|
Finders
- The Ultimate Pig Dog
Finders, whether
you hunt the heavily timbered country of the mountains, crop
country or the lignum choked watercourses out west, they are an
important part of any pig hunters pack. The difference between a
successful hunt and a ‘dry run’ more often than not depends
heavily on one dog working his magic and putting pork at the end
of that elusive scent trail. Off the back of the cruiser on a
forest trail or cruising around the edge of a sorghum crop, the
owner of a top notch finder has the quiet confidence that if
there are pigs in the vicinity the old mate on the back will
deliver.
No matter if man or dog, all eyes are focused on this dog for
the slightest reaction as he or she constantly works the wind
looking for that tell tale scent. Even the meat headed smash and
grab merchants know that when he or she goes over the side, a
chance to grab a mouthful of bristly pork is not to far way.
Countless hunters will be able to see this scene played out in
their mind as the finder jumps and the vehicle is stopped; all
senses now on full alert as they wait for the hit up, whether it
is a bail or a lug, or maybe a combination of both. As you
become more familiar with these dogs and how they react in
certain circumstances, you can soon predict the success rate of
a jump, or working a scent trail if walking.
‘Finders’ should not be confused with ‘bailers’; however some
hunters use this term when talking about their finders. A bailer
is basically a dog that won’t hold clean like a ‘holder’ or ‘lugger’,
but will instead try and keep the pig anchored to one spot by
getting in it’s face and barking or maybe ducking in every now
and again for a nip. All bailers are not necessarily finders, as
some operate purely by sight and have no idea on how to use
their nose, and are reluctant to cover the ground in search of a
pig.
However, are finders necessarily dogs that hunt by scent only? I
always thought so, but then, thinking a bit more about it, I
have changed my mind slightly. At the end of the day if the dog
produces a pig by getting out there and looking, they should be
classed as finders also. This statement is made after I observed
lots of dogs covering heaps of country, obviously not using
their nose but increasing their chances of a find purely by the
amount of country they cover. Most of these types of dogs seem
to have terrier blood in their linage somewhere, and the most
obvious examples in my experience are dogs with English Bull
Terrier and Staffordshire bull terrier blood in them. Don’t get
me wrong some of these crosses do use their nose, but a lot also
rely on the ground coverage technique.
Modern day pig dogs have been categorised to a certain extent
into either holders, finder/holders or finder/bailers and the
more experienced hunters out there will tell you the easiest of
these ‘types’ to acquire is a holder. If all else fails you can
pick up a Pitty or a Bully and most will hold from the start.
Getting a good finder is another matter altogether, they don’t
grow on trees and to find a proven line of consistent finders is
a challenge in itself. Over the years I have been associated
with some brilliant finders, I have been fortunate enough to
have owned a couple and a few mates have also been lucky enough
to be blessed by the presence of one or two. On the rare
occasion you will fluke a top finder that doesn’t carry a link
to a renowned hunting breed such as the Pointers or hounds.
Crosses like Danes, Wolfhounds, Deerhounds, Boxers, Bull
Terriers etc all have the ability to become a stand out dog that
is miles above the competition but these dogs don’t come along
every day.
If you are starting afresh, trying to replace a departed dog or
maybe adding another finder to an existing pack, where do you
start? This is not an easy task in most cases and can be likened
to a lottery win for some people, but you can improve your
chance of success by firstly trying to find a proven finding
line or making sure the pup or dog you purchase carries genes
from a proven hunting breed. My personal preference is the
finder/bailer type as opposed to the finder/holders that will
mostly hold without making a murmur and not an ounce of bail in
them, where it is necessary to run tracking collars on these
dogs to save countless hours of searching and screaming yourself
hoarse. The finder/bailer types also help reduce the need to
open the wallet as often at the vets when running ‘hard’
finders.
Let’s start with dogs that are of the working type such as
Kelpies, Border Collies, Cattle Dogs etc or descendants and
combinations of these breeds. They have a lot to offer a hunter
looking to add that little bit of extra versatility to an
existing pack. Most are very active dogs, they cover a good
amount of ground, have heaps of energy, most are smart and quick
learners, they have a high heat tolerance and they have the
drive and instinct to get out there and please the boss.
Probably one of the most appealing aspects of these types of
dogs is that they love to bark, and when they locate a pig at a
good distance they can be heard quite easily.
