what's the worse that could happen?

I know this feeling as well. It takes a lot of time, energy, and money, to put together a good hog dog pack. I had 8 hog dogs at one point, mostly catahoula's and BMC's. They weren't the best either, not by a long shot. So, I made sure that I hunted property where they wouldn't wander off into private lands where I didn't have permission to hunt. Mine were also fairly short range dogs. And, I had a pretty good handle on them. I wanted well mannered dogs that listened to me, and did as they were told. I had a motorcycle accident back in 2003 that pretty much put an end to my hog dogging, as my knee's were damaged severely. So, I sold or gave away all of my hog dogs.

I still have some dogs that are pets. And, to answer your question above, I have a chain link fence all the way around my one acre of paradise. If my dogs get out my neighbors have all been told to do as they see fit. One of them called the animal control officer on me because my kids were walking down the street with the dogs, and they were not on the leash. They were obeying my kids and staying with them, but that wasn't good enough for my neighbor. It is what it is. I've had the neighbors dog get into my yard trying to fight my dogs and me. Rather than kill him, which I should have as he was in attack mode, I shot into the ground in front of him. That shot scared him enough he went out of my open gate, and back to his yard. I talked with the neighbor, who apologized. I advised in the future there wouldn't be a warning shot for a dog that is growling, and snarling at me and mine. I'm more careful coming in and out of my gate now days to avoid that same situation. I probably should have shot that dog though. Two weeks ago that same dog got into another neighbors yard and killed their beagle. The police were called. The dog was declared dangerous, and a ticket was issued. I'm not sure how it's going to pan out, but it just shows how important it is for the dog OWNERS to take responsibility for their dogs, period. It's YOUR responsibility to ensure your dogs are staying on property where they belong. And, if you fail in that responsibility you have no one to blame but yourself if they get shot.

No where did I say it is not my responsibility, I take full responsibility for anything I own or do which why I have track, train, and identification on all my animals. In your example you still did not shoot the dog given he was attacking your dog as well as you. I commend your reserve as that dog, or even one of my own, would not have been so lucky at my house given a similar scenario. You allowed the owner to remedy the issue which is more than you can ask as the owner of the animal.

It's too bad you were forced out of hunting, maybe one day we can get together and make a hunt sometime. I run BMC, not too longe range either and i hunt rather large properties which is why I have hardly gotten off the property.

You can be sued, like the land owner in East Texas a few years ago that had to pay $145,000 and do jail time for shooting a coon dog that he claimed was getting after his horses. You can't just shoot a hunting dog anymore. Falls under Federal animal cruelty laws. The dog you shot has to literally be hanging off of said livestock or threatening lives (and good luck with that "he's on my property so he's threatening my life" nonsense). Like I said, you can't just shoot on site because a dog ends up on your property...or in your yard. To be clear, I shoot feral dogs that chase deer or show aggression towards people or other dogs. People dump dogs and they form aggressive packs. There is a difference between shooting aggressive feral dogs and shooting someones trained/suited up/GPS collared pig dog that happened to cross the fence. Like said, go for it and good luck with that. Guys like the group I hunt with take measures to avoid one of our dogs from trespassing, not everyone hunts that way though unfortunately...BUT if one of our dogs does get "shot on sight" because he crosses a fence chasing a pig...get ready for it cause it's coming.

Thank You for your input Sir. I wish that all (or any) of my encounters had been as thoughtful as you suggest your practices to be.

Sadly, they have not. But even so....as I have stated repeatedly, I will not shoot anyone's dogs (hog dogs) that are simply on my property. Additionally, I do not advocate that others do so....nor support their position if that is what they espouse.

My hope is that 'communicating' the concerns of Land Owners directly to Hog Doggers might serve to change the ways of some of the 'bad' ones.

I would encourage anyone here that runs dogs and is a member of a group or a member of a Forum to share this thread (link) with others and invite them here provided they can participate with meaningful dialog.

I understand there are strong feelings about the subject on both sides. The sad part of it all...is that there exists "sides" at all.

So guys....here's your chance to share the topic with others you may know.


Flint.

different scenario, landowner shot that dog after the owner had leashed it,
shot it while owner was holding dog on leash

I've never wanted to kill any dog. However, I will when the need arises. I've only had to do it twice. Both times were dogs that didn't belong on the property, and were showing aggression to the point I was concerned with my families safety. Neither were hunting dogs. Both were strays, or dumped. The one I scared off with my .45 at home was a large pit, and well loved by their family. I didn't want to kill him. I like to keep on good terms with my neighbors. After the incident with their dog I made sure they knew if it happened again the dog wouldn't be leaving my yard alive. They understood. In fact, she asked me why I didn't shoot him this time. I guess I'm a softee.

While I don't hunt hogs with dogs anymore, I still hunt. My running days are pretty much over though. I wear braces on my knee's most of the time now days. I can walk a good long ways still. After my accident I couldn't walk for several months, and was in a wheelchair. The hog dogging community actually took real good care of me, and helped me out a lot. The TDHA did a benefit baying for me, and it helped my family tremendously. I have tremendous respect for the guys who do it the right way. After my accident I hunted a few times with my hunting partners. I had a bad limp, made me walk in circles if I didn't pay attention. One night I was leading four dogs out after we caught a large boar and I got turned around. The fella's had to come back in, find me, and bring me out to the trucks. While they ribbed me a bit, and were mostly understanding, I always felt like I was slowing them down. Didn't feel right to me. So, I faded away into my own world of hunting and fishing.

I appreciate the invite to a hunt. I'd love to make a hunt with you sometime. I truly enjoy hearing the dogs baying. And, there ain't nothing finer than seeing a good catch dog run in and hammer that hog. That was always something I truly enjoyed.

Just a couple of nostalgic pics of some hunts in the SHNF. My two boys were pretty young back then. They're grown now, and bigger than me. They're my muscle now days. They've asked me to take them hog dogging again. But, I haven't made any contacts to get back into the game again.

hog doggers <<