pigman

Hey Pumpkin the Musher, what sort of dogs do you use when you hunt deer? Or do you hunt alone with guns? Have you ever tried hunting hogs? That's one heck of an adrenaline rush and dogs LOVE it. Like you I hunt for food, what I don't eat I feed to my dogs. Pigs are bad for the aussie environment so it's a community service. There are feral deer in australia, sambar, red and fallow deer from memory. Their numbers are quite high as well since they escaped many years ago. Deer are harder to find than hogs so I haven't had a chance to hunt any yet. I'd need to get new dogs to be able to hunt them I think. A pit cross pack just isn't fast enough or doesn't have a good enough nose to track them for too long. I believe in some Australian states that they have banned the use of some dog breeds when hunting deer. I have a feeling that the chasing dogs, deerhound, greyhounds, roodogs etc and some of the scent hounds, foxhounds, bloodhounds and the like, are not allowed to be used. Why I don't know. I do know that the authorities don't mind people using beagles for the sambar tho. I guess they don't mind smaller dogs who track deer but object to a dog who can catch a deer itself. Anyway, happy hunting. I couldn't see the pics you posted, dunno why?? Yes Xavierandrea, we hunters are bad. It's always 'you shoulda seen the way my dogs did this' or I wish you hadda been there to see the pig that backed into the hollow log and kept the dogs at bay for an hour before I got there' or 'you would've loved the chops I got opff that young sucker we caught near the blackberry thicket' etc etc etc. We are like a broken record :lol:

all american pup, if you had read my post you would see I don't think the dog should be killed but instead it should be neutered and sent somewhere where there are no kids. If that is possible. I agree with you that some dogs do not assume they are not the alpha in a human family but the reason for this is because people are too soft when it comes to breeding and they breed from dogs who show aggressive signs. Why they do this is beyond me but the end result is millions of dogs out there who inherit bad aggressive traits. This then translates to millions of dogs who need to be rehomed or are abandoned. I also think people who own these agro dogs are too soft and are doing all dogs , and dog ownership, a diservice by allowing this type of thing to continue. I ask you, is a dog's life more important to you than a child's life?? As for me never getting a breed that is known to be dominant. I have owned bull breeds and hunting dogs all my life and they are known to be dominant. The difference is they are also known to be human friendly and their dominance thing is aimed at other dogs, never humans.. None of my dogs have ever shown the slightest bit of aggression to humans, be they babies or adults. If they were to show aggression I would rehome them immediately. The problem with this is that who wants an aggressive dog?? Not many people I bet. If all else fails I will have no compunction in putting the dog to sleep if I thought it would save some poor person from being mauled. I couldn't sleep at night if I sent a known, aggressive biting bull breed to a home knowing that it might bite someone in the home. Each biting case should be judged on its own merits. If you think every dog can be trained to not bite a child, as you seem to be suggesting, then by all means attempt to train a known biter to not bite the kid in future. Just don't go crying to the media if that known biter actually does bite the human again. Surely it's better to be safe than sorry? I'm all for compassion towards animals but not at the expense of a human's well being. :roll:

I think some people are missing the point. A dog must always assume it is subordinate to humans, no matter what. No matter what age the human or how long the dog has been there before the human. So a dog that bites a child in an attempt to lovingly discipline the child, is breaking the cardinal rule. DOGS WHO BITE MUST NOT BE TOLERATED!! Simple!! It is not a dog's place to discipline a human. In tribal societies where kids and dogs are always together, a dog who bites ends up on the campfire that night. There is no sense in keeping a dangerous animal in the camp, humans are more important. Training a dog to bite is another matter, something I don't agree with but it does happen in protection work etc. A dog should be encouraged to bark at strangers it deems as a threat to its family but never to bite them. Weeding out aggressive dogs or dogs who think they have some sort of pack right over a human is the safest thing to do and is the smartest thing to do. All dogs who show some sort of dominance that is exhibited by biting (even if it's a warning bite that doesn't break the skin) should be neutered or spade immediately. I don't think it's necessary to put the dog to sleep, there are other options like rehoming it where there are no kids. But to allow a dog to bite someone and put it down to personality problems is downright dangerous and bad for dogs in the long run. It's people who give their dog the benefit of the doubt when it bites someone who are responsible for the passing on of the temperament problems we see all too often in the news. Who are these people going to blame when the dog kills a baby? The behaviourist?? A dog who bites for any reason is a dangerous animal and should be placed in care where biting is not an option.

how about bullshitz, bulldog/shitzu mix?? By the by, aren't all domestic dogs designer dogs?? They've all been bred to look a certain way and they all come from wolf blood so they now look nothing like wolves. Just a thought.

Thanks all, I've always thought there is a hunter hidden inside every dog person. I agree tho, hunting, although fun, isn't for everybody and I can relate to those of you who wouldn't do it. I also respect that those of you who say they wouldn't do it also say they can see the attraction. I've seen those 'go to ground' competitions and they look great fun. The thing that gets the terriers going most in those go to ground comps is the fact there is a live rodent at the end of the tunnel. The rodent is protected of course but it gives the dog a chance to think it's hunting for real. Stargaze, I can't blame you for having part of you that wants to hunt with your catahoulas, those dogs are tailor made hunters and do a great job apparently. I'd love to get a catahoula for my team but there aren't many in Oz. I went hunting once and my friends laussie shepherd came along for the ride. His dog, although it had never hunted before, took to it like a fish to water. It was great at finding pigs and bailing them up. It kept well out of the way as well and never got caught. It wasn't stupid, he would just find the pig, stop him in his tracks and wait for the muscle to get there. It was a wonderful sight.

