Out With A Legend

Saturday I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend the day riding along with Ben Hardaway during the opening day of the Mooreland Hunt. I had come by his book, "Never Outfoxed" several years back and had read bits and pieces over time but after spending time with him personally I started today going over it all again and what a difference it means to me now. After the "Blessing of the Hounds" we loaded up and followed the Hounds and the field along on quite a cold, windy, damp Alabama day. Because Mr. Hardaway is 94 years young we accompanied the field in the warmth of a four wheel drive which I will forever be thankful about for I was to listen to many stories of hounds and hunts strait from the lips of a man that I now know personally. We talked Fox Hounds at first and covered the beginnings of his Lurcher Breeding days as well as an hour or so about his Cat Hounds. He ranged from his childhood to the present and you could tell he just outright loved hounds and hunting them not to mention talking about them. I have to say he fired me up even more about the pack I am raising now as we told each other a few Hog hunting tales. He was soft spoken and ever the gentleman as he presented his personal reflections of life, good and bad times and that bottomless wealth of dog knowledge. He made me to feel I had become a friend inviting me to come visit and hunt with him. I had one of the best days of my life in a long time and owe it all to some great friends who thought so much of me as to arrange this special meeting. Benjamin Hardaway is one of those men that you would hate to miss meeting, and because of Liz and Evie I don't have to say, "I hate I missed him". 

Thank you Gals for sharing him with me, I owe you!

More of the Pack

Snatcher, Dixieland/Cumberland pack. One of my top dogs, leggy, good handle, very gritty little dog, has lots of sense for a Jagdterrier! His daddy is Bear,  Cumberland Pack dog, I plan on a breeding between Snatcher and Jilleen, (Jill) below.

Jill, Dixieland top and bottom

 Bear, Cumberland Pack Jagterrier, out of Yellow Rivers Ruff Stuff and The Cumberland Pack Poor Getto.

 Kennels,

 One section of my kennels

This is Gretta, German Shorthair Pointer, Gretta came to me from Rhodri, (Houndsman for the Mooreland Hunt) in Madison Ala. She's an import from Germany, Gretta will be tried on Hogs in the training pen to see if she is into the game, then used for breeding to my Red Nose Pit to produce a Bird/Bull cross. This is becoming a popular cross for hog hunters they make excellent running catch dogs. She's showing a lot of potential already, good handle and really moves nicely.

Random Pics

 Campo, Plott, down in South Alabama Swamp

 Mahdah, PlottXBlackmouth Cur

 Campo again

 Scout and Pearl

 LoLo

 Blacky, Plott

 Hog caught when they were about 1 1/2

 Another Hog

 In training pen 4 (45 acres) at about 1 year old

Training pen again

My Dixieland Girl

Got Jill (German Jagdterrier) from Richard McCorkle, Dixieland top and bottom one of the last around. Very leggy, smart hog dog. Thanks Richard!

Random Pics of my first three Jagdterriers, Snatcher, Tugger and Shaker, " Rest in Peace, Tug and Shake"

Starting Out, first post

I guess to start with I can share a little hunt we went on this past Wednesday. I hunt for several different farmers throughout the year as well as a lot of different hunting clubs having Feral Hog Problems. I train by starting my dogs early on drags and scent. It's just a game to them then but it gets them imprinted for the right things right off. Later we work on training to be stock proof and other native wild animal proof, deer, skunk, fox, raccoon and etc. A Jagd Terrier is a natural go to ground thinker so I discourage them early from digging and once they get a little sense of hunting a feral pig most will concentrate on that, however when in the woods and no fresh hog scent is available they will find something to hunt and most of the time it is something in the ground. More on that later but here are a few pics from Wednesday. Had the three Airedales, 2 Plotts and a PlottXJagd out together plus the Stag hound for good measure. I usually hunt about 4 dogs at a time but I also was getting started late, about 9 am and didn't think we would have much luck so I took a few extra to give them some exercise. Hunted the woods adjoining a few fields of picked cotton with some standing soybeans in another. We moved in about a hundred yds deep cutting parallel to the fields. The dogs split some went deeper into the woods others ahead out about 225 yds. They circled back several times and Campo barked a couple times as he does when he crosses a fresh scent. Next time i checked the GPS he and Pearl were out about 700 yds so we moved off towards them with several of the others checking in and moving out in the same direction. Another 150 yds. and the GPS sounded Campo treed and a few minutes later the same with Pearl. We picked up the pace and at 300 or so I could hear Campo's chop telling me he was bayed. I checked the GPS on the run and saw the other Plott was there. About that time I hear a Hog squeal about 30 yds behind us and thought it was my LoLo Airedale cause they seldom bark and she has found and caught by herself often. We took a run [in that direction as the Stag hound came up and I sent him but he had already heard the Hog and was on the way. Scout had caught about a 130 lb or so Sow and and after dispatching it we turned back to the bay which had been going on now for about 30 minutes. Another 50 yds or so and I stopped running for a moment so the Stag and Scout could listen and hear the direction of the Hounds which they did and took off. At this point I thought they may have a large ruff hog bayed because I hadn't heard the Hog squeal and they had changed locations on the GPS several times. Another hundred yards and I heard them catch, Scout and "BD"

One of the Hogs

the Stag had got there so I felt better. Upon arrival I discovered that the hog, about 125 lbs or so and a Boar was in some deep cover and it was hard to get to him but they had finally wrestled their way in there and that was that except Pearl had found another Hog about 50 yds out. i figured later that maybe the two were together and one had broke the bay with Pearl in tow while Campo stuck with the other. All in all a good day. Bean Eating Hogs on the ground and all of us still in one piece all within about an hour and a half.