I'm definitely in Deep East Texas.

Have had this problem (hog doggers) and squirrel hunters (trespassing) for the 30 years I've been here.

Once Deer Season starts...things get a little better.

Perhaps there is a 'cultural' aspect to it?

Private property is private property. I know people who kill hogs especially doggers to some extent believe they are doing the world a favor, but not on my property they aren't. They do not have permission to be there or hunt there. Their dogs do not have permission either.

now I don't advise that people should just kill everything they see. I believe in being reasonable and giving notice where possible to allow people to correct.

beyond that though, dogs that are not marked, do not have collars, nobody to contact or give notice too will be shot on my property. I too like dogs and do not like to see it come to this end. But most people do not hunt in the city....there is not a dog catcher, there is not animal control or city service. you can call the sheriff and he might eventually come out there. But I'm not going to go thru a lot of effort or any expense to control anyone else's loose dogs. livestock is a different matter. cats n dogs I have little patience for. its just a rural fact of life.

I have hunted hog dog before. I don't have a problem with it. its fun. But any hunter needs to stay within the bounds of the property he has permission to hunt. If someone lost a dog and contacted me and wanted permission to retrieve I'd be reasonable to that. If it became an uncontrollable problem then things would change.

I would have to agree and if my own dog was on someone's property, up to no good, I would not blame them to do whatever they felt was right and I love my dog.
Collar or no collar, they cause me any type of trouble and it's bad news and the owner of the dog, does not have anyone to blame but themselves.

Yes, I'm sure it's cultural. I wonder what kind of infection would culture in their arse full of bird shot?

Blasted Hog Doggers at it again.

Been watching a group of hogs at one of my bait stations for about a week now, waiting for them to start coming in at an earlier time (before midnight). They gradually got to where they were showing up at about 10 p.m. AND a couple of medium sized boars had joined the group.

So, this last Sunday night I went to go sit on stand and wait. Conditions were pretty much perfect, cool North breeze blowing directly from the bait site to me. Half moon up overhead. No pressure on that stand for about a month.

Stayed on stand until 12:30 a.m., nothing but raccoons and deer were seen. Went and pulled my game-cam cards today and found video of three hog dogs running past one of them earlier in the DAY (about 3 p.m.). Don't know if they were lost from the night before or running that day, but they darn sure were on MY property.

Getting REALLY tired of having my efforts thwarted by someone else's inability to control their dogs, or cavalier attitude about where they roam.

Put a big bowl of dog food out and surround it with leg hold traps catch the dog and then blast them and then leave them laying there with. Nice note warning it will happen again if they continue to trespass.

I feel your pain, but like you already know, they are not going to stop.

If it were MY property, you bet your a$$ it would stop. Immediately. I would trap the dogs with a trap baited with dog or cat food, and call the owners. I would tell them in no uncertain terms that this was their ONLY and LAST warning to keep their dogs and themselves off of my property. After that if I saw the animals I would exterminate them and haul them about 10 miles away, and throw the collars into the nearest dumpster.

Folks, this is nothing but a form of INTIMIDATION by the guys running the dogs. They have no concern for anyone else and have already shown that they won't heed a polite request.

My property is MY property. It's plain and simple. I rule that property in the manner I choose. If you trespass or otherwise disrespect me, you will pay the price. On the other hand, I am a polite and easy neighbor if treated with respect. Ask permission FIRST. Not afterwards. Intimidation doesn't fly with me at all.

Thought I'd go sit on stand for a bit this evening. Not expecting to see the 'group' of hogs I had coming in (before the hog dogs ruined that)....and sure enough they didn't show.

But I did have a lone boar show up about 9:00 p.m.

The bait site is 100 yards from my stand and is lit up with a red LED light, but with the moon out tonight it creates kind of a twilight effect and actually makes it harder to see anything under the light.

I thought I saw a little movement way out on the edge of the light, so I picked up my binoculars to take a closer look. I could just make out the outline of a pig feeding at the periphery of the light but darting away.

Since it was all by itself....I figured it to be a 'Boar'. It was very skittish about going under/into the light....but after about 20 minutes finally moved into the light enough that I could see it clearly through the 4 power scope.

I centered the illuminated dot high on the shoulder and steadily pressed the two stage trigger. The rifle bucked and I could hear the 'crack' of the 405 grain soft-point as it made impact.

Recovering from the recoil....I looked through the scope to see a familiar scene. My hog right there....no so much as a twitch from it. I continue to be amazed at how effective a Big Bore cartridge at medium velocity can be.

This wasn't a giant hog by any means. Kind of 'lanky' actually. Still...it taped out at 44" (heart girth) and 52" from snout to base of tail. I'd estimate its weight at approximately 220 lbs., not that I care what they weigh. I'm just happy to get another one out of the breeding pool.









^^^^^ My apologies for the poor quality cell phone pics. I need to start taking my camera with me again.

Flint.

No.

As much as it angers me.... I will not 'punish' the dog for the owners transgression.

Yes. It might abate for short periods of time, but in Deep East Texas....there seems to be a cultural mindset that is not easily broken.

Yet again, the people advocating shooting dogs that are not attacking people, domestic livestock or fowl are advocating breaking the law. It's a crime no different than people trespassing. I can't believe moderators let this continue.the law is easy to find with a simple search.

I feel for the OP and congratulate you for taking the high road and obeying the law. Law issues aside, the last thing you probably want is a shooting feud with some bubbas that don't have the common sense to keep their dogs where they have permission.

