Running hogs with dogs. Curious about how the hogs react

[spectr17]

Just curious, never done much hawg doggin. When a pig gets chased do they line straight out or circle up and fight the most? How far can a average size pig run before they get winded? Or do they even get winded? DO they like to run up, down or flat?

Say someone not in your group is running hogs over the next ridge, is it bad cricket or illegal to shoot the hog if it runs by you?

 

[Nic Barca]

I've seen pigs do just about everything while running from the dogs. Haven't seen much tired pigs but heard second hand accounds of pigs panting like a dog after being ran for a while. I've seen fast pigs, slow pigs, pigs who fight, pigs who run, pigs who make noise and pigs who go stealth.
The main conclusions are:

Running versus standing their ground to fight: Heavily hunted pigs tend to run while pigs less familiar with dogs will hold their ground. Sows and young piglets run more often than mature boars and are harder for dogs to catch.

Where they go: I've seen a few times where pigs B-lined it fast for a long distances (0.5 to 1 mile) but most of the time they circle around and cross over there tracks. I can only guess that after eluding the dogs, many a pig will be tired and hide in thick brush. Sometimes (probably more often than we think) they hear the dog and just hide as the dog passes by unknowingly. Many pigs cross the rivers to throw off the dogs and it usually works. Daily movements definitly shrinks for a few days after encountering dogs.

For the most part, I haven't seen many winded pigs. They usually seem to sneak away at less than full speed but faster than a walk. The full speed is usually researved for the initial spook or direct chase by dogs. I think some can run 20 MPH or more, maybe much more. They can run through brush faster than any other animal IMO.

Never noticed anything about direction but they do have specific trails that they use to escape. For the last question. If somebodie's dogs are hunting nearbye, I don't see anything wrong with shooting a nearby pig. It probably would have gotten away anyway.

...at least that's how things are out here. Could be totally different where your at.

 

[bayedsolid]

A lot of good info Nic. One thing I've figured out for 100% certain is just as you think you can predict what a hog will do the next one will react the exact opposite of the previous hog. I've seen hogs do some pretty huge circles too, covering an honest 2 to 3 miles and ending up within 100 yards of where they started. The SOB's can swim like Michael Phelps only wishes he could. Had them outswim the dogs across lakes and ponds where it looks like the hog has a 20hp outboard attached to it's back and the dogs get left in the wake. Like Nic said, you don't really see pigs get winded, and their speed through the thickest brush seems like it is 20% faster then they can run in the open.

 

[RIFLEMAN]

Feral hogs are THE ultimate game animal when pursued by dogs; they can run faster than deer, fight more aggressively than bear, swim like a fish, and charge through brush and barbwire like it ain't even there. They are America's version of the rhino or caped buffalo when it comes to their potential tenacity, and there is NO game animal more intelligent other than the elephant.

In my opinion, hogs will behave differently according to the type of dog pursuing it, as they react according to their ability to discover that they are being pursued. I run cold-nosed hounds who can start an older hog track and then bark during the entirety of the race, thereby yelling, "READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!" to the hogs. Most of my hogs have either run a short distance and then turned to fight, or have lined out with no intention of ever stopping; only the speed of a long-legged dog can stop the pursuit of the latter type of hog. I have found that boars will turn to fight sooner while sows will try to outrun the dogs. I haven't experienced hogs circling or otherwise trying to elude the pursuing dogs through anything other than speed and fight like Nic and bayedsolid have, but this may be attributed to the distinctions between types of dogs, topography, and the hogs' lineage/physiology in our three respective regions.

I have only seen one winded hog in my entire life, but it took a 15-mile/11-hour race to make that happen. The big boar wouldn't stay bayed, and would break after just a few minutes. But when he finally stopped for the last time, he had his butt planted in the ground, head hung low, and was panting very hard. My dog was about four inches from his face barking every breath 'cause he knew the race was finally over. The hog seemed not to know or care when I showed up.

Most of my hogs have run downhill or on even ground, but will often aim for the brush in whatever direction it is found in. I have caught an overwhelming majority of my hogs in draws, so I think this is a preferred means of evasive travel. This is especially true with hogs bayed along a hillside, so I think they use draws to run uphill.

These are all broad and general categories, and like bayedsolid said, just when you think you might have them figured out, they will do something unexpected.

If you recall, Jesse, a few years ago we had a very long discussion spanning several pages and about 200 or more responses regarding the ethics of shooting a hog being pursued by the dogs of another party. My short answer is that it is not illegal, I don't believe it is ethical, and would never do it personally. I don't recall anyone shooting a hog that my dogs were running (at least, not that I know of), but I wouldn't think it was a big deal; for a houndsman, there's always more where that one came from.