The Catahoula Hog Dog

Defend Our Hunting Rights!

2012-01-30T22:03:00.010-06:00

Below the dotted line is an excerpt from a veggie blog where a group of us hog hunters attempted to defend hog dog field trails AND hog hunting, on an animal rights blog in 2005. I suggest you familiarize yourself on the terminology used and be ready to defend your right as a hunter in the face of people who attempt to make it into something it is not.

As you will see if you read through the thread in the veg blog. I have for years been defending our rights to hunt and fish by educating people on both sides of the issues, and promoting hunter ethics.

Here is a comment from the thread, where an animal rights activist attempts to compare and connect "hog dog rodeos" to spousal abuse and murder:

"And actually, while we are on the topic, you may be interested in the growing number of studies about the connection between the joy of brutalising animals and the joy of spousal abuse or the joy of homicide. Most serial murderers began torturing/killing animals and later, because that line of “thou shall not kill” was crossed, it was easy to inflict harm and death on humans. Something to think about. Enjoying the suffering/death of anyone or any creature is cause for concern."

I not only defend our sport by confronting the insanity of the humaniacs head on, I also watch to make sure that we do not act the fool on our side, and by behaving in an unethical manner, give these animal rights activists ammo to fire back at us.

To me it is as important to point out when an animal rights activist is wrong in word or deed, as when a hunter is wrong likewise.

I am sharing this here now because it has been suggested by a prominent hunting rights advocate in Texas, that my protests of what happened last year in the two dog bay at Uncle Earl's 2011 were an indication of my turning coat and taking sides with the HSUS or PETA. Well, it is either that, or no one but me had the balls to call out the obvious threat that the Uncle Earl's 2011 two dog is to the hog baying industry as a whole, especially if a repeat of UE2011 ever were allowed to happen again. And if they can ban hog dog field trails, then their next target will be our hog dogs, and hog hunting.

Be it known here and now, that I am adamantly opposed to the HSUS, but I do work with a number of animal shelters, such as the Humane Society of Iberia, which is not funded or affiliated with the HSUS..

I am a fierce advocate of 2nd amendment right to bear arms because if we lose our arms, we are defenseless AND we lose our hunting rights.

Bear in mind, the sole purpose of the annihilation of the American Bison,
was to starve the Indians.

Protecting my dogs and my hunting rights is right up there with defending our 2nd amendment right to bear arms. We can protect our family, land, food, and neighbors, and at the end of the day, my rifle puts meat on the table.

Though out this ordeal since Uncle Earl's 2011, to avoid the questions I presented, I have been falsely accused of a multitude of bullshit such as attacking people.

It has been suggested that I have been attacking Bill Huff, and Jimmy Young.

I do know Jimmy and I never heard a bad word about him or Bill Huff, who I have only spoken to on the phone a couple of times several years ago, so why would I want to attack either of them? They, by all appearances are good men, doing their best. And on that note: anyone trying to cut down or disqualify Bill Huff as a producer of Uncle Earl's simply because he resides in another state besides Louisiana, is being ridiculous.

And it has also been repeatedly suggested that I give the new producers a chance.

Truth be told: I did give Jimmy Young and Bill Huff both a chance to answer the question no one has wanted to answer in the last 10 months: "How many teams were disqualified for catching in the 2 dog?" and it is a very important question that needs to be answered because the truth revealed in an honest answer to that question proves that what happened at Uncle Earl's 2011 is not only a threat to the future of the Uncle Earl's, but the bay dog industry as a whole. I sent both of them emails and left them messages on their voice mail. And I am not gonna attempt to run them down for an answer. If that is a personal attack, so be it. But, it appears to me, that I am and have been attacking an issue, not a person.

I will assume no one wanted to answer "that" question because they knew it was only the first of many tough questions to follow.

And in regard to giving the new producer a chance, he is not alone in producing this years Uncle Earl's, and here is my very real concern: If this has been going on for many years, meaning we could never expect to have an even, and fair set of hogs at Winnfield because it is "too big" or "whatever", why should I assume this year will be any different? We keep hoping it will get better, and yet it always seems to only get worse, and Uncle Earl's 2011 is a prime example.

When an Uncle Earl's judge was confronted with a question about the possibility that the uneven set of hogs made it very easy for the chutes to be loaded and thus to control the winners and losers, I was assured by that Uncle Earl's 2011 judge that the chutes for UE2011 were secure because the pen help in the chute area were all volunteers from the Winn Parish Sheriff's Office jail!

Trustees, who are convicted criminals, are loading the chutes, so we don't have to worry about anything illegal going on! Hhhmmmm?

But, until we start talking to each other and stop talking about other people, nothing will change.

I will not apologize for hurting any one's feelings at this point, because this has gone on for too long, and it looks like everyone except Marcus de la Houssaye is scared to say something!

What are you people scared of?

I am not the only one who sees this.

THIS YEAR, I am already hearing warnings that there is NO WAY that enough quality hogs could be brought to Winnfield 2012 for the 2 dog, and avoid a repeat of 2011, just by upgrading the hogs.

The blame has been put on us, the competitors for registering and having amateur, untrained and aggressive catch dogs that were for some reason winning bay trails all over the country before and after UE 2011, but were mysteriously disqualified for catching at UE 2011. I say give them bay dogs some decent hogs that they can't catch, and let's even the playing field.

And if you can't produce the hogs to do it right, and make it fair, don't do it at all! Don't schedule it in the first place or cancel it, and refund the people their money. I do not resent so much the waste of my money, as I resent the waste of my time. Or is my real irritation that these people think they are going to play us all for fools?

I think a large part of the whole problem stems from the fact that the people judging and producing the Uncle Earl's don't go to any other bayings during the rest of the year to see what the rest of the industry is doing. As a result, the people judging and producing the Uncle Earl's are out of sync and out of step with the rest of the bay dog industry, especially when it comes to producing quality hogs for bayings. And on that note instead of being the standard that every other baying is measured up to, the Uncle Earl's is the shame of the industry after the two dog in 2011.

Regarding the suggestion that I give the new producers a chance, let me be blunt about this:

Here is my current status; If I cannot trust that a repeat of the sort I did not want to witness in the first place last year, is guaranteed NOT to happen, THIS YEAR, I don't want to risk being there. I do not want to associate myself with an event that might be completely out of control, as it was in 2011. And if I can't get an answer to my calls or an honest answer to my questions about Uncle Earl's two dog last year, I don't trust these people. Until they prove themselves otherwise, I will assume nothing has changed.

Now I am sure there is a fair number of people accusing me of being "unsportsmanlike" on account of my questioning the judges about how many catches in the two dog and why? And on that note, my next blog post will be about "The Sportsman's Clause" and a brief history of the evolution of the Uncle Earl's since 1995.

But am I coming as a sore loser and a disgruntled competitor of Uncle Earl's 2011 two dog or someone who loves the Uncle Earl family, has never missed an Uncle Earl's in over a decade and a half and is concerned about the future of this event AND the industry as a whole?

My guess is that the uneven set of hogs is in some way intentional. And why am I guessing and assuming? Because I never got an answer to my first question from any of the sponsors, promoters, judges, etc. And I called repeatedly, left messages, but no one answered or returned my calls. Only one judge responded to email, but did not answer my questions and preferred to attack competitors and throw around false accusations instead.

Now I don't know what is going on here, but I smell a rat in the wood pile.

And if I am going to participate in an event and pay good money for a fair chance to compete, I have the right AFTER the event, to question what in the hell was going on in the two dog last year at Uncle Earl's 2011? Because that question, does not come under the immunity of "the sportsman's clause".

It was not just me who got a substandard hog, it was a majority of all of us who paid good money to register in the two dog at THE WORLD'S LARGEST, The Superbowl of Bayings. Although my well trained dogs didn't catch, "for some reason" about 1/2 the teams in the 2 dog were disqualified for catching. If it was not the pitiful, poor quality hogs, why were so many teams disqualified in the two dog in Winnfield, DOGS who were winning all over the country before and after the Uncle Earl's 2011???

It was not just the amateur, untrained and inexperienced in the pen, dogs that were getting disqualified. It was the elite, high performance, experienced professional athletes that also overwhelmed the undersized, scared, running hogs.

Why? Because it was the hogs were too small!

A hog dog will catch what he can catch!

I'm sure if we, the competitors, demanded that criteria defining this event specified a certain number of large, quality hogs for the two dog, a certain number of large, quality hogs would be found and produced to facilitate the event! Such as: for 150 teams to compete in the two dog, at least 25-30 hogs 200 pounds or larger must be supplied.

Let's just call it "personal and pet security", that I am not attending and instead protesting and boycotting Uncle Earl's 2012. But, I had hoped to be there to witness and possibly defend the Uncle Earl's from a repeat offense of what happened last year. Because it looks like people want to act like it didn't happen last year, and thus my protest is not valid somehow by their simple denial of it. But, it looks like I am just one man. And... like I have been saying all along... if this is going to change, it will take more than just one man to change it.