Feral pigs are classified as Exotic Animals, not livestock: "Exotic animal refers to grass-eating or plant-eating, single-hoofed or cloven-hoofed mammals that are not indigenous or native to Texas and are known as ungulates, including animals from the deer and antelope families that landowners have introduced into this state. Includes, but is not limited to feral hog, Aoudad sheep, Axis deer, Elk, Sika deer, Fallow deer, Blackbuck antelope, Nilgai antelope, and Russian boar. Exotic fowl refers to any avian species that is not indigenous to this state, including ratites (emu, ostrich, rhea, cassowary, etc.)."

And yes it is a cultural thing. Throughout the 19th Century and for a good part of the 20th, people had usufruct access to land in Texas. You were free to access woods that weren't fenced off. The law started changing when big paper companies bought up lots of land and pressured local and state governments to change. Before that, a lot of people in East Texas made a living off free range hogs. When access to the woods was cut off, a huge number of pigs were already out there. That's primarily why we have a feral hog problem and East TX is notorious for tresspassing. I think the last usufruct laws were repealed maybe in the late 40s or early 50s. Somewhere around there.

I just don't see a point in complaining about it if your not willing to fix the problem.

Amen!

Learn something new everyday.

I would rather deal with hog dogs running around the oilfield jerks driving all over my pasture because they can't maintain a road. It should be legal considered trespassing. They are worse than coons. If they can't tear it up or eat it. They crap on it.

I am 'willing' to do what I can (within the confines of the Law and with respect to Moral principles).

I've caught some dogs in the past, removed their collars and contacted the owners, but a new bunch of hog-doggers soon take their place.

As I've mentioned before....I fully understand that on 'occasion' a dog will stray farther than intended and that IF a well intentioned effort to cease the hunt and retrieve the dog(s) is made, I can overlook that.

It is the wantonly, habitual offenders that I am concerned with. Some have NO intention of keeping their dogs in check and have no regard for property lines or the potential trouble their dogs cause when entering another's property.

Catching these folks on your property is not an easy thing to do and they seem to know that.

You would have REAL legal remedy IF you could catch the persons (trespassing). Typically, they run their dogs late at night or sometimes on a Sunday night, knowing full well...most land owners will not venture out into the woods to try and find them.

Your only chance of coming upon them would be when/if the dogs bayed a pig and were stationary for a short period of time. Most often, these guys actually have permission to hunt property adjacent to (or near) yours, but simply let the dogs go as far as they wish. Their dogs are often found miles from where they started out.

I don't fault the dogs and I will not kill/injure the dogs in retribution. Besides being illegal (in most cases)....it would be Morally incorrect as well.

As for my 'complaint', it is my hope that by 'airing' this issue out on a public forum, it might cause some to rethink their actions and others to join in combating it.

A fools errand perhaps, but I am committed to 'trying' diplomacy rather than barbarism. I don't see how killing innocent dogs would "fix" the problem, long term?

From the groups of doggers I know that is par for the course. They don't care about property lines.

In recent years Feral Pigs have been 're-classified' as Exotic Livestock, which opens up some 'gray' areas in the law with respect to whether or not they can be protected under Texas law concerning 'property'.

http://feralhogs.tamu.edu/files/2011/08/Feral-Hog-Laws-and-Regulations-in-Texas.pdf


This is the States way of avoiding responsibility for the Hogs, by conveying 'ownership' to the hapless person upon which property the hogs reside (at the moment). Nice huh?

On any given day, I am the owner of a fluid number of Feral Pigs whether I want them or not.

Tomorrow, my neighbor might 'own' more pigs than me, the next day it might be the guy two ranches over. Just depends upon the travel pattern of the pigs.

But one thing is certain, the STATE (people of the State) of Texas makes no claim to them...as they do with all of the game animals.

Sounds like you might want to re-word the title of this thread. Because in my eyes ..... you're not "Pissed Off". Yet. I would have gone much farther if it were me. I commend your patience and honesty. But all that's doing is allowing the situation to fester.

Collar or no collar, dogs chasing deer or hogs on private property get put down. Especially if I'm in the stand and it ruins the hard work, time and effort I put into a hunt.

Example: Six doe's in a field, waiting on a buck to step out. 2 pits come charging in and give chase to the deer. Pits expire before they can exit the field.

Right, Wrong or Indifferent, people need to maintain control of their animals.

Oh...I disagree.

I believe a person can be quite angry (pissed off) about an issue....but not act irrationally, impulsively or be moved solely by emotion.

That doesn't mean I am not disturbed by the situation, I just realize it is the result of generations of habits and 'teachings' and that it will take time, education and perseverance to correct.

Starting a 'range war' by killing someones dogs will not solve the problem (long term).


Seems there are a few here who's first reaction would be to 'strike back'?

You would think that Hog-Doggers would be careful to police their own...and maybe they do in certain areas, but it doesn't seem that way in my part of Deep East Texas.

I get it.

But in my mind this is intimidation in it's most basic form. It's trespassing. Period. And you have asked them to stop but they refuse. You've got your back against the wall with these guys, and they obviously don't understand plain English when you asked them to cease trespassing. I'm certainly glad I'm not in your shoes, because I don't think I could put up with their obvious "screw you" attitude.

Hope you find a peaceful way to resolve this.

But I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it.

The dog owners obviously don't care whose property they are on nor what the property owner thinks about it.