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Hogs attack bird dog? #7381960 12/20/18 01:47 AM
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Lalo Offline OP
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So a funny thing happened the other day while bird hunting in a national forest bottomland. My dog went on point, and I moved in quickly to flush the bird in front of him. Except what exploded from the very thick switch cane cover at my feet was not a 7 ounce bird like I expected, but a 150 pound hog. Hog ran away, thankfully. Dog chased, but I gave his collar the recall tone and then stimulation and he got the message and backed off. I am working on training to not chase hogs or deer or cows.
So now I am thinking that besides worrying about my dog getting bitten by a South Texas snake, or getting swallowed by a southeast Texas gator, I have got to worry about an East Texas hog. I don't so much worry about hogzilla. I worry about him getting into the middle of a sounder, chasing a piglet and getting charged by the sow.
I wanted to post the question here because I figure you guys are the experts on hog behavior. I'm not so much looking for dog training tips. I'm more interested in knowing how much risk you think there is of a dog being seriously injured or killed by a hog or hogs.
Also wondering what to do for protection. I guess I might need to start carrying a sidearm. Buckshot might be fine, but in the heat of the moment, unloading bird shot and loading buckshot would not be ideal.
My dog is bold but not stupid fearless. I have seen a cow stand her ground and my dog did not charge when confronted with something big and fearless. I am hoping you are going to tell me that I should really worry about my dog getting a nasty gash from a charging sow, but it is unlikely he will get a life-threatening injury. He is 75 pounds, by the way. Big dog. Fast.

Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7381988 12/20/18 02:15 AM
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I was hunting south Texas a couple of years ago when our dog jumped a hog and started chasing her. After about 75 yards the hog turned and chased the dog which promptly came straight to me. I shot the hog at about 15 feet with 7 1/2 birdshot killing her stone cold dead. So yes they will get them but I feel the actual risk is small.


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Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7382009 12/20/18 02:30 AM
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While quail hunting, one of our GSPs tore out after some javelinas, about 20 of them. Some of the javelinas turned on the dog and had him on the ground trashing around. By the time we got there (maybe 15 seconds into the battle) the one worked up javelina turned toward my friend, 7 1/2 bird shot flattened that javelina from about 10ft. The second brave javelina that had begun to flee surprisingly turned back toward us, I hit him within about 5 feet from the dog in the backside, I was cautious not to shoot the dog. The javelina went off running sideways into the brush, we found him dead after we did some dog field doctoring. That dog was lucky we were close or he would be dead.
That being said. Bird shot will do the job. If a hog is on your dog it just may be a close encounter. For our ordeal I felt the shotgun was the perfect weapon.


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Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7382038 12/20/18 02:57 AM
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Thats why I always have some buckshot on me while upland hunting, I want something with a little more horsepower then bird shot if something goes after my dogs.

Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: cmorsch] #7382070 12/20/18 03:32 AM
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Originally Posted by cmorsch
Thats why I always have some buckshot on me while upland hunting, I want something with a little more horsepower then bird shot if something goes after my dogs.


Well, that's like the guys who say they carry a large caliber pistol so they can shoot a hog if it charges at them. No way I'm throwing my rifle down so I can grapple with a pistol.
The weapon that's already in your hands is your best bet. Things happen pretty fast, and there wouldn't be time to switch loads.

Now, if it turns into an extended chase, maybe you might have an opportunity to put in some buckshot but normally, there just won't be time for such niceties.


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Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7382155 12/20/18 07:52 AM
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Hogs attack bird dog?

Well, if the bird dog gets up in the hog's personal space, the hog certainly may feel the need to defend itself against a predator threat.

I like how the question was formed, as if hogs distinguish between bird dogs, bay and catch dogs, show dogs, or family pet dogs. I know folks think that hogs are smart, but they ain't that smart.

For the record, deer have been known to kill dogs in "attacks" as well. Coyotes have been known to attack dogs. Of course, bears will and their are some bear in far east Texas.

As for the damage that may be done, your dog isn't apt to get a nasty gash from a charging sow. Sows tend to be biters as their form of defense, so punctures and possibly broken bones, depending on the bite and what the sow does with your dog after biting down. It is the boars that will slice open your dog.


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Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7382282 12/20/18 02:03 PM
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Another reason to take any shot you have at a pig.

Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Double Naught Spy] #7382759 12/20/18 10:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Double Naught Spy
Hogs attack bird dog?

Well, if the bird dog gets up in the hog's personal space, the hog certainly may feel the need to defend itself against a predator threat.

I like how the question was formed, as if hogs distinguish between bird dogs, bay and catch dogs, show dogs, or family pet dogs. I know folks think that hogs are smart, but they ain't that smart.