OK, so we will see how it goes, but I am not the only one who has issues with what happened last year. And I am not the only one who will protest UE2012 by not attending this year, but who will keep an eye on things and do the talking on the fairgrounds in support of the real issue of better quality hogs?

And why aren't the judges, hosts, promoters and producers, asking for our input and listening to the people who bring their dogs, family and MONEY to Winnfield every year??? For instance: I campaigned for years to get Port-o-Lets and thus decent restroom facilities at the fairgrounds for our women and children, and wasn't that nice to see them delivered there last year, right on time?

For years, I asked for consideration of putting Port-o-Lets at Uncle Earl's. Shouldn't we all be demanding decent hogs?

The top of the agenda FOR IMPROVING future Uncle Earl's should be the as yet un-discussed issue of providing a sufficient quantity and, an even set of quality, world class hogs with dubbed teeth for the two dog bay, and while we are on the issue of quality hogs, how about a health certificate on every hog brought into Uncle Earl's and every one of them is wormed, vaccinated, and medicated with antibiotics?

Anyway, here is a link to the veg blog:

http://www.vegblog.org/archive/2004/03/08/dogs-vs-hogs-lose-your-faith-in-humanity/

This is who we should be fighting to defend our right to fish, to hunt and bay dogs, and not be fighting each other. I hope people realize that if we are fighting among ourselves about something like the shame of Uncle Earl's 2011, it will be real easy for them to come in and shut us down.

And I pasted an excerpt below, but you might want to click on the link and read the whole thread and please note how the animal rights activists are trying to compare hog dog field trails to fighting pitbulls and cockfighting. Meaning they want to ban Uncle Earl's! And they are comparing us to serial killers, and I quote: "Most serial murderers began torturing/killing animals."

What I want you to notice is how these same people are attempting to "label" and "define" what we are doing at a hog dog field trail, thousands of miles away from where they live, AND it is obvious that they have never been there. We must be proactive in defending our sport by being the creator of it's labels and definition.

And if we are charged with defining a hog dog, a field trail, and hog hunting for what it is, then we are clearly able to defend our sport for what it is NOT!

From what I can tell most of the animal rights activists in this thread are vegetarians from Alaska who are attempting to restrict and diminish our cultural heritage here in the Gulf south, by attempting to ban something they know nothing about and have never attended and only heard about through some TV news media, which was being reported by somebody else who actually never attended an event.

Here is an excerpt from the veg blog below, or click on the link above for the whole thread.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, first of all, thanks to all of you that wrote coherent blog entries. It would be wonderful if we could actually discuss the moral implications of this issue – rather then a couple people signing on to an animal rights blog and poorly articulating their reasoning behind these practices. This makes for very boring and frustrating conversation.

I would suggest that Ryan is responding as he is because

a) it’s extremely hard to have any intelligent exchange of ideas with comments like the “hog hunters/rodeo goers” have put forth;
and b) slinging insults around and making absurd assumptions never got anywhere.

Animal ethical issues are a hot topic to debate, everyone would agree. But it’s vital we discuss them.

So, I would suggest that anyone willing to revert back to the idiotic response of “i can do want i want and i’m going to kill something right now and it’s going to be great so take that you fucking veggie freaks !!!!” would do better to reflect on what’s making them so ridiculous. Cut out the shit and post something meaningful.

And I’m going to address the “cityslicker” comment, just because this is so indicative of our cultural biases.
Please don’t assume that if you live out in rural areas, your moral arguments are indefensible. So often the “cultural difference” or “you couldn’t possibly understand me” trumps any argument, and that’s extremely unfortunate.
We need to be sensitive to cultural differences and respectful of differing views, but they should never automatically shut down a debate.
Don’t assume that anyone who advocates for animal rights/welfare is obviously a city-slicker. That’s insane to suggest.
I come from a tiny town in Alaska, so don’t go there.

Please everyone, let’s have some good, honest thoughts thrown out there.

05/11/05 at 22:01 Marcus de la Houssaye wrote:
I believe this writer has captured the essence of a hog dog trail, and we have it at a rodeo arena every year. It is the high light of my daughters yearly travels.

WINNFIELD, La. � The unearthly yowl rattling the swing gate out at the fairgrounds offends the eardrums in almost unimaginable ways. It crosses from a squeal to a grunt and back again, a blaring, impossibly awful incantation.
The gate cracks only an inch or so before the beast shoots out, all 250 pounds of snorting, speeding, sharp-tusked meanness. The bogs where Louisiana’s peerless political scamp, Earl K. Long, once hunted can’t offer up a creature surlier than this one: a fully grown, fully cranky wild boar.

Junior Toler waits, squatting behind a splintery wooden box and holding back a yapping Catahoula so eager to chase the pig that it has stretched its collar to a windpipe-crimping tension point. Toler is a bit of a scamp himself. He runs a boar-hunting excursion business as far south as you can go in Georgia, and he boasts that he’ll let you kill those hogs any way you want: bow, gun, knife � heck, bare hands, if you’re in the mood.

“Y’all don’t take away points if we get to bein’ a lil’ crazy?” Toler asks the judge.

Bill Huff, a ruddy, big-boned man with a clipboard, just smiles. “Y’all do whatever you want.”

And that’s when Toler cuts loose, releasing his dog like a bullet from a rifle and shuffling his rubber shrimping boots as if he were at a hoedown instead of a modified rodeo arena.

“Stop that hog. Talk to him. Talk to him. You better stop that hawwwwwwg. Whoooooo-eeeee!”

The crowd, often as quietly mesmerized as a symphony audience, bursts out laughing. Anything is possible at Uncle Earl’s Hog Dog Trials, even a jig-dancing Georgian, and the observers are on their feet straining to catch a glimpse.

Westminster, it’s not

Just about every weekend in the South, such audiences are lining up to watch dogs chase hogs. The events � part obsessively tracked competition, part southern-fried festival � play out like down-home antidotes to the manicured rigidity of the Westminster Dog Show.

No hog-dog trial is bigger than Uncle Earl’s, the Super Bowl of hog-dog trialing, which ended Sunday with the crowning of the top dog, Hunter, a yellow black-mouth cur, from Beaumont, Texas. Uncle Earl’s is held not far from the bumpy lane in Winnfield where Long lived in a ramshackle country place called the Pea Patch until he died in 1960. Winnfield, about 100 miles southeast of Shreveport, gave Louisiana three governors: Long; his brother, the Kingfish, Huey P. Long; and their pal O.K. Allen. Now it offers the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame, where the motto is: “We induct ‘em, they indict ‘em.”

Uncle Earl, whose last campaign featured one of the great slogans in U.S. political history � “Vote for Earl Long; I ain’t crazy” � hunted hogs with flair. A few years back, Claude O’Bryan, who used to cure pork to Uncle Earl’s specifications � 25 pounds of sugar, 100 pounds of salt � got to thinking there should be a way to honor the old governor.

A hog-dogging event seemed like a natural, and the inaugural Uncle Earl’s in 1995 coincided with a burst of hog-dog trials across the South. O’Bryan, wearing “Sunday overalls” that barely contain his 305 pounds, presides over his creation from the driver’s seat of a four-wheeler. Lean, sinewy, strong dogs � more than 800, not counting the puppies sleeping everywhere in tangled piles � are tied to trees and fences, curled up in tents next to teenage boys, lounging in horse stalls, crawling out of camper shells. The air fills with deep-throated baying; walking on the grass is, well, inadvisable.

$10,000 and more for champs

If hog-dogging has an 800-pound gorilla, it is Billy Long, 64, whose sun-scorched neck looks like creased leather. When Long’s wife is around, he says he paid $10,000 for his dog Coushatta, a pretty, yellow black-mouth cur, but most everyone knows the price was probably closer to $15,000. When his dogs don’t win, Long � no relation to Uncle Earl � buys the ones that do, hoping to secure thousands more in prize money.

Long’s 12 dogs ride to Uncle Earl’s in a custom-made, stainless-steel trailer with air-conditioned and heated cages.

A good hog dog like Coushatta, a three-time Uncle Earl’s champ, casts a spell. The Catahoulas, Louisiana’s state dog, fix eerily beautiful blue eyes on a snarling pig and stare down the beast until it freezes. It’s a bit of a mind game.

Put two dogs on a pig at once, and the sound is deafening. The dogs don’t wait for their partners to move; they leapfrog each other. But pigs have moves of their own, scampering away and occasionally flipping their yelping pursuers into the air like playthings.

Excessive nipping by the dogs is not allowed. Huff, like a football ref in cowboy boots, calls “unnecessary roughness” if a dog clamps its teeth for too long on the unruly shag of bristly hair that covers the boars or sinks its fangs into their flesh.

Hog-dog trials and their bloody cousins � hog-catching events, which encourage dogs to wrestle hogs to submission, sometimes with deadly consequences � have angered animal-rights groups. But even People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals hasn’t bothered with Uncle Earl’s, saying it’s “mild” by comparison with unsanctioned events being held elsewhere in the South.

