man** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 11:02 am

Well, he didnt catch one that small (It came from a trap,) , we were using a bay pen, just training him and seeing how he handled. He did help bay and hold down a 175 lb boar, in which he got a lil cut on his front left shoulder, but 2 other dogs got hooked as well. So in that sense, he did his job. Thanks for the replies.

broncobilly · Postby **broncobilly** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:40 am

With a 50-60 lb shoat he should be giving the beating, not taking it. I would put him in with a really aggressive 150 to 200 lb boar whose cutters had been removed. That will give you a much better idea of what you have. In my opinion if he is not catching a 50 pounder in the bay pen by himself, then he is sure not to gritty.

JMHO

Bill

scdogman · Postby **scdogman** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:47 am

Fitz · Postby **Fitz** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 12:38 am

I would wait till you find a big ol sow either by drivin around or your other dogs strike one then throw him out with the other dogs. He'll get beat up some but not hurt and he'll learn to respect a hog. Like stated earlier using a big boar with his cutters knocked out works too!

Myles Man · Postby **Myles Man** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 12:50 pm

thanks, I got rid of him...I traded him for a loose blackmouth gyp. Now, 2 weeks later, the guy is sellin him for $150. Im happy with the trade, but now Im learning she is a help dog, not a strike dog, so she is up for sell for $100. Im learning ya'll, thanks for talking with me.

Fitz · Postby **Fitz** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 6:13 pm

Don't get rid of her just yet. Try running her on her own or with another younger dog that don't know much. I had 2 dogs that were helper dogs but then my main strike dog got injured so I had to hunt them on their own. It made them step up and stop relying on my main dog to find the hogs. They both turned out to be solid strike dogs. It took them a hunt or two to realize they were the new lead dogs but they learned they had to find the hogs on their own.

ChargingCatcher · Postby **ChargingCatcher** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:56 am

Vest him up for one.

Second, you can't have one gritty dog in a pack, cause then they are the only ones getting their asses kicked left and right.
If you have more than one gritty dog, they all gang up and no one dog can really take a beating. I don't really have to run a bulldog anymore cause even if its a bad hog its caught in a few minutes cause they all get into it.