Catahoula Pups... (very photo intensive)

[ASB.Immortality]

Well our pups are now on the run & terrorizing everyone & everything!
Here they are!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0728.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0727.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0725.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0723.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0722.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0721.jpg

There are more pics at:
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/

edited to let everyone know there were lots of pics here. :)

[Minouri]

I love the shot of them chewing on your foot!

[NikiGA]

I do not need another animal, I do not need another animal, I do not need another animal............... But I would buy one in a heartbeat if my current kids would not dis-own me!

[ASB.Immortality]

I have found with these dogs that once you get them in your blood, you just don't want anything else. LOL!!! I love ours. We don't have dogs, they have people! :D :shock: Just don't ask how many we have. ;-)

[Linda Y]

Oooo, those are nice Catahoulas, too! Pretty pups! :D

[NikiGA]

Okay, how many do you have? Oh, wait, you said NOT to ask that! I went through all the photos and they are gorgeous. I have always loved Catahoulas. Smart and strong. Love pic 16, (s)he has that "Your @%* is mine, you stinking boar" look going on!

[Brigitte]

They're so cute!

[Edurne]

okay okay, for the ignorant, what is a catahoula?

[ASB.Immortality]

I will act like no asked how many we have. LOL!!!! There are 14 grown dogs and 8 pups that run (& rule) our lives.

A Catahoula is breed of dog that is bred strickly for baying & holding hogs & cattle in place until someone can get to them. They are also known as Mountain Curs or Leopard Curs, it just depends on what part of the country you are from. They are basically an all around excellent working & herding type dog. They also make excellent hunting companions.

As for pets... WOW! Catahoulas are great! Once they figure out where there home is, they own you & won't let anything happen to you. We have a friend (Sherry Bando) that has a dog named Elvis. He has won tons at the competitions. Elvis is a massive pet! He rides in the front seat with her wherever she goes & stays indoors with her & sleeps in the bed.

At the moment, I have been pondering starting agility with some of the dogs. They are quick! You would be amazed at the moves some of them have on them. They are like a cat!

I am not sure if this is the pic you are talking about Niki,but if it is, that is the Dad to the pups working a hog for competition.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/JayHog.jpg

Here are some half brother to the pups working:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/knothead2.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/bb2.jpg

[Dianne]

:shock: Here are some half brother to the pups working:
ummm working??? looks more like being terrorised by that pig to me....

[Barbwire]

The boar doesn't look too terrified to me. Are the tusks removed so they don't hurt the dogs in competition? Please explain how the competitions are run.


Please explain this picture, while you're at it. Is that Mel?:lol:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Captured2004-9-2500001.jpg

[Edurne]

good looking snarl :smile: How much do the dogs weigh?

[Mellifluous]

Please explain this picture, while you're at it. Is that Mel?:lol:

That photo is beyond explanantion. Feel free to make one up.
:lol:

[baileyholc]

:rofl

edited to say I'm laughing at the picture of Mel.

Great looking dogs, but I think I will stick to my Aussie. :D

[ASB.Immortality]

On the hogs, it depends on the owners if the tusks are docked or not. Alot of places where we run they are not docked so they dogs wear cut collars & vest which are made or ripstop/cordura material. It is the same material that jailers wear to protect them from shanks, knives, etc. Some are made from kevlar but the meshing isn't made right enough to keep the tusk from going through. The kevlar is made a stop a bullet which wider and more blunt so you really have to have the ripstop or cordura. Even though there are vests & collars, some dogs won't wear them & even if you are wearing they pretty much don't protect from the hips back on a dog, so if he turns wrong he can still be cut. We have also seen a boar hit a dog hard enough to kill it. Not with tusks or anything just straight out force. He ran out of the corner & hit her hard in the side with his head. No cut or even a scratch, just plain out force. That was how the great Cashatta died at the World Championships.

The competitions are pretty much your dog and a boar in a pen. Pens range in size from anywhere from 40 x 40 to sometimes half an acre. You may see some that are a little smaller and there are some that are larger. Your dog must work the hog for two minutes (puppy bays are somtimes shorter, one minute). In that two minutes, your dog must hold the hog (as well as he can) in one place, bay (bark) constant, & keep his eyes on the hog at all time. Your dog should not look away, loop, or turn away from the hog. If your dog does any of those, you lose points. Your dog is allowed to stop a running hog but once the hog stops running, the dog cannot hold the hog any longer than 5 seconds (sometimes 3, depends on where you are). If your dog holds for longer than 5 seconds, you are DQed. It is considered a catchout. The dogs baying form is just a matter of where you are & what the judges look for & like. Some judges like a dog that gets right in the hog's face & keeps the pressure on & some judges like dogs that are a little more laid back. The normal range for a dog to stay from the hog is anywhere from 6 inches to 2 feet in my opinion. You will sometimes see dogs that bay from farther back than that.

