Wild boar hunting with dogs is quite an old practice in the United States and the type of hog hunting dog depends on the role that the dog plays. One can divide them into three distinct categories: bay dogs, catch dogs and finders. Let's start with the bay dogs.

Bay dogs can be considered as the assist hunters while hunting wild boars as they are trained to find, chase and corner the animal and hold him at "bay". When they do this, they bark very loud and intense as a signal for the hunter to release his catch dogs. In addition, these type of dogs also guide the hunter to come to the site and kill the hog. As you might have guessed it already, the bay dogs have to be very fast runners and athletic. Choose the right one and you will obtain great results. You'll read more info about what breeds are recommended as bay dogs for hunting boars below.

Let's move on to catch dogs, which are specially trained for accompanying the hunter on his expeditions.

Their sole purpose is to hold the hog physically down until the hunter arrives and kills the boar. They usually do this by holding the animal by the base of its ear.

The neck and chest of these dogs should be covered by a protective armor that prevents the hounds from getting injured by the hog's tusks.

Lastly, we have the finders, which trace the wild boar thanks to their keen sense of smell. They will either sniff the air or pick up the scent of a boar from the ground. Immediately after they have located the prey, the finder dog will bark for the hunters to come to the site themselves or to release the aforementioned bay dogs that are in charge of giving the area of the boar away to the hunter. Experienced hunters prefer choosing those finder dogs that have good abilities at picking scents from the air as the other have the tendency to get very far away from the hunter, capable of following the scent of the hog on the ground up to significant distances. Despite the fact that bay dogs are capable of locating a boar, not all of them are considered to be good finders.

Now, let's talk a little bit about boar hunting dog breeds. Basically pointers, along with retrievers and hounds are considered to be good finders. The first two rely on air scent, while hounds will sniff the ground in order to pick up the scent. For good bay dogs, experienced hunters recommend curs and hounds. The first ones are known to growl continuously if they find something amiss. Both of them are athletic breeds with keen sense of smell. They are known for being very loyal to their owners.

As far as the catch dogs are concerned, they have a very strong, muscular build and powerful jaws. They are athletic and energetic dogs with a friendly disposition, but also have a high prey dive, a relevant example would have to be the American Pitbull Terrier. A catch dog is very intelligent, courageous and has high levels of stamina. Usually, catch dogs are the American Bulldog, Cane Corso, Catahoula Bulldog and the Dogo Argentino.

Last but not least, it's recommended getting a dog that belongs to a linage with proven record for being a finder, holder or bay dog. Also remember to check the rules of the state in which you plan on using the dog to see if it is legal or not.