Tony

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Winnie hasn't actually seen any hogs since I got her. I currently live in the city and though I take her into the wilderness to run free basically every day, we are "hunting" only hares, foxes, quails, turkeys, wallabies, kangaroos, MAYBE deer on rare occassions. No hogs around here. I got her when she was about 4 months old and she was already being introduced to some pigs as a puppy, tagging along on hunts, but my cousin (who hunts pigs and breeds this line) was fined for having too many dogs and had to get rid of some, so I took this one off his hands. She's a pet but one that stays active in the outdoors and gets to exercise all her natural urges and instincts. Also a pet from very very serious working lines.

That said I know a good deal about all the named and unnamed lines of Aussie pig dogs, know many of the most noteworthy breeders and have a fairly solid understanding on the history of the scene here. It's in in my blood, grew up around it and also have taken the time to go the extra yard and do a lot of research on the topic. That's the history of pig dogs in Australia, and the history of "boarhounds" and "bulldogs" going back to Ancient times. Like you this is my passion!

edit- shoutbox isn't working great for me, says "connection failed" and I can't click on the box? Might be a "me" problem.

This is my "bull arab", Winnie. I say "" because the reality is this lineage has been bred by my family/friends-of-family since before the bull arab existed, but around a similar time. My grandfather's 2nd husband (not my grandfather) was a contemporary of the creator of the bullarab, and was breeding a similar lineage around the same time. An uncle of mine was as well, but his lineage went extinct. My cousin (a hunter) has since inherited the lineage from my grandmother's (late) second husband, and he now calls them "bull arabs" for convenience sake, but its not strictly true, and it is possible the creator is spinning in his grave over the fact his dogs are being named after someone else's line. In truth there are hundreds of "pig dog" lineages in Australia and many of them date back to the 1970s. Those without a name are more likely to be legit, because the only reason they get bred is to work.

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@Tony wrote "Real dogs are real natural animals that fill a niche as role players in the social units of hominids, so that's the angle I like to approach their study. More recently people have taken some and made them into silly beauty pageant contestants for dog shows and given them breed names and wrote little fairy tales for them. I try my hardest to ignore all that or at least cut through it. "

This is a salient observation as often we the dog owner and fanciers have a difficult time looking at the creature laying at our feet and seeing them engaged in their actual work. I have posted an article about the Night Hunt of Racoons and its worth a read to tie back to this.

Fatty, I'd have to cross him with a greyhound. Now that would be a dog.

Curious about this dog and what it is for? It looks cool.

The kennel clubs aren't to blame, the work dying out is to blame. The kennel clubs serve as a bloodbank preserving the DNA of working dogs. Sometimes it can be frustrating what they do with it, but the reality is that without them the DNA would be totally lost.

Thumbnail is a little silly, because if a whippet was really there, the coyote wouldn't have escaped.

It's amazing poor selection has done this to Danes, imagine how brave and stable they had to be in the past when they were working boarhounds? Selecting for size for it's own sake made them turn a blind eye to fearful traits in dogs they liked the size of, and this is the result.

I choose not to be limited to a recognised breed. I will only ever strictly acquire working dogs from people who use dogs as tools to perform a task. Primarily people who hunt feral hogs/boars (currently own a bull arab bred by my cousin who is a keen hunter), but I currently also have a dog bred to move sheep (kelpie mix, real working lines). I'm open also to cattle drovers and dogs used to hunt vermin (terriers) or fast game (lurchers/staghounds). I fundamentally disagree with even the idea of breeds and breeding dogs to represent a breed. Only dogs bred to do something are real dogs to me, I want to support that tradition and that world/culture, one which pre-dates breeds and is the natural organic way dogs were always produced which also does not harm them or afflict them with problems (physical/health and also psychological/nerves/temperament). Even the idea of breeds I feel is a detrimental negative thing at this point.

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