Just checking to see if anyone else out there uses their dogs to hunt. I do and my dogs are happiest when they are out in the bush looking for pigs or foxes and rabbits. From reading some posts here I guess most dogo people just keep their dogs as companions. That's cool as well, my old dog has retired from hunting and is 100 per cent house pet now. I still use my other dog for hunting and he's also a great companion when we are not out in the bush. Has anyone else been hunting with their dogs and if so what did you think? I hasten to add I'm in australia and I only hunt feral animals over here. I leave the native animals alone. I also use what the dogs hunt as dog and human food, I don't kill for the sake of it.

it's a little known breed of dog known as the 'tennis ball head hound' It's often used as a doorstop or by people who like to stuff potatoes into other people's exhaust pipes. I believe its origins are in Lilliput where it was used to hunt mice. Its use was stopped because it would get stuck in the mouse hole. It has been used for centuries as a Xmas stocking filler and as a pocket warmer for poor people living in cold countries. :o

Stargaze, Iagree that conformation and gait are important for working dogs and the like but I disagree that a daschund is any good now at what it was bred to do in the first place. Daschunds were made to go to earth after badgers and foxes and they did it well, a hundred years ago. Since then breeders have exagerated their length and stumpy legs to the extreme and I guarantee you won't find many people using pure daschunds for foxing work today. Today's foxers use patterdales, borders and jack russels and foxies etc. I know one guy who crossed a daschund with a foxie and got a decent earth dog, but the daschund bitch he owned was useless as a fox/earth dog. As for bulldogs, the same story applies. Today's english bulldog would not be able to hold a bull like the olde english bulldogs of 100 years ago. Today's dog is not much good for any physical activity except laying on the couch snoring while you watch tv. They are a beautifully natured dog tho. The american bulldog is what the old english bulldog used to look like but it ( the english bulldog) has been transformed into what it is today by breeders who thought exagerating a feature would win shows for them. Unfortunately it does win shows for them. If you look at pics of dogs shown at big dog shows 50 years ago and then look at pics of dogs shown at today's shows, you'll see a marked difference in style.

lol K, good to see you still have the same dog. Didn't you end up getting an aussie bulldog as well?? If so, how's he going?

TRUE PITS, as you say, linebreeding can be done well with no genetic abnormalities. But by the looks of things you breed or support the breeding of pitbulls. I think pitbulls can be treated differently from other breeds because of what they have been used for in their history. It's no secret that pits were bred for fighting other animals so, as a result, they have less defects than other breeds. This is because any dog with bad hips or underbite or whatever else didn't make the grade as a fighting dog and was culled before it was allowed to breed. The end result is that pits have been line bred by people who wanted performance and performance hinges entirely on a dog's health and ability to fight or hunt. It's the same with working sheepdogs etc, any dog not able to perform is shot or neutered/spade before it is allowed to pass on its undesirable traits. I also have to disagree that line breeding does not create genetic disease. Take a look at the english bulldog, that poor mutt was linebred to look like that for some sick reason. Now it's a poor excuse for a dog and it is riddled with genetically passed on problems. I know they aren't exactly diseases but it's the same principle. Not having a go at pits, I LOVE them and have owned many over the years. I think it's the no nonsense breeding of pits by the old fighting dog breeders that has made the pit the robust, healthy dog it is today. That will change tho as idiots breed for colour and confirmation rather than performance and ability.

I don't care how much pain a dog is in, if it bites for any reason it must go. Imagine giving the dog a chance to redeem itself and ending up with a mauled baby. It's not worth the risk. Rehome the dog or you are asking for trouble. You can't keep an eye on a child 100 per cent of the time and it would only take 5 minutes for a dog to kill a small child. My dog gets injured hunting pigs and he has never so much as growled at a child even when the child is poking and prodding him. Pigs can leave some good slashes on a dog but he will let a vet stitch him up or let a child lay all over him and he won't stop wagging his tail. I firmly believe that NO dog should ever be left alone with a kid. People think their dog would never bite a child but can you really take the chance?? Dogs are not furry people, we need to stop atributing our human emotions, logic and feelings to them. They are carnivorous hunting animals, every single one of them and should be treated as such. I love my dogs and keep them healthy and happy but they are dogs, not humans.

Thanks all, it's good to be back. JackieMaya, I defend pigs to my last breath, I defend my right to eat them smothered in apple sauce after catching them in the bush. Pigs are feral and terrible for the australian environment so me and my dogs do our bit to help out. They love a good pork chop as well. :D Yes BK-Blue, the harem is reborn!! I've missed our little chats :lol: from reading some of these posts the past few days the old pitbull is still getting a roasting from some quarters but I see there are quite a few pit owners on the forum. Good to see.

Hi all, my dogs are outside dogs most of the time but I let them in in the evening to watch a bit of tv with me. Then I put them out again at night. While I'm at work they also stay outside. They've been doing this since they were pups and are used to it and wouldn't have it any other way. We don't get snow here in WA so our winters are comparitively mild compared to europe and usa. My old girl (lab cross) would rather sleep on the back step in the cold than in her kennel or in the garden shed where it's warm and cosy. She'd look at me through the door looking all sad but on the few times when I felt sorry for her and brought her inside she'd just want to get back out again. I found the only way I could get her to like going in her crate was to stuff the kennel jampacked full of straw and let her burrow into it. Now in winter she burrows into the straw and never gets cold but in summer she still sleeps on the back step. My other dog sleeps anywhere he wants to, including my lab cross's kennel.

Hello all dogo people. I used to surf this board under the name ArtfulDodger about 2 years back but I took a long time off due to being incredibly lazy and forgetting to pay my internet fees. Anyway, I'm back, if only briefly, and I just thought I'd say hi. I look forward to reading what you all say. It's good to still see some names on here I recognise. Pigman Still a pit lover and still a pit defender