In the shade of the announcer’s tent is Sherry Bando, the whiskey-toned voice of the trials.

She ticks off the competitors: There’s “Stupid” and “Trashy” and “Ugly” and “Boudreaux,” those are the dogs, by the way. The handlers come from tiny towns with names like Okolona, Miss., and Telephone, Texas, where the hunting is right out the back door. There was a time competitors went nonstop for 36 hours at Uncle Earl’s; lately, they knock off about midnight before starting again at sunrise.

Off in the distance, Bando’s voice is crackling in the evening air. Junior Toler is handing out fliers for his Broughton Island hunts.

And up on the hillside, a little curl of smoke is tickling the pines. The smell is familiar. It’s the scent of roasting pig.

Well if the veggies are keeping count, it looks like we hog hunters got them outnumbered, and last I checked majority rules.

05/11/05 at 23:07 Anne wrote:
To all the rodeo supporters, how do you feel about the Roman games? What is your position on cockfighting or dog fighting?

Marcus, I was also wondering what impact you think the rodeo’s activities will have on your daughter’s sense of humanity/compassion? Is it possible she will become de-sensitized to suffering in general?
I would also argue that, no, a majority “ruling” doesn’t make anything morally right.

10/11/05 at 02:14 Marcus de la Houssaye wrote:
Anne, my daughter knows that hog dog trails are not like a pitbull or cockfights. She has been there, looks like you only “heard about it”.
Now if you want to really protest suffering, you need to consider what we hunters in general are doing in the woods and on the lake. Like last weekend, my daughter put three live redfish on the ice to die in my boat. Shame on her for wanting to eat that fish! Now let’s see, where can we trim the bloody, suffering that goes on in our world? Hockey, boxing,football,rugby, hey I got it! Let’s ban automobiles, trucks and motorcycles because lot’s of people die and are injured on the highway, not to mention all the poor critters that are victims of the highway.
Or maybe we should ban high speed, because it is not the vehicle, or the highway that is dangerous. How about a nationwide limit of 35! That would end a lot of suffering, but it is as rediculous as comparing a hog dog trail to a pitbull fight. And to address your last comment Anne, “A minority protest doesn’t make something morally wrong, it just makes boring, ignorant, self-righteous people feel like they have something meaningful to live for”. Well you can call me insensitive, inhuman, insane, just make sure you call me in when the barbeque is ready!

11/11/05 at 00:54 Anne wrote:
The argument of ban-cars-to-end-suffering is unoriginal and grows tiresome. I’m sure you would agree, Marcus, there is a large difference between torture or killing someone intentionally, and the accidental suffering (traffic fatalities).

Human sports, bloody or not, require consent of said players. Animal sports do not.

I would encourage you to think more on your comment about “minority protest [s]“. Throughout history, these minority protests are solely responsible for bringing about social / moral changes.

How would spectators feel if the animals in rodeos or hog shows were purely dogs? What is the difference between a dog and a pig? Why is it okay to abuse and eat one species and not the other? Is it intelligence? Pigs are as, if not more, intelligent then our canine compainions. They can reason, have distinct personalities, etc.

Animal lives are not ours to take or control. I do not understand how an otherwise intelligent, feeling person would desire to subject any living being to misery.

14/11/05 at 20:00 Marcus de la Houssaye wrote:
Anne, are you questioning my right to take an animals life? Well God gave me the right to eat them and the laws of the federal and state government gives me the right to exercise my God given right to eat them by “taking their life”.And for the record, wild pork is my favorite and I consider it the best meat out of the woods. And isn’t that really the issue here? Your ultimate goal is to stop people from eating meat. Well real soon with the majority of Americans, I will give thanks for being born into the greatest free country in the world, and specially I will want to thank The Lord Jesus for assigning me to Louisiana, the greatest pantry of wild foods in North America. So there, I confessed to intentionally killing animals for food, but are you also accusing me of torturing animals because I support the fine art of hog baying by attending a hog dog field trail? And where is the evidence that supports these accusations of torture? I sure am glad I live in a country that presumes innocence until “proven” guilty. Because you make it sound like I am a convicted hardened offender of some kind. I think all of us hunters are being tried, convicted and sentenced in veggie court. And then we get charged with contempt for failure to appear, but hell, it was openning day of squirrel season, and we had took our kids out of school to take them hunting! Thank God, frogging season coincides with summer vacation, so our kids don’t have to miss so much schooling. Now if you think you can keep a Cajun from the delight of torturing live crawfish in boiling water, and then eating them, well get a grip, I also torture oysters everytime I eat one raw! But the real torture is not in chewing ‘um up live,I burn them in lemon juice before I stab them with a fork. Ouch! Is it just me or does it seem that veggie people are just not happy and don’t know how to have fun?

15/11/05 at 19:29 Anne wrote:
Are you for real, Marcus?
When I read posts like this, and the many above, I have a difficult time discerning if the blogger is intentionally trying to mimic “a moronic redneck hick” or if it’s just coming across that way by accident.
Please write coherently and thoughtfully.

And to answer your closing question “Is it just me or does it seem that veggie people are just not happy and don’t know how to have fun?” :
Yes. It is just you. And I think most humans find it repulsive when killing/maiming/torturing is required for someone (such as yourself it seems) to “have fun.” Quite disturbing on a number of levels.
People who get their kicks from entertainment of this nature are often struggling with personal insecurities. The idea is to exert tremendous power over those who are less able to defended themselves, proving that “you’re a man.” However, all that is really proven is that they do in fact have a small dick. It’s a familiar phenomenon with a long and glorious tradition.

And actually, while we are on the topic, you may be interested in the growing number of studies about the connection between the joy of brutalising animals and the joy of spousal abuse or the joy of homicide. Most serial murderers began torturing/killing animals and later, because that line of “thou shall not kill” was crossed, it was easy to inflict harm and death on humans. Something to think about. Enjoying the suffering/death of anyone or any creature is cause for concern.

16/11/05 at 08:26
Didn’t this all start with this woman saying the pigs were mean and could defend themselves? And then she stated she let her kids chase the young pigs and they love it. Something wrong with the mentality here.

Ryan I love your comebacks.

FYI I have 6 dogs and none are permitted to show aggression towards each other or other animals. A dog that is permitted to show aggression towards one animal may mistake your child for one of the hogs one day. They are animals after all unable to think or feel yet authorities will have him PTS for a mistake you as a human created and trained him to do to make yourself happy.

17/11/05 at 16:05 Marcus de la Houssaye wrote:
Once again, confusing the difference between a big boar(who can defend himself) and a young piglet being chased by little children coming from someone who has never been there. And this comes from someone who questions “our” hunter mentality. And before that it was not enough for Anne to assume she knew the proportions of my penis(and like a hog dog trail, she never been there), but then go on to suggest that my comedy and making fun of her was evidence of animal brutality, spousal abuse and homicidal tendencies. Well people, we have entered the twilight zone! Do do do do, do do do do. Good thing I know who I am and don’t need a woman to define what I should be doing, saying and thinking. Well Anne, if you have a problem with the fact that you can’t control me, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM! But at least I am having some fun, if you haven’t figured that out yet. Now seriously, are you so desperate to appear to be superior to me as to question the size of of my penis as having something to do with my mental health or the lack of it? Have you examined yourself lately? No, not there, I meant mentally. It sounds like you are not only, not having fun, you are not having sex either! And if you are, maybe your partner is not satisfying you. Now lighten up, try to enjoy yourself and consider that you cannot discern when an enlightened, intelligent, caring, sensitive, confident, well-endowed man is having a good laugh at your expense. In case you haven’t noticed women really aren’t looking for size in a man. But go ahead and abuse, insult, humiliate, and inflict all your feminine sufferings and rage toward me and my armor-plated ego. I can take it! In fact, is trying to insult my penis the best you can do? The least you could do is check it out before criticizing. It’s like hog dog field trails, you like to pass judgement without examining the evidence. Now I don’t care what you may think of me, but I will defend your right to think it even if you are wrong. And if you are entertaining the possibility of examining the evidence regarding my penis. All I can say is “In your dreams, baby!”

Remember When?

2012-01-29T23:11:00.000-06:00

A Water Buffalo Journey

2012-01-25T09:02:00.000-06:00

A Water Buffalo Journey

Red Stag and Fallow Deer

2012-01-22T09:37:00.009-06:00

For Sale: 25-50 Trophy Stags and Fallow bucks as well as hundreds of yearlings, does and hinds.

A game preserve operator has lost his exotic permit due to new laws, and needs our help to move forward.

He has a herd of 400 exotics in a game preserve that must be transported live or culled.

Does anyone know of a large or small preserve interested in buying Red Stag and Fallow deer breeding stock?

Culling is a last option. My hope is this is a win, win, win situation.

Of course my young blood tracking dogs will get amazing opportunity to learn to track in this preserve,

but we want to make every effort to find a new home for the stags, bucks, does and hinds if at all possible.

The Whitetail deer can stay, but the exotics have to go.

