The Sport Of Hog Hunting With Dogs
?In Florida, the wild hogs are documented as having 45 different parasitic and infectious diseases, with eight of the parasitic and infectious diseases being able to infect humans. Plus, the four tick species that live with the wild hog also will feed on humans. These are a few of the reasons certain areas consider hog hunting with dogs a good way to control the wild hog population.
Different breeds are used for hog hunting, such as bulldogs, Irish Wolfhounds, pit bull terriers, pit bull mixes, hounds, Blackmouth Cur, or Jack Russell terriers. The German Shorthaired Pointer is also sometimes used as a hog hunting dog.
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The dog needs to display intelligence and cunning behavior, to out-think one of the most intelligent creatures on Earth, the wild hog, which is also known as an extremely aggressive animal to hunt. Recommendations are for a tough dog, one that can hold its own and has a good nose. Another important consideration is the environment that the dog will be in when they are not hunting wild hogs.
The average person who hunts does not think about hog hunting with dogs when they think of hunting. They think of deer, pheasants, duck, quail, and so on. But for those who have hunted wild boar, any other form of hunting appears to be rather tame, as it is considered to be one of the most exciting animals to hunt overall. The excitement comes from the fact the wild hogs are very dangerous and can do quite a bit of damage to its attackers, both human and dog, adding to the hunt.
Today, the majority of wild hogs live in the Appalachians and in the Southern states, due to the abundance of food and cover, along with adequate water supply. But the wild boar originated from America's early settlers, when the domestic pigs were allowed to run wild and unpenned. Adapting to the wild, they damaged crops and fences, while also killing domestic livestock. They began carrying diseases that survive into today, such as foot and mouth, along with trichinosis. Sexually active as young as six months of age, the wild ferals will breed two litters per year with approximately six piglets per litter even though their mortality is high.
The danger of the wild hogs is made worse when the mother sow has piglets in the brush, and they believe they are threatened by hunters or attackers, which makes hog hunting an extremely dangerous sport. Hog hunting with dogs is not necessarily just a sport to enjoy, but also to remove the wild hogs from damaging nearby livestock, from destroying the surrounding environment, and from preventing diseases they carry to the livestock.
