Hog Hunting with Dogs

Hog hunting, also referred to as boar hunting, is the practice of hunting wild hogs and feral pigs which has gained wide popularity in the United States today. A popular pastime for numerous people, hog hunting is also considered to be an act of bravery in various parts of the world. Wild hogs are found in abundance in the United States, perhaps this is the reason hog hunting has become so popular in this part of the world. There are various methods of hunting, among which the most popular ones are pig sticking and hog-baiting.

Wild Hog Hunting with Dogs

There exist two methods of wild hog hunting - baying, wherein bay dogs are used to corner and catch the hogs, and catching, wherein catch dogs are trained to hunt the hogs on their own. Let's have a detailed look at both these methods....

Hog Hunting with Bay Dogs
Bay dogs are dogs which are specially trained for the baying method of hog hunting. In this method, these specially trained dogs find the hog with their strong sense of smell, chase it and corner it. Once they corner the kill, they start barking loudly, in order to signal the hunter about the cornered animal, which is eventually killed by the hunter himself or the catch dogs. Some of the popular bay dog breeds include Catahoula Cur, Mountain Cur, Plott Hound, etc.

Hog Hunting with Catch Dogs
Catch dogs are dogs which are specially trained by the hunter to hunt down wild animals such as wild boars and feral hogs. These dogs use their sharp teeth to catch the hog, thus immobilizing it until the hunter arrives on the scene and kills it. These dogs are armed with a special protective outfit to minimize injuries during hunting.American Pit Bull Terrier, American Bulldog, etc, are the dog breeds which are widely used as catch dogs.

In most of the cases, catch dogs and bay dogs work together for hog hunting. The bay dogs corner the prey, while catch dogs are let loose in order to trap it. Several animal welfare groups are against this practice citing it to be an inhumane act. However, the popularity of hog hunting is growing with time and this rise can be attributed to the fact that the rising population of these hogs has turned out to be a nuisance for the environment.

Wild Hog Hunting Tips

Wild hogs are aggressive animals and hence security of oneself as well as dogs should be the prime concern for the hunter. Hunters moving in the woods can be wrongly assumed to be an animal and shot at, and hence it's necessary to limit the number of humans participating in the hunt. The dogs need to undergo proper prior training as wild hogs can at times get very dangerous, mainly owing to their sharp tusks. Having a specialist dog handler with you is always an added advantage.

Before venturing out on wild hog hunting trip, make sure that you are well versed with the hog hunting rules constituted by the local authorities. These hunting rules include number of wild hogs which can be hunted down, time of the year when hunting is allowed etc., normally vary from state to state. And yes, you will require a proper hunting license irrespective of which place you are hunting.