My cell phone is 337 298 2630

My email is: catahoula1@gmail.com

I am Marcus de la Houssaye a breeder and trainer of Louisiana Catahoulas, and a professional blood tracker.

Welcome to My Wild Louisiana!

Should you be coming to south Louisiana for a visit, I would be glad to guide you on a Louisiana swamp tour. You click the link here for more info.

Soggy Bottom Boys - I'm A Man Of Constant Sorrow

2012-01-20T22:38:00.000-06:00

Big Mama Thornton Hound Dog

2012-01-19T04:56:00.000-06:00

Genetics And Socialization Is More Important Than Training

2012-01-17T10:03:00.006-06:00

I just got a call from someone who I gave a puppy to a couple of years ago. I won't mention his name for privacy and security reasons. This customer was impressed with the puppy from the get go.

But let me tell you what is happening now.

He got this daughter of C Arrow Patch and Scarlet O'Hara to be a family pet,

and with three young boys, and horses, and a rural lifestyle, the puppy was well raised and properly socialized.

My friend also had a hunting lease with wild hogs, and this is where it is getting interesting.

He got her to be a family pet and a blood tracking dog on the lease.

At 12 months old she found her first deer.

She is doing well in both areas, as a family pet and a blood dog, but her natural hunting abilities are kicking in and he is worried that she is going to turn into a hog dog. I advised him not to worry, because she was born a hog dog, and he can't change that.

Right at two years old, without any training or desire on the deer hunters part, his family pet wants to hunt wild hogs. She is fast, fearless, gritty, long range, and long winded. As a young puppy, she liked to ride the ATV, now she wants to run!

I am mentioning two years old because I hear a lot of hog hunters tell me if a dog is not hunting and baying by 8 or 9 months old, they are "getting rid of it".

But what if it is a "late bloomer" which is typical of the breed? Starting to hunt at 2 or 3 years old is not uncommon for Catahoulas. Ohhh, we are impatient?

Now to the issue of it being a family pet.

Many people believe if a dog is made or allowed to be a pet, it won't hunt.
Now where are they getting this, I don't know, but it appears to be a common myth.

Here is a puppy I sent to a man in Florida last year to work as a blood dog on a large deer hunting lease. as you can see in the photo below, it may well grow up to be a lot more than just a blood dog.

A Catahoula is a social animal and if you don't allow them to bond with you early on, they may never be your friend and hunting buddy. If they are not your hunting buddy and part of the team(or family), they won't hunt for you and I don't care how well bred the dog is.

I have a lot to say about the importance of socialization, but right now, I am thinking of all the well bred dogs that I watched get screwed up by hog hunters through the years, and I will leave it at this.

If you are interested in my dogs and would like to call and qualify to buy one of my pups, I can be reached at 337 298 2630

www.catahoula.ws

To see a litter of puppies just born from a litter mate sister of the dog in this post click here: http://catahoulapuppies.blogspot.com/2012/01/little-ann-and-cutty-dark.html

Sometimes You Got To Move On...

2012-01-02T04:27:00.002-06:00

After attending and supporting Uncle Earl's since I first heard about it in 1995, I will not be there this year. I had hoped to work with everyone there and give the new management a chance.

Sorry, I can't do it.

I cannot continue to participate in something I cherished and looked forward to every year for a decade and a half, because it is not gonna change.

I proposed to delete the last post regarding the boycott, but have changed my mind, instead, I am moving on.

I have made a lot of friends there, but most of them don't go anymore for the same reason I am not going to associate myself with it.

Good luck to all of you who keep hoping it will be better.

Personally, I have no hope for change in Winnfield.

Therefore, I chose to change my plans for the end of March 2012.

I wish I had not witnessed the 2 dog last year, and worse, I regret participating in it, but I will never make that mistake again.

My mission to open a discussion about the real issues and challenges we face as competitors and producer/sponsers/hosts of this sport has been accomplished. I apologize for any hurt feelings or misquotes, insults, personal attacks, false accusations, etc, that have arose from the s*** I have stirred up. We are all for the most part good people trying to make the world a better place. Almost 2 years ago someone proposed that our greatest threat was not the HSUS, but the lack of unity in the sport. And that comment was made due to the cancellation of UE 2010.

Boycott Uncle Earl's 2012

2011-12-31T03:31:00.006-06:00

For years, I have watched my friends who apparently were smarter than me, droping out of attending and competing at Winnfield.

.

The only way we competitors of the Uncle Earl's are going to be respected is to prove that we do not need to continue to participate, FUND, and feed into the BS of the past that is apparently NOT over yet.

Meaning: boycott Uncle Earl's 2012.

That's my plan and I am sticking to it. My dogs, my family, my friends, AND my money are going somewhere else at the end of March next year. Like so many honest, intelligent, patient, hopeful competitors who gave up on the Uncle Earl's years ago, I choose to not participate, fund, or hope it will ever be better.

If I do go to Winnfield to visit my friends, and discuss the issues, and see what the turn out is, I will not spend a dime at a gas station, restaurant, or pay to enter the gate.

I contacted Bill Huff(a judge at UE 2011)in April because I wanted to ask him how many teams were disqualified in the 2 dog bay at EU 2011. He replied that he would call me the next day. Nine months later, I am still waiting for that call.

Let us not forget...Uncle Earl's 2011 was a disgrace to the industry as a whole because 1/2 of the teams in the 2 dog were disqualified for catching. This was due to pitiful hogs. Competitors and audience could not watch the blood bath, and left early. But 5 people watched every run on Saturday, and did not object or stop the bay. Those 5 people were the judges. Now these same people(the judges) who would not speak to me and answer the question about how many teams were disqualified for catching, are awarded the contract to run the show?

This duck may be flapping it's wings, but it will not fly.

If you would like to contact the producer contracted for Uncle Earl's 2012, here is his name and number: Bill Huff 972-345-8390.

My advise: before you inquire about the future UE 2012, you might want to ask him what the hell was going on at UE 2011 when 1/2 the teams were disqualified for catching in the 2 dog on Saturday.

Most people who participate at Winnfield have no clue how much money we have poured into the economy of the city of Winnfield for over a decade and a half. Not only do we directly contribute to cash registers at the end of March every year, that money circulates around town, long after we leave.

If the city of Winnfield thought it was bad to cancel Uncle Earl's 2010, wait till they experience the effect of staging this event and we(the competitors) don't show up and financially support it this coming year.

Here is what will really hurt the Uncle Earl's 2012: the entry fee for the one dog bay this next year will be: $65 which is a 38% increase over last year.

I don't know the rest of the fees, but you get the drift.

I suggest you find one of the smaller bayings that respect the competitors and support them.

Here is the blog post I published here on April 6, 2011 that opened up the issue of pitiful hogs causing about 1/2 the teams to be disqualified for catching in the 2 dog at Uncle Earl's 2011:

http://catahoulahogdog.blogspot.com/2011/04/times-they-are-changin.html

To bring the same people back who watched every run as judges and did not object or own up to what was happening in the 2 dog last year, is not only unbelieveable, it is as far as I am concerned, unacceptable.

Here is what we the competitors need to consider regarding the boycott:

TRIPLE R’S BAY PEN HOG DOG TRIALS 1/7/2011

2011-12-27T21:43:00.001-06:00

JAN 7th, 2012
BOOKS OPEN @ 8:00 AM - BAYING STARTS @ 9:00 AM
ADMISSION IS $ 5.00 FOR ADULTS * CHILDREN 13 AND UNDER IS FREE
CONCESSION STAND AND RESTROOM IS AVAILABLE

*NO CATCH DOGS*
* NO DOG’S IN HEAT*
* HOG’S TEETH IS DUBBED*

FIRST PLACE TROPHIES WILL BE GIVING ON ALL EVENTS & 1ST - 3RD PLACE TROPHIES WILL BE AWARDED ONLY IN THE PUPPY BAY

PUPPY BAY - ENTRY FEE $10.00 - OPTIONS $10.00- 0% PAY BACK ON ENTRY- 100% PAYBACK ON OPTION
YOUNG AND OLD- ENTRY FEE - $30.00 - OPTIONS - $10.00-50% PAYBACK ON ENTRY - 100% PAYBACK ON OPTION
ONE DOG -ENTRY FEE - $30.00 - OPTIONS - $20.00 - 50% PAYBACK ON ENTRY - 100% PAYBACK ON OPTION
TWO DOGS - ENTRY FEE -$40.00 - OPTIONS - $20.00 - 50% PAYBACK ON ENTRY - 100% PAYBACK ON OPTION

TO SAVE TIME WE HAVE CHANGED THE CLASSES FROM CALCUTTA’S TO OPTIONS WITH A 100 % PAYBACK ON OPTIONS

****ANNOUNCEMENT AND POSTING AT EVENT SUPERSEDE ALL PRINTED MATERIAL****

BAY PEN’S ADDRESS: 433 LONNIE MALONE RD. DOWNSVILLE LA.71234
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL :
LYNN ROBERTSON (318)-548-3532
OR
CRYSTAL KOCH (318)-245-4310
LOOK US UP ON FACE BOOK : TRIPLE R KENNELS

Why Is It So Hard To Find Good Dogs?