For the record, deer have been known to kill dogs in "attacks" as well. Coyotes have been known to attack dogs. Of course, bears will and their are some bear in far east Texas.

As for the damage that may be done, your dog isn't apt to get a nasty gash from a charging sow. Sows tend to be biters as their form of defense, so punctures and possibly broken bones, depending on the bite and what the sow does with your dog after biting down. It is the boars that will slice open your dog.


^^^^^^^^^ Agree completely. The chances of your dog being 'attacked' are next to nothing. The possible exception being IF your dog came upon a 'nested' Sow with piglets. And even then...the Sow is apt to run some distance first. While a mature Sow can certainly deliver a bone crushing 'bite' your dog would not be 'slashed' by a Sow. A Boar...yes.

I wouldn't worry much about encounters with Feral Hogs. IF it were to happen...your dog will end up getting 'butted' and learn his/her lesson from that.

Now all bets off if you hunt South Texas and run into Javelina. They have a built in hatred for Canines of any type. They WILL aggressively attack a dog and are MUCH better equipped to seriously injure (if not kill) a dog in short order.


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Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7382814 12/20/18 11:27 PM
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I’ve seen a dog cut up pretty badly by a hog. I have had a hold of 2 pointers that caught a hog. It adds a new level of excitement to Quail hunting when you’re holding two dogs by the collar and trying not to get dog bit or shot by your buddy at the same time. I had to pepper one hog last year that had her back to a tank facing down a small Brittany I had on the ground. I put a 30-30 in the mules dog box now.

Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7382889 12/21/18 01:02 AM
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I had a female pointer named Sis. She went out f sight for awhile. She had a pig down. I called her off. The pig ran away.


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Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7382921 12/21/18 01:45 AM
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my rancher neighbor had one of his cow dogs mauled by a hog, dog did not survive


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Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7383025 12/21/18 02:56 AM
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And I thought a porcupine was trouble. Never thought of a hog but makes sense.

Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7391896 01/01/19 02:21 AM
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If you are worried about hogs, hog break them. Georgia boys use bird digs for hog hunting all the time. It’s a rough sport, the dog needs to respect the hog either way to survive.

Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7393169 01/02/19 04:35 AM
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Thanks for all the help. Something really strange happened on my most recent hunt. Doggie caught two little piglets.
He was about 150 yards out and started yipping like he had a hog at bay.I recalled him and he obeyed. Didn't think anything of it. Kept hunting. We got back to about where he was yipping, and he went crazy in some brush and came out with a little piglet! Maybe 4 pounds. We kept hunting and he came back with another about 100 yards farther. He brought it right to me, so I guess at least force fetch worked.
So now I am really worried it is going to be hard to hog-break this dog.
Also, I never said or implied that I thought a hog would treat a bird dog differently than any other. My dog is a Deutsch Drahthaar. They are used to hunt everything. I guess some people use them to hunt hogs. So he has it in him.
I typically hunt alone. I have gotten good advice that I should probably just go in with the gun and load I have in hand. But I would welcome more advice of what to do if my dog is down or under attack.

Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7393939 01/02/19 11:49 PM
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I have a 70lb gsp that runs pretty big. One day I looked up and saw a boar chasing him across the field but my short hair didn't have much trouble getting away from it. He had a big muddy spot on his hind end where the boar head butted him. Now when we are hunting and he catches a whiff of a pig he stays pretty close to me for a while.

Re: Hogs attack bird dog? [Re: Lalo] #7394059 01/03/19 02:05 AM
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My older Vizsla Blaze I cross trained for Stalking hogs. Her best weekend was 5 hogs located by her out of 7 killed. It is like a point, but different and the dog is trained to stay just ahead of me under my command when on that game. I can call my dog off to leave it if encountering hogs while hunting upland or other game. My current versatile dog Dash is a nephew to Blaze. As a young dog he was just too aggressive for that kind of hunting and too hard headed as my intent is to never allow my dog to physically engage the hog, but to hold back and allow me to move around to finish. I had to break him from engaging hogs as a pup as it was a problem. But at nearly 7 he is finally starting to mature and understand what it all means. Did not take much to un break him and is now used for tracking when needed including lost hogs and just staring his on the job training for stalking hogs. It really is not that big a deal and no danger as long as the dog is under control and understands to respect the hog and stay out of it's way. Any dog can get out of a hogs way if it wants. Stalking them they either tunnel vision on my dog and freeze, or run away. It most cases when a dog was injured by a hog I bet it was the dog chasing or attacking the hog first. As already said, if they are chasing hogs, break them from it asap or it will become a problem.

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