What makes a finding dog?

The most important thing a pig dog can do in the country we hunt is find the pigs. Ours will find them on the ground or off the ute, sometimes close by and sometimes not. Finds of 2kms are regular. If the dogs are working off the tray (of the vehicle...see Russell pictured above), they will jump and go on the scent of a pig. Like most working pig dogs in Australia, they do it without command, the command is implied because they are wearing they're protective breastplates...

But what is it that makes a dog do that, and why will one dog be better than another?

I think the capacity to find and particularly to find off the tray of the truck is a combination of three factors:

• Nose...the basic scenting ability of the dog in question. All dogs have great senses of smell but some are more acute than others.
• Drive...the degree to which the dog wants to chase and confront things.
• Response...I sometimes just call this brains but it is more about how responsive the dog is to what you expect of him or her.

It's my belief that you have to have two of these factors in play to get a dog finding from scratch and all three to have the basics of a quality finding dog.
Nose is almost a given but some dogs certainly appear unresponsive to scent and that's what makes all three factors so important. For instance a real tough dog with plenty of drive and a good nose will get pigs whether or not he does what you say at other times. A smart dog with a good nose will get you pigs. But what if the dog exhibits no scenting ability whatsoever? I think then it is a matter of working on what the dog does have and that's drive and the willingness to please you. With those two factors strong in the dog you can make a finder out of him. I'll save how for another day.

We breed our own dogs to do the job we want and that makes it all much simpler for us. We're not 'breeders' but pig catchers who breed their working dogs to make sure we have what we need. A few pups go to friends and that's about it. My original stock was very good, two old blood Butters workers, Russell and Cathy, from there we have added some height and pace but managed to hang onto the nose and drive. We expect ours to show interest in finding or be finding pigs by six months and be grabbing pigs (lugging up) by about the same time. We don't always hit that mark but whenever they start, they all find pigs. What we are now pursuing is a boar bias in the finding and big pig selection on a running mob. We've got a couple of dogs showing one or both traits and they will be likely breeding matches if they stay consistent. We are trying to chase the peak of talent we see in our dogs. Can't really say how they compare to everyone else's dogs only that they consistently get us pigs in really challenging country. So which ever dog does the job the best out of each generation goes on the breeding roster. That's how we hope to lift the average of every litter we produce. It's a long term thing but we're breeding replacements anyway, why not try to make each crop of replacements an improvement?

When one of our dogs smells a pig they jump from the vehicle immediately. The urgency with which they go tells us how close and/or strong the scent is. We run lights and radio tracking gear on all the dogs to help us keep up with them but if they fly off the truck and the light goes straight into the darkness (especially into the wind), we know it's on. One of the big things is reading your dogs' thoughts. That's easy when it's with the aid of a red light disappearing into the abyss (message is clear...dog is very intent on getting to that spot). But there's much to be learned about finding from observing your own dogs' behaviour. Some hunters have misread finding signals and tried to train it out of the dog...For instance, if the dog is playing up, howling, barking or whinging on the way to the hunting spot, it might not be a lunatic. It might be telling you it can smell a pig right now, right here. Some dogs act differently if it's a proper boar. One of mine looks like it's the happiest days of his life if he twigs that a boar is backed up against a log or something. He wags his tail a lot, props up higher (looks like a little lion) and goes all mad in the eyes. If you are watching, especially when hunting on foot, you can call it before it all happens and get on the balls of your feet...

So what makes a finding dog? I say its the combination of their scenting ability, their desire to get out there and their responsiveness to you...that's the dog's part anyway. The other and most crucial factor is you. Your basic obedience work in the yard, care and nutrition, putting the dogs in the paddock and then learning to read their signals as well as the pig sign, is the big factor in bringing a dog on. You have to get out and look for the pigs yourself for the dog to get the message. Walk likely spots, drive likely spots and do it a lot, even if you aren't getting pigs. One will appear one day and when it does a smart dog can click in an instant. Even if they don't they will be on their first step to becoming a finding dog.

Cheers.