2011-12-27T09:42:00.006-06:00

It is hunting season, and I am getting a lot of calls.

What is very interesting is that most people who breed the top, elite performance dogs are NOT selling their dogs to hog hunters, especially the newbies.

I have stopped marketing my dogs to hog hunters, and the comment I got last night from a breeder pretty much summed it up: He said: "I stopped selling to hog hunters because almost all of them regard the dogs as 'expendable'. They claim it is 'just a dog', and if it gets killed, they will get another one."

Yesterday a young man wanted me to compare my hog dogs to other peoples dogs and then make a claim as to who had the better dogs. I hung up on him.

Since when do we need to brag on our dogs and put other people's dogs down?

That's not how I sell my dogs. And I can tell you I am always looking for people with better dogs than mine. When I find those dogs I get one and bring it home to breed into my bloodline. And my bloodline may have my name on it, but it was built upon the names of breeders who are all better breeders than me.

That's how I roll.

So many of the old timers have just quit breeding because they are fed up with the drama of dealing with the public.

And since when has hog hunting become a competitive sport?

I thought it was about putting meat on the table?

Here is the bottomline: We care more about our dogs than the people who don't care if the dogs get killed in order to brag about how great a hunter the dog owners are.

I hunt for meat, and I breed dogs who can survive and come home alive with the bacon.

Why Is It So Hard To Find Good Dogs?

Because we(the breeders) care more about our dogs than money or bragging rights.

I just sent a 5 year old son of Patch and Ruby to Arkansas a month ago. The man with Elijah is so impressed with the dogs natural working abilities, he can't believe the dog never found a hog in his life until last month. That's right; five years old and I never hunted him much because he has been a cow dog most of his life.

So without training or experience, Elijah is now the mans best strike dog. Imagine that!

And that's why we old timers are protective of our dogs and good dogs are hard to find: genetics.

We are preserving the best bloodlines from morons who think they can get a dog killed and just "get another one".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Below is a question from one of my readers:

I read on one of your blogs that you should spoil your catahoula for 2 years and then take him in the woods with you and see what he does. What did you mean by this. Is it good to spoil your dog or will he not hunt for you if you do this. I'm bringing home what I hope to be a future hunter next week, and would like to do things right, to end up with the best "do everything" dog I can.

My reply:

I spoil them, but I am also the boss. Because hog hunting is mortal warfare, I keep my dogs out of harms way for two years. I start them at a bay pen with a puppy pen attached to it. See photo below.

When they want to get 'em some, I lead them in to the hog. When they lose interest, I lead them out. Spend as much time with a puppy as possible for the first two years.

At about 6-8 months, I stop bringing them into a pen. And for about a year, they never EVER see a hog. Then when I bring them to the woods unless they hunt, they don't get to bay.(And they really want to bay a hog!) It doesn't take them long to figuire out that hunting leads to baying...

At two years old, they have a much higher survival rate than a puppy encountering a deadly hog for the first time.

I just sent a 1 year old to Arkansas, and they turned him loose thinking he needed to get accustomed to hunting. The first hog they got on, he rushed in and got killed.

Whoever came up with this stupid idea that a spoiled pet won't hunt, apparently has a lot of cult followers, but I am not a member. Most likely the problem arose from people trying to hunt dogs whose belly was packed with food. Pets are often overfed, and thus won't hunt! Hungry dogs hunt.

And another thing, if that dog wasn't bred to hunt, you can't "train" them to be a hog dog. And if they were bred to hunt the most important thing you need to train them is: to survive.

Stop trying to train and constantly evaluate your dog's hunting ability and just go enjoy life with your new best friend. Maybe he will teach you how to hunt hogs in a way you never thought of before.

Pet Food Recall

2011-12-18T12:59:00.003-06:00

Years ago, I began to "TRY" to educate people about this. And no one believed me.

I assume most of my friends here are pet owners. You do not want to miss this post.

Last weekend, , a friend found one dog dead and rushed the other to the vet, and it survived. Everyone be alert! These were not just pets in the family home, these were young, prime age, completely healthy, active, working cowdogs.

I have been controlling myself and trying to avoid posting this info, because people either think I am crazy or lying, to claim I feed my dogs mostly raw meat.

But, I can't hold back any longer.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall/cargill-recall/

http://www.examiner.com/american-pit-bull-in-national/pet-food-giant-science-diet-receives-fda-warning/

I have been reading ingredients for decades...so what are animal by-products?

http://vonhapsburg.homestead.com/petfood.html

PET FOOD - OUR PETS ARE DYING FOR IT...

Here is a link to a great article about the propaganda behind the scenes:

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/articles/nexus.pdf/

Dogs, cats and ferrets fed a regular diet of processed food suffer from a range of cruel and debilitating diseases. Pet owners can improve their pets' health by feeding them a natural, chewy diet primarily of whole raw carcasses or at least raw meaty bones.

Stop feeding junk pet food is the first and best bit of advice I can give you — for the benefit of your pets, the human economy and natural environment. By stopping doing harm we take the first steps on the road to doing good. It gains us a bit of breathing space allowing us to survey the scene, investigate further and harness the benefits of our newfound wisdom.

Actually, it’s not so new. Hippocrates, the famous Greek physician in the 5th century
BC, said: ‘Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can heal your patients with
food.’

So why did we lose sight of the ancient wisdom; why did we ignore the teachings of
nature; and of utmost importance why is it so difficult to discuss, let alone reverse, the current orthodoxy?

If unnatural pet food injures the health of pets, then the cosy relationship between the pet-food manufacturers and the veterinary profession injures pets, pet owners and the veterinary profession too.

Breck Muir complained:
"The infiltration of the commercial pet foods into our lives is one of the great
success stories of the business world. Gross sales figures for a single product
type is probably only bettered by petroleum products worldwide."

We as a profession have been led by the nose by vested interests into a current
situation where most younger vets actually recommend commercial pet foods
as the best available way of feeding domestic pets — because they have never
known of any other way. Before they had their first pet they were bombarded
with constant mass media advertising instilling into them that various
commercial foods are the only way to go, and when they graduated and went
to postgraduate nutrition courses again they had this idea reinforced by
visiting lecturers who actually mentioned brand names in their notes.

Estimated 2007 Sales within the U.S. Market
Food $16.1billion
Vet Care $9.8billion
Supplies/OTC Medicine $9.9 billion
Live animal purchases $2.1 billion
Pet Services: grooming & boarding $2.9 billion2

Uncle Earl's 2012 Is Scheduled

2011-12-12T12:22:00.007-06:00

100 days from now, it begins...

March 21-25 2012

I just got off the phone with a vice president of the board for the Uncle Earl's Inc. and they are in the process of getting all the ducks in a row for next year!

Or should I say hogs?

The person I spoke to is Tammy, and she asked me to post her phone number here:

318 648 7031

If you have any suggestions or comments, she is the person to call.

So it would appear the now familiar sights and sounds of the vernal equinox at Winnfield, La. will be on the agenda for next year.

The Countdown To Winnfield...

2011-11-02T12:18:00.011-05:00

Four and a half months and counting...

If the Uncle Earl's has been sold to an out of state sponsor because the sponsors, promoters, hosts, and organizers of the past would not address or attempt to fix the problem of poor quality hogs, I have one word:

Good!

Now it has been proposed that I am on a one man crusade here to "run down" the Uncle Earl's. Let me be perfectly clear about this: I don't care what anybody says about me. Talk trash all you want. I am here to make things better, and if that means running something down in the process, so be it!

The two judges I contacted after this years fiasco have both refused to openly discuss how many teams were disqualified for catching in the 2 dog bay, and the one who did respond to the issue of why so many catches, only wanted to blame "us" the competitors for not properly training our dogs to compete, and claimed that "we"(the competitors),

were solely to blame for so many catches and disqualifications because we were running catch dogs, and not bay dogs. I don't buy that because dogs who were winning all over the country before and after EU, got disqualified at Winnfield!

If the Uncle Earl's was sold to an out of state sponsor to avoid admitting we have a problem with the provision of quality hogs, I rest my case.

But let me advise everyone who is watching: I am just one man, and I will not single handedly fix this thing. If you care, I suggest you get involved and make your voice heard. And if you are not gonna step up and contribute to the solution, stop complaining about the problems if they persist!

Furthermore: I am not the problem nor the solution, but if we, all working together, could be a powerful force to change things for the better, imagine what the EU could be.

Why can't something as big and as profitable as the Uncle Earl's provide hogs like this one in the photo below?

Or how about this?

Now how is this for an attitude?

I want to thank Mr. Reggie Little for the photos above, and below and...for setting a standard in producing hog dog competitions that the industry needs across the board.

My daughter and I together, have attended every Uncle Earl's except the first one, and last year when it was cancelled. She is now a freshman at LSU BR, and I hope she can make the EU 2012, if we have one next year.

