Running dogs, sounds simple to the average hunter who has heard of doing so, or even ran behind someone elses pack.  Feed ‘em, load ‘em up, take ‘em out to the woods and catch a hog.  I am always getting the “hey, bring your dogs, we’ll get one for sure!”  Boy, I wish it were that easy!

The fact of the matter is, a lot of hymin’ and hawin’ goes on in the mind of a “Dog Man” before, during, and after every hunt.  The process starts at home in the kennels with what dogs are going out today.  This decision starts with, where you are hunting, then with who, and how are his dogs.  If your going out alone, its “is this to many for me to handle, or not enough to stop a raging boar hog?”

This mornings dilema was whether or not to bring my “bull dogs”, and I opted out of doing so because we were going to work some young (second string) “bay dogs”.  I immediately knew I was making the wrong choice as soon as I left home, naturally.  We wound up running a boar, with out stopping him, but none the less the “bench” got some playing time.  Its always about trying to make the right moves, “doggin” is like a game of chess.

We do our research, I stay up on dog nutrition, I talk to “dog men” damn near every day, I plan breedings, and so on and so on!  Simply put, there is good days and bad days.  There are days the dogs seem as if they would rather be any where but the woods.  There are days where your dogs should make the evening news too!  But, you won’t know unless your out there doing it.  The next time your out with your dogs, your buddies dogs, or a guides dogs, take a minute to think about was goes into it!  But don’t think to long, you might change your mind!

-”Cut ‘em loose!”