The Sonoma County rain has put the damper on my hunting ambitions this morning, although we are in dire need of the rain, I need to get my weekend “Hawg Doggin’” in.  Not on this day however, the hills of Cazadero have gotten over 3 inches in the past 24 hours.  Running dogs in a down pour is tough, to say the least.  The scent of the hog does not stick on the ground, rooting and tracks are tough to distinguish as fresh, and if you have ever been in heavy timber during a down pour, then you know your hearing is minimal.  Excuses, excuses! lol

The hunting here has been great this winter, we have been hunting every weekend since early November, and have only struck out a few times.  My group of hunting buddies have done extremely well with lots of pork to put in the freezer.  Reports of other people have been good as well, both on private and the public hunt at Lake Sonoma, which is open to Archers.  Reports of downed hogs including tuskers have been floating around.

Dogs have done well, our younger stock, including a few pups at 8 mos. old are striking and baying.  The winter “heat” has passed and a few of us have bred some dogs.  A nice batch of Mcnabb/Kelpies are coming soon, as well as a liter of APBT’s from my “Honeybunch” bitch will hit the ground in late March.  The dogs are in their best shape right now, for they are running hard up to twice a week.

We have a few more months of runnin’ dogs left before it starts to warm up and get real “snakey” up here!  Gonna be runnin’ ‘em as much as possible until then, with a few big weekends coming up with friends.  Those are the best, when a bunch of serious dog guys get together and run the hills, then sit back after and tell about the hunt.  So that is my late winter, rained in, report on Hawg Doggin’.  Would love to hear some stories and see some pictures if any of ya’ll could send ‘em. Send ‘em to catchdogfarmer@gmail.com!

“cut ‘em loose”

To protect your investment in your dogs should be a priority to you as a dogman. Your dogs put it out there for you in the woods, and you as a responsible owner, and ambassador of hunting with dogs, should take advantage of the means available to you! Nutrition, goes with out saying, a quality chow and supplements should be a staple in your kennel. I am not gonna jump on a soapbox and rattle off brand names but if you have a kennel of working dogs, you should not be feeding out from Safeway at 12 dollars a 40 lb bag. What you put into these athletes is what you will get in return. There are several “quality” chows available at fairly reasonable prices. What I am saying is do your research, find a chow that fits your budget, yet gives your dogs optimal nutrition, and benefits as working dogs.

Another thing to consider as a “Hog Dogman” is protecting your dog in the way of “cut protection”, ie. cutvests and cut collars. The various styles, which I have touched on in previous writings, should be considered here. If your dog is a gritty dog, then with out question should be vested up. Nothing troubles me more than seeing, or hearing of a dog getting injured when all precautions were not taken. People argue a dog loses mobility with a vest, this is true to an extent, but vet bills are expensive, and dogs being down on injury is a burden too. I have also heard, “I want my dog to respect the hog, a vest is a false sense of security”, true, but all it takes is once!
I do not vest up my strike dogs, I am comfortable with their style, and their ability, however when running with Bulldogs I do vest or collar them up. And I do ALWAYS vest and collar up my bulldogs. Many of my close buddies have their own views and takes and have some damn good dogs, they run vestless and get it done without recourse. I however, know first hand vests save dogs!

There are many of manufacturers out there with various sizes, materials, and styles of vests and collars. They range in price from fifty dollars anywhere up to one hundred and fifty dollars. Ask around and keep in my the style of dog you have. I stress the importance of knowing a bit on field first aid as well, from simple to advance, this could save time and unnecessary vet bills and even save a dogs life. Have a field kit with some basic items such as sterile water, gauze, betadine, benedryl, wraps and tape. Be able to stabalize the dog and get him to the vet if needed.

If all bases are covered and you keep your dog in working shape, you should be able to have a long healthy hunting relationship with your dog. Take all precautions, keep up on his health and be prepared in the case of field injury and you will be amazed. You and your best friend will bring home plenty of bacon!

“cut ‘em loose”

Of all the great and not so great, dogs I have ran behind over the years, a few stand out.  And, of those few, one takes the cake!  Riddle’s “Barron”, a dog among dogs if you would.  Barron, was a hog dog owned by T. Michael Riddle, owner of the Nativehunt Guide Service.

Riddle’s barron was what you would call the classic “American Bandog”.  A Bandog is actually a hybrid breed, rare and only a few can produce this breed correctly.  A Bandog is produced when a full blooded American Pit Bull Terrier (not an Amstaff, or Staffy, or bluenose this or that) is bred into a Dane/Mastiff bitch.  The resulting litter is the Bandog.  A dog originally concieved by the late Dr. Swineford DVM in the early 70’s.  Although traces of this type of breeding can be dated back further, Swineford perfected it and created a working dog like none other.

Barron was out of a litter sired by Riddle’s Frankie.  To back up for a second, Frankie was a top notch Pit Bull by all means, and has become a foundation blood line for Pit Bull stock used by many hunters today!  The blood in these dogs run deep and strong, and have made some of the finest hog dogs around- BAR NONE!  So, Frankie was bred into a Dane/Mastiff bitch and the result was the Baron, owned by Mike.  Mike ran with his Bull dog Barron and Frankie for years, just the three of them and many of hogs met their demise.

I guided under Mike for several years, running behind Barron.  This dog was the complete package, he had a nose for hogs, he had the speed of a cheetah, the strength of a bear, and the wits of Einstein.  He always knew how to avoid trouble while on a hog, and when T. Michael approached the scene, Barron turned up the heat, he always had a presence of where Mike was.  It was like those two were brothers, man and dog!  When we had young dogs out hunting, Barron could sense the situation under control and let them bay.  Barron made me look good numerous times as well, we killed hogs for clients in the dead heat of summer and the pitch black rain of winter.  Around camp in between hunts, or at the fire pit at night, Barron was always there with us, just one of the guys.  He was a big baby, and loved attention, and many of clients wanted their picture with that old dog.

Mike still has pups occasionally from the Old Barron bloodline, but I think he has a tough time parting with them.  He talks of Barron still, and you immediately sense the bond those two had, as he speaks real soft and with passion.  Barron passed away in 2007 of old age, the week after his last hunt.  We killed a big one on his last hunt, and Barron was like a pup.  I still remember the night Barron passed, we all shed a tear and told our favorite Barron story around the fire.  I think about that old dog every now and again, and am proud to say I got to work with him!  So heres to Barron, runnin’ hogs up in Heaven!

-”cut ‘em loose”