So looking forward, one issue we continue to have to address is: adequate access to water for our animals. This is not only for our animals, but us who have to go through an obstacle course to get to the water.

If we have a new sponsor, we are not exactly starting from scratch, but the new sponsor IS! And so, we need to communicate our issues to them, so these issues can be addressed well in advance of the event in order to be better organized when we all get there in March 2012. I hope we are notified soon regarding the future of Winnfield, because it hangs in the air as far as I know at the moment.

I believe one of the easiest applications to expand the water system at the fairgrounds is to run a water line from the livestock barn(where we already have water), heading east along the chain link fence with faucets on both sides of the fence so people can stop on the asphalt road and fill water containers, and people inside the fenced area have access to several faucets also.

There is much room for improvement of the facilities at the fairgrounds, and we can work on them from year to year. We don't expect everything at once, but a few each year would go a long way, because we the competitors, are in it for the long haul.

Once again, I want to thank Jimmy Young for personally renting and hauling Port-o-Lets to the EU 2011 on Friday morning.

Now on Saturday morning, I discovered that the Port-o-Let in our camping area was a mess on account of someone vomited in there, and I don't mean down the hole! So, I went and got water, liquid soap, and a brush, and cleaned up. I opened it to the morning sun so it could dry out, and then went to WalMart and bought some more toilet paper, and the women and children were once again provided for.

Point is: if something needs to be done, let's all chip in and get it done!

Ya give me what I been asking for, for years, and I'll give some back!

Before this year, it was never Jimmy's responsibility to provide for this, and once it was, he delivered a trailer full personally right when we needed it.

Now with all the people(and their money),

and all the dogs,

does it make any sense, that until this year there was only one water faucet on the whole fairgrounds, and it was in the middle of the livestock barn?

The photo above is a new faucet installed this year next to the food vendor next to the barn. What was nice about that was, I and others could back up a pick up truck right to the water faucet, and with a short hose, fill our barrels without going through peoples dogs. And it is an improvement, and there may be others I am not aware of, but after a decade and a half of hundreds of thousands of dollars being pumped into the economy of Winn Parish very year, you would think that a few more water faucets this year and a few next year, would not be too much to ask. But I guess for some people, maybe it is asking too much.

Now I am not sure, but I suspect the provision(or lack of), water for livestock and adequate restrooms for our families was the issue that caused the UE 2010 to be cancelled. And I don't blame Jimmy Young for cancelling, I salute him!

And if it was Jimmy Young who was standing up for us, demanding water and restrooms, that led to the standoff, and cancellation of last years competition, good for him.

I am not sure, but I wish I knew for certain what happened a year and half ago to cause Jimmy Young to cancel EU 2010, because we all know that is not what he wanted, but I will assume he did what he had to do, and he did it for us.

Now from this point on, I hope we can ALL demand a better provision of quality hogs with dubbed teeth, because like Jimmy, I have about had enough of the bullshit in Winnfield!

TRIPLE R‘S BAY PEN HOG DOG TRIALS

2011-10-31T20:44:00.001-05:00

NOVEMBER 5TH, 2011

BOOKS OPEN @ 8:OO AM - BAYING WILL START @9:00 AM

BAY PEN’S ADDRESS IS: 433 LONNIE MALONE RD. DOWNSVILLE LA.71234

ADMISSION IS $5.00 FOR ADULTS * CHILDREN 13 AND UNDER IS FREE !

CONCESSION AND RESTROOM IS AVAILABLE

YOUNG AND OLD - ENTRY FEE - $25.00 - OPTIONS - $10.00

ONE DOG PRO - ENTRY FEE - $30.00 -CALCUTTA- $100.00 ADDED MONEY

TWO DOG - ENTRY FEE $40.00 - CALCUTTA- $200.00 ADDED MONEY

TWO DOG AMATUER - ENTRY FEE - $40.00 - OPTIONS - $20.00

100% PAYBACK ON OPTIONS* 50% PAYBACK ON ENTRIES* 80% PAY BACK ON CALCUTTA

FIRST PLACE TROPHIES WILL BE GIVING ON ALL EVENTS

*NO CATCH DOGS*
* NO DOGS IN HEAT*
*HOG’S TEETH DUBBED*

****ANNOUNCEMENT AND POSTING AT EVENT SUPERSEDE ALL PRINTED MATERIAL****

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL :
LYNN ROBERTSON (318)-548-3532
OR
CRYSTAL KOCH (318)-245-4310

Uncle Earl's Has Been Sold To An Out Of State Sponsor?

2011-10-30T18:31:00.005-05:00

I wish I could answer that question so we could move forward on this issue, but as far as I know, this is only a rumor.

And don't blame me for spreading rumors!

I would like to talk to whoever is in charge of what will be the next Uncle Earl's.

So I am asking around, and not getting much information.

I have been a loyal supporter of EU since I first went to Winnfield in 1996.

I have a lot of fond memories, few regrets, and made many friends.

One of my greatest regrets, is not being able to talk to Jimmy and Sharon since this years Uncle Earl's. But that is their call not mine, I tried.

Sometimes we have to stand up for what is right in spite of what it costs us.

I am sure the mess I have stirred up has made Jimmy Young angry, and perhaps, I have hurt Mrs. Sharon Young's feelings. As much as I would have preferred to discuss things like how many teams were disqualified for catching in the 2 dog, I was never given an answer to that question. Hey it is a free country, or so we are told.

Anyone who sees the big picture, knows the price of freedom is not free, it comes with great risk, and many have paid the price for the freedoms we so often take for granted here in civilian peacetime America.

If anyone questions my motives for stirring up stuff at Uncle Earl's, I want to say; "It is because I care enough to walk through fire to protect the things and people I love."

Mark Twain

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." ~ Mark Twain

Carolina Camera: The Original Motorcycle Dog

2011-10-20T15:12:00.000-05:00

HARD TIMES BAY PEN

2011-10-12T11:58:00.000-05:00

OCTOBER 15, 2011
HOT SPRINGS, AR

GPS: 1920 MOUNTAIN PINE ROAD, HOT SPRINGS AR, 71913

PUPPY - $15 (3 TO 12 MONTHS OLD)
OLD & YOUNG - $30
TWO DOG - $40
ONE DOG - $30

50% PAYBACK ON ENTRIES, 100% PAYBACK ON CALCUTTAS

BOOKS OPEN AT 7:30 A.M., BAY STARTS AT 8:30 A.M.

$5 GATE FEE, 12 AND UNDER FREE

1 JUDGE RULE, TEETH WILL BE DUBBED

NO CATCH DOGS, NO FEMALES IN HEAT, NO CAMERAS[

CONCESSIONS PROVIDED BY THE LAKE HAMILTON FFA AS A FUNDRAISER FOR THEM

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT DENNIS BOYKIN AT 501-276-3360

Larry Parish will be there with his tack trailer

Is Uncle Earl's 2012 For Sale?

2011-10-11T13:29:00.001-05:00

That is a question among many I am hearing lately.

Presently that question stands in the way of moving the Uncle Earl's forward and in line with the rest of the industry regarding provision of an even set of quality hogs with dubbed teeth.

Also from the office of administration of the city of Winnfield,

I am being advised that a lot of people are expressing disgust regarding what we witnessed from the stands at the fairgrounds on Saturday in the 2 dog bay. This protest of poor quality hogs causing too many dogs to catch, is not only coming from "sore losers" in the competiton, but from the fans and audience too.

Still, not one judge or official of the Uncle Earl's 2011 has come forward and admitted the truth(that we have a problem with poor quality hogs), or answered the question: "How many teams were disqualified for catching in the 2 dog at EU 2011?"

Admitting I may have hurt some feelings, and accepting, I may have lost some friends, I will not apologize for asking questions about an obvious fault in the operation of Uncle Earl's 2011. This is an issue that needed to be discussed openly a long time ago.

What Is A “Cur Dog”?

2011-10-09T05:21:00.003-05:00

Dwight Wilson posted this on Facebook, I found it very intresting!

Breed History

What is a “Cur dog”???
The Cur dogs are a group of purebred dogs and their crosses, the same way “Treeing Hounds”, “Stock Dogs”, “Terriers” and “Bulldogs” are. All of these dogs share the same history in the early America’s as the pioneer cattle and hunting dog. The breeds include the following:

Southwestern dogs (Texas, and Western mountains): Usually large, long-legged dogs with a wider range and strong stock working instinct. Usually cow or hog dogs, also big tree game.

Black Mouth Cur, or East Texas Cur dog, Yeller Cur or East Texas Brindle Cur

Lacy Cur, or Texas Lacy dog, Blue (or Red) Lacy

“Texas Cur”, which can refer to any other breed/strain from Texas

Western Mountain Cur, or Western Cur dog

Louisiana and Florida: Mostly larger, heavy-boned dogs adapted to swamplands. Cow and hog dogs.