In the event that the top dogs have equal scores, you will go into a bayoff. Each level of the bayoff goes up one minute. I have seen some that have hit 7 minutes. We have been in a couple where our dogs have had to run 6 minutes. Or, it is just between two people someone can always flip for it & I have seen that done a bunch. If a lot of money or a title is one the line then it will more than likely go into a bayoff. There are alot of bays out there that are just fun bays put on for people to work their dogs. In those cases, everyone just goes to have fun & get their dogs out some.

The dogs normally weigh anywhere from 35-60 lbs. You may see some that are a little heavier but not too often. Most of our dogs are in the 40-50 lb range. Some lines have a finer houndish build where some will have a heavy almost bulldog looking build. It also depends also if you feed them to death & what you use them for. The weight on ours is working weight. It is really hard on a dog that is too heavy to be able to deal with a hog. In the off season, they are normally 5-10 lbs heavier.

And yes, that is Mel in the pic. I will let her try to explain. The only thing I can come up with is that my husband got new boobs and she had to check them out. LOL!!! ;-)



Edited to add:

Here is what one will look like when vested & collared up. I ran out real quick & suited up Billy (he is the dad to the dogs working in the pictures above) for my model.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0735.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0736.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0737.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0738.jpg

This vest is made with a chest shield. It is just some added protection. You can also have them made with side shields. But when you get into adding shields, you affect the way your dog moves. The shield are bulky and do not give freely, so your dog may not be able to move as quickly or nimberly as he normally can.

And more hellion pictures. This what greeted me at the front door:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0740.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0741.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/Puppies/DSCN0742.jpg

This is Billy's full brother, Cujoe. He is a two time ABDR World Champion.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b185/stormy_warning/cujo.jpg

Editing again to add a link to the puppies video:
http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=4a5908555122b635a8b6e

It is the puppies album.

[Jane Hurl]

I had no idea there was a competition called a "bay"!

While I think that the hogs should all be de-tusked, I certainly find this kind of competition a whole lot more humane than pit fighting! Very cool. Thanks for the info.

[TrueStepPaso]

O-M-G they are soooo CUTE!!!! Especially the chocolate and white one!!! I've always loved they way those dogs look, but I never realized they had competitions for them...or that they are even that popular as a breed. Probably cuz I'm up North.....???

[NikiGA]

Yes, that is the picture I was talking about! Good-looking dogs, I would not turn down any of them. But with two Dobes and one JRT, I have my hands full with dogs!

Just out of curiousity, how much do you get for your pups?

[ASB.Immortality]

On the pups we get $250 & for working dogs the costs range. The working dogs start at $1000 & go up from there. Sounds high but you would be amazed at what you can win at the competitions.

[NikiGA]

Not at all! I have paid a lot more than that for Dobermans. Those are very reasonable prices.

[NikiGA]

I just watched the video. They are adorable!
I also watched the filly....... WOW! :shock:

[finolover]

wow...you guys are being cool about this, aint nobody gonna scream....animal cruelty?

my neighbor raises and sell them, he's got darn near thirty dogs...
they are a neat breed..good family dog...fearless protectors

wild hogs are moving into this area 8-)

[Edurne]

it's not a "blood" sport..... is it? Unless of course, they are doing it for real outside. I guess the hogs may have a better life than factory produced animals. Do they have champion hogs?

[Linda Y]

These aren't competitions where the dog grabs the hog. They aren't supposed to touch them, just hold them in place by barking and body posture, right?? Sort of like a cutting horse.
I adore the photos of Billy...he is such a happy dog! His tail is going so fast it is nothing but a blur in every picture.
I have a friend that used to breed Catahoulas. They were great dogs.

[ASB.Immortality]

On the grab the hog thing, you are thinking of a catch & tie event> I don't like a catch & tie. I don't mind it in the wild but for competition isn't too spiffy in my book. In lots of states the catch & ties are illegal. It is considered cruel unless it is done hunting. When you do that hunting, your goal is too bring the hog back alive.

Also, it is not a blood sport. Very rarely is a hog or dog hurt. It is something you should expect though when you run this sport. It can be very bad when it does happen.

Fun pig fact:
If a domestic pig gets loose into the wild, it only take 2 weeks for it to revert to a wild hog & the offspring it produces will be like the hairy wild boars you see.

[Edurne]

I personally am not too crazy about pigs..... my first experience as a small child in Spain and my uncle let the pig loose.....I remember screaming and running and hiding behind the cow. Mr. Winston was my next pig encounter.... he was supposed to be a miniature, huh. All he was interested in was food and was rather large. I still am convinced he leaped up at me. The owner told me that was not possible. The sight of all the little piggies on operating tables at JHH which I saw every day when I had a project in that area... put me off meat for many years.

Why do you bring the hog home alive?

[ASB.Immortality]

Alot of times they are brought home to work dogs on, or to be kept for the smoker ( ;-) ). HMMMM... my favorite. They are better than a domestic pig anyday. The sausage they make is excellent.

There are also people that raise them & sell them to trophy clubs for trophy hunts. You can make alot of money selling to trophy hunters if you get good sized hogs.