For the proven hunting breeds like pointers, retrievers and
hounds it is a good idea to have a think about how you require
your dog to work. The Pointer, Retriever breeds rely on wind
scent; this means they work the relevant breezes etc trying to
pick up an indication of game. Mostly, and I say mostly because
there are always exceptions to the rules, pointers and their
crosses won’t range as far as a hound cross. From my experience
some pointer types tend to mature slowly and patience with a new
pup may be required when you start to ask the question if the
dog will ever work. Pointers not only add scenting ability, they
are also very active with some bordering on being hyperactive,
they have good heat tolerance, intelligence and most are the
ideal size for a hard working pig dog.
The hounds on the other hand are a ground scenting dog and have
a different hunting style. Most readers would have watched
movies or documentaries where there are hound packs in action
where the police are pursuing a criminal with a trace of baying
hounds dragging their handler along at a brisk pace whilst
following a scent trail. The baying or open mouthed dogs when
running a scent is a negative in my books, because it alerts
hunt savvy pigs that its time to clear out. A good hound will
still deliver but you will be miles further away than you would
have been using a silent dog.
First cross hounds still tend to be open mouthed when running a
trail, the ideal percentage I think is around a quarter hound
blood or less to get the perfect combination of hunt and silence
on the trail. Endurance is one thing a hound cross will add to
any cross, when they are in pursuit of their quarry, the nose
rules supreme, and the distance they travel will depend on how
much hound is in the mix. If you consider one of these types of
dogs give some thought to the size of the properties you have
access to and how wide ranging you want the dog, the closer
hunting style required, the less hound for me.
Training your new pup will depend on your individual
circumstances. The most effective way is to run the new pup with
experienced dogs, remembering the age old saying the more work
and exposure the pup gets, the quicker they learn. But like any
dog they need to be trained basic obedience and to ignore non
target animals such as stock, Roos, wombats etc.
Obedience is an interesting point to consider, I believe that
basic obedience is a must for a finder, the dog needs some
control, you should be able to call it back etc as required.
However, the top finders I have owned over the years have a
personality that is a little different to most dogs. They tend
to be loners and they seem to enjoy their own company and always
like to do their own thing. Too much discipline with these dogs
tends to curb the drive to hunt; sulking is probably the closest
way to describe it. I just like to let them do their thing, and
most times it works well.
But remember, with letting a hunting dog do it’s own thing, you
will need the confidence that the dog will only target pigs and
will behave itself when it encounters a mob of sheep or cattle
in a gully 500 meters away from you. Access to good country is
too hard to get these days and to lose the right to hunt because
of a badly trained dog is senseless.
A slight digression there, back to training your finder. If you
don’t have the opportunity to hunt with experienced dogs the
process is a lot harder but you tend to get a single handed dog
as the end result. Once the basic training is complete, exposure
is just as important, get the dog out in the bush, but wait
until it is at least at an age where he can keep up with walking
and he has a chance of being able to catch his target quarry. If
to young, the dog will get disillusioned quickly and it will
make your job harder.
Just getting the pup familiar with being on the vehicle,
exposure to stock etc is also a major part to training a hunting
dog. Take your young dogs with you if you are just going for a
drive to the tip etc, it all helps with the learning process.
I haven’t used the following method but from what I hear it
works well. Get a piece of pig skin and tie it onto the end of a
large stick or fishing rod and drag the skin through the bush,
grass etc out of the dog’s sight. Keep the skin well away from
your body so the dog doesn’t confuse your scent with that of the
pig skin. The idea being that you then let the dog go, take it
to the drag and encourage the dog to find the skin at the end of
the scent trail. Make sure your praise the dog up when it
succeeds. Over time you can increase the length of the drag, as
the dog’s ability and confidence grows.
In finishing up, one the major requirements for me when trying
to identify a potential finder are how they act when young. When
walking the new pup, regardless of age they should be
inquisitive and out in front with their nose on the ground, or
at least trying to follow the other dogs around. If the pup just
plods along behind you with little interest in the smells and
sights of the surroundings I feel they don’t have the finding
qualities I am looking for. When young, my top grade finders
would drive me mad, before learning basic obedience they would
be off in a world of their own and ignore the commands from a
very frustrated owner. If you can get through the learning stage
with all your hair intact maybe you will be on the way to owning
a finder that could be a cut above the rest.
Ian Colley
|