Catahoula Cur, or Louisiana Catahoula, or Catahoula Leopard Dog

Florida Cur, or Cracker Cur

Curs from Southeastern Mountains: Tend to be smaller, stockier, less leggy dogs, closer range and much more tree-oriented nowadays.

Foundation Stock Mountain Cur

Original Mountain Cur, or “OMC”

Kemmer stock Mountain Cur, or Kemmer Cur

Mountain View Cur

Treeing Cur (any treeing Cur dog crosses)

Stephen’s Stock Cur

Treeing Tennessee Brindle

Cur-Hound Hybrids: Have a stronger nose and wider range than the traditional Cur type and are generally taller with larger ears.

Plott Cur, or Plott Hound

Leopard Cur (NOT to be confused with the Catahoula Leopard Cur), or American Leopard Hound

To sum the group up, the Curs is a type of multipurpose working dogs, used to hunt game and control stock, originating in the Southern U.S. They were developed from a variety of dog types, though the exact origins of the name are still uncertain. Today each of the Cur breeds is a purebred of it’s own. They are NOT the result of just random crossbreeding! Again, they are specialized working dogs bred for ability. You can not "make" a Cur dog. However, Cur crosses are probably just as popular as the pure breeds, because people want a working dog and will choose the right traits, sometimes mixing breeds together to get the desired outcome.

When the settlers left Europe to arrive to the New World, what is now the United States, they brought along their working dogs--cattle dogs, hunting dogs, and catch dogs. These included:

The Scottish Cur and shepherd dogs

Spanish catch dogs, war dogs, and fighting dogs.. the old type Mastiff and Bull dog

Several different types of Trail Hounds and Running Hound dogs

To trace back where our Cur dogs first came from, we start in Scotland. Way back in the 1400's, the first written record of a dog breed known as the "Cur" dog appeared (some sources say this breed was around since the 1200’s) : these were mostly traditional herding dogs and guard dogs, much like the modern day heeler in working style and temperment. Sometimes distinctions were made between the “Shepherd dog” and the “Cur dog”, the former was favored among sheep herders while the Cur dog was a tougher dog used by butchers and cattlemen. The European “Cur” was a working dog, owned by the working class. Since this kind of dog was a necessity, instead of a luxury, there weren't any taxes put on these dogs in old Scotland, while the pet dogs, lapdogs, were taxed. So the working dogs had their tails bobbed, the "curtail" indicated this and no taxes were to be placed on the dog! It isn’t known if the name "Cur dog" came from curtailing, or the other way around but this is the source of the name we know today. The old shepherd dogs, or collies, were specially bred into Australian and English Shepherds and may have some connection with the Cur dogs. Other stock dogs that were imported to American may have included the ancestors of the Beauceron, a large, tough herding dog from France that is a lot like the Cur dogs in many ways.

Then there were the hunting dogs. The trail hounds brought over were the fore-runners of today's coon and big game hound breeds. The European hounds were however less gritty and far more specialized on specific types of game. Through selective breeding and crossing, the American tree hounds were created separately from the multi-purpose stock working Cur dog, but sharing many of the same ancestors. These trail hounds all had cold noses and would stick to the trail of different types of game for days. They had the stamina to run all day. These traits were bred into the Cur dogs.

Some people also will say that the modern Cur breeds have a little Sight Hound blood in them, which could well be true. The blood of imported Greyhounds, Lurchers, and Staghounds was readily available at this time. Most likely the Native American dogs (much like the Carolina Dog, or Dixie Dingo) was also crossed into these dogs, here and there...

Because European hunting dogs were not gritty enough, there was a specialized catch dog used for fighting the cornered large and dangerous game. These dogs were also used in staged animal fights, which showed their tenacity, strength, and their will to never give in. There were two types, the larger (90 lb) Mastiff and the smaller (45 lb) Bull dog--both of which don’t in any way resemble the modern breeds with the same name. The bull dog was most like the modern day working American Pit Bull, and both types were very agile and athletic. Their gameness, heart and drive were bred into the first Cur dogs.

In the pioneer America’s, it wasn’t economical to have so many different types of dogs for so many purposes when you are just trying to get by. So these dogs were crossed together to create one general type of dog with the characteristics of its ancestors. This new dog would become the primary cattle dog until the 1800’s, guard the family, keep predators away, and bring food on the table. Although looks was the last thing people cared about in those days, the right cross of the mentioned dogs became a distinct type with a distinct look. It is said that many early pioneers, homesteader’s, mountain men and ranchers could not have survived and thrived the way they did without the Cur dog. In a way, our Cur dogs helped form America as we know it.

Formation of the Modern Cur Breeds

The imported dogs were not just randomly crossed together to form “mutts”, they went through a process of selecting of the right traits and breeding only the best working dogs while culling everything else. Only the best would do. This new type of dog was at the side of everything, as a valuable part of the shaping of America. As the New World expanded and exploration of new places were successful, different distinct types of dogs were created. Since different areas called for different characteristics of dogs, that was what they were bred for. The same foundation stock of dogs used to create all the Cur breeds were the same, and at first the only differences were by region. Specialized Cur breeds adapted to the hot, dry, and flat southwest, especially in East Texas and became the Black Mouth Cur(Old Yeller dog), while dogs bred in and adapted to the Louisiana swamps became the Catahoula Cur breed. Dogs bred in Florida by early settlers to round up the cattle in the large swampy ranchers, needed still another type of dog and adapted the Cur dog, of the time, into what is now the Florida Cur dog. These different types eventually changed into very distinct breeds. The dogs of the time were bred for only the best ability, often through “natural selection” (dogs that weren’t good enough were killed by wildlife or became victims of the harsh climate) , and the best were bred the rest culled.

The Western History

When the trappers moved west to explore the Western United States, the Southerners brought along few dogs other than their Curs. These pioneer dogs adapted to the Western mountains and its weather and terrain. The Mountain Dogs found in the Western mountains and foothills today are usually larger and longer-legged than their Southern and Eastern cousins, and have to be able to work cattle as well as hunt. These dogs were popular with traditional cattlemen, and still are today. Fred Gipson, in his book “Old Yeller” described this versatility perfectly:

“All the other settlers had dogs. They were big fierce Cur dogs that the settlers used for catching hogs and driving cattle and fighting coons out of cornfields. They kept them as watchdogs against the depredations of loafer wolves, bears, panthers, and raiding Indians.”
The main purpose of the Western Cur is that of an all-round ranch dog and hunting dog. These dogs need to be able to bay up, gather, lead, catch, and guard the herd of range cattle along the trail or on the ranch. They needed to stay in camp or on the ranch and not run off, so they are naturally close ranging dogs but would go deeper when hunting, and protected the property from predators such as bears, lions, coyotes, etc. These dogs would also need to courageous hunters, catching varmints on the ground or driving it up a tree.

Later they were used as bear, lion, bobcat, etc. hunting dogs and later still as hog dogs. The Western dogs are mostly larger and taller, with long legs and a deep wide chest better suited for stamina over rough terrain. They are developed for running up and down steep mountain slopes and rocky terrain. These dogs are muscular without being bulky, strong built but rangy and agile. Their coats are usually thicker than the Southern dogs and always has a dense insulating undercoat. In fact there are three basic coat types, including the much less common rough coat (2 inch long coat).

The earliest Cur dog history in written form dates back to around this time, the early 1800’s, in several Western literature. In the book “Big Thicket Legacy”, many old relatives of the Texas pioneers were interviewed. Not surprisingly, a good deal of them mentioned the many uses of their dependable Cur dogs. A.L. Bevil says the following before continuing on stories of these dog’s courage:

“In the early days, they were trained for most everything. They were our protectors, and the protectors of my forefathers…Folks in this country had to have dogs and had to have vicious dogs. A good cur dog…was worth just about whatever you had to pay for him, for you used your dog every day for everything. A man used his dog to pen his cattle; he used his dog to pen his hogs; he used his dog to protect him at night; and he used him to hunt. He was used for hogs, bear, deer, cattle, panther, everything…Take them out at night and they’d tree possum and coon… They’ve got all the courage in town! There wasn’t any danger of anything coming in [the] yard. [The dogs ] were guarding against people, wildcats…stray dogs, panthers, maybe black bear. They were guarding your cattle, chickens, just about anything you had.”

Many more works from Texas describe the breed as a bear and wolf hunter with a bobbed tail that came from a combination of stock dogs, hounds, and bull dogs. These dogs were used in small packs to run down and fight the fiercest of predators. More commonly they also ran predators off the property and returned once the game had run off a good distance. This repeated style of chasing off predators and returning to the home to protect it is unique to a small handful of breeds including the Curs. Story after story tells of these dogs getting off worse than the game, but they did it all without hesitation—tracking , running down, and fighting some of the toughest game on this continent. These were tough gritty dogs that are near impossible to find in ANY working breed nowadays.

When hunting the old Cur dogs were said to trail like any Hound, but quietly, run like a Sight Hound, bay game up close and to catch game by the throat or nose like any Bull dog. These same dogs were the farm dogs used for working livestock and guarding the homestead. Many old-time cowboys who left the ranch to watch over their range cattle and drive them on, used these dogs. To this day there are people who do just that with their dogs that have been in their family, serving the same function since generations past. Old California literature talks about some gold miner’s dogs that were clearly Cur dogs as well. Photos strengthen the evidence that the miner’s favored dogs were the Western Cur breed. The old mining towns were filled with these dogs that could handle the meanest cattle and provide food for their owners. Most of the early trappers, when writing about their dogs spoke of a specific breed identical to the modern Mountain Cur.

Back in the old days most everyone had a Cur-dog of some sort. Hard to believe it but the Cur breeds were once the most popular dogs in the country. It was sure hard to get by without a good working dog by your side. Didn't matter if you were rich or poor, a hardworking ranch family, a town family, a lone trapper, an Indian, a former slave, didn't matter...everyone could find a use for a dog like this. It is said that may areas of the country couldn’t have been settled without the help of the Mountain Cur breed. Still, there are hunters and ranchers who keep their dogs descended from the greatest pioneer dogs that have traditions through oral history and handwritten pedigrees that date back hundreds of years. These days many people still keep all sorts of Curs, which have evolved into several different specialized types, one of the few dogs not ruined as being just a pet, or bred for looks and nothing more, and there's still plenty hunters and ranchers who use this dog to get the job done at least as good as, if not better than, any other breed of dog around.

WORKING TRAITS OF THE TRADITIONAL CUR DOG

Hunting

The Cur Dog is used to track and corner the game they find. Typically the dog picks up the hottest scent as opposed to whichever scent trail is nearest, but they will pick up cold trails easy if no other trails are around. Their noses are near or as good as any Hounds’ and when trained right they can stick to a game trail just as long. However they will tend to switch over to a hotter track if one comes along. They mostly run tracks with their noses up, taking the scent in the wind, unless the trail is real cold then their nose goes to the ground to work it out. They typically are silent trailers.

These dogs have a born and bred in them instinct for hunting game. It‘s in their blood, their reason of being. The Cur dog has the instinct to catch and kill small game, and to bay up and fight large game. They are the best breed for predator control, no competition. They will fight off predators of any size: there are countless stories of Cur dogs fighting and chasing off wolves and small lions, one on one. They will keep your property, ranch, or camp free from any danger. They will not stop till the job was done. Even if the dogs came off worse, some eventually killed by the game, they still fought with all their hearts. These dogs are absolutely fearless in the fight and will chase off any predators within miles. These same dogs will switch over to being efficient and gritty track and tree dogs on bear and lion in other situations.

Curs have always been connected with the hunting of feral pigs. There are countless ways of hunting hogs, just as there are many different types of Cur dog. Most people breed straight bay dogs that are gritty enough to stop a hog but not catch, and use separate catch dogs. Other people run a mixed pack of gritty dogs that will trail, bay, and catch, where each dog has a different task. Or they may use strike dogs, bay dogs, help dogs, stop dogs, and catch dogs.

Stock Work

The very first Cur dog from the 1400’s was almost entirely a cattle dog. This was a primary function of early Cur dogs in the West. Many of the large ranch outfits still run the same Cur dogs as they did in the old days. These are the "round up" or gathering dogs. These dogs will find every member of the herd, even if they are miles away. They will bunch them together and keep them in one place. These dogs will also move a herd of tough range cattle, working from the front and sides of the herd. Usually you work two or three dogs that work good together to move a big herd. They will do whatever needs to be done to stop the cows or get them to move. They know how much pressure to put whether they are working docile cows or fighting bulls. A good Cur dog knows when it needs to bite and when it needs to back off. With some training they also make excellent catch dogs and will catch on command and not let go until you tell them A GOOD stock dog should be able to round up, move, and catch and know when to use each of these styles. These dogs earn their name as versatile dogs not specialists.

Temperament

Through the hundreds of years these dogs have been around, they've always been known for their courage, determination, intelligence, loyalty, and strong sense of territory. These all rolled into one makes the perfect guard dog. This is the true American ranch dog of old. . Traditionally, these dogs will not let strangers on your property, no questions asked. They know it’s their duty to guard the farm, property, house and family and they do it well. If threatened, they will not hesitate to confront the problem head on with their powerful bites. This type of dog will fight to the death to protect its owners. Back in the old days, the same dogs that would fight a mean hog and tear up a stranger on their property, were used to baby sit their family’s children! They are by nature wary dogs, not social with strangers. They will keep their distance unless they are guarding their owner or property. They are NOT vicious dogs that will attack without reason.

While they are very submissive to their owners and family and friends, in temperament this dog is an “alpha” dog especially with other dogs. If his position is challenged he'll fight for it, like most any other dog. If not, there is no problem. Mentally this breed is more “primitive” than a Hound dog. They have a strong sense of territory and won’t “stray” far away from their property. This is a breed that is an extremely rough and tough aggressive fighter, and has been bred never to quit. They go from start to finish, and ready to start all over again right after. It is also a loyal dog that will give it’s life for you. The movie “Old Yeller” showcases all the qualities of a good, old-fashioned, traditional Cur dog.

The modern Cur dog

Here are the qualities that made up the original Cur. Maybe it’ll help the breed in the future to study these traits of the old dogs. Just like with all working dogs, people will breed what they want or need, and that’s what makes the diversity seen in so many breeds including the Cur breeds. HOWEVER, these dogs should NEVER be bred without working ability being the most important thing. Breeding a dog that has a beautiful coat pattern, has blue eyes, looks pretty, or so on only ruins dog breeds. The focus should always be on what they can do, not how they look doing it!

Functions of the Western Cur:

Cow dog: finds, rounds up, leads, and catches cattle

Predator dog: fights, kills or chases predators off

Tree dog: trails, trees, and kills varmints; trails, trees, fights/bays up big game

Hog dog: trails, bays up, and catches wild boar

Ranch dog: watches over the ranch, farm (or camp) and family

Movement: Bred for mainly stamina and also speed. There is nothing exaggerated about this dog. Should be extremely powerful. This dog is required to work all day, every day, over rough terrain and harsh conditions. These dogs have to climb up and down steep mountains and rocky terrain regularly, but should just as comfortable in swamps, hill country, flat open desert ranges, scrubland, etc. They must have the stamina to work all day without tiring.Stamina is by far the most important physical aspect for this dog. Without stamina, you have nothing. Cur dogs can travel over the roughest terrain and should outlast the average Hound. A good dog moves like a good working horse, with the same gaits and the same speed.

Agility: One of the most important aspects of the breed is their agility: that plus their fearlessness and pain tolerance allows them to travel through the harshest terrain.

Character: Loyal to one person, mostly a "one man dog", but accepts and protects the entire family, including children. If raised with a child, there is no better dog to have than a good Cur dog. Being a very tolerant dog. Very territorial and protective. Will give its life without hesitation. Typically doesn’t care for people off of the dog’s property. Intelligent and independent but still obedient.

Size: This is a medium to large dog. Usually the most balanced dogs are between 45 and 65 pounds but there are dogs smaller and larger than get the job done as well.

Coat: Depends on the breed and the region. Mountain Curs should have a thick, short double coat is the best for all weather extremes. The ideal coat has a dense undercoat for extra insulation against the elements, and harsh outercoat for protection. They are perfectly adapted to cold, harsh weather—wind, sleet, snow, etc., but should be comfortable in hot weather as well. The breeds from hotter climates, such as Catahoula Curs from Louisiana and Black Mouth Curs from Texas, have a shorter, slicker coat suited to their work.

Coat Colors: “THERE IS NO BAD COLOR FOR A GOOD DOG” but every one seems to have their preferences! Some breeds come in specific colors, such as Western Curs and Black Mouth Curs almost always are either yellow with black, or brindle; Texas Lacy’s are usually blue or red. Some, like Catahoulas and Florida Curs, can be any color--leopard spotted, brindle, black and tan, or any sold color with or without white.

Skin: The skin is very thick, tough and with dense tissue—injuries heal up quick. The skin is loose (more so on the face and neck) as opposed to tight but not wrinkly or very loose.

Head: Head should have a long, broad jaw with a powerful bite. Needs killing power! Not too heavy and not too light. Remember this is neither a Sight Hound or a Bulldog. Every thing about this breed physically is “moderate” and not extreme. Head should be very strong and built well. Eyes are usually medium sized.

Ears: Ears should be somewhat small or medium size, set high and set forward but should be able to be pulled back flat against the sides of the head when running to keep cool. Ear size really does range a lot within each breed, even within litters. Some dogs have hound ears, some have ears that stick up, stick forward, or hang down. Simply because what’s in between the ears is what’s more important!

Neck: Should be arched, not straight, and medium length with strong muscling. Skin is thick and usually looser around the neck and head area.

Chest: Very deep and of good but not too broad width to allow very large lungs.

Legs: Long, medium bone, always well-muscled. Hind legs should have lots of power and are longer than front legs. The general body type resembles a good working hound.

Back: Should be medium-long and not short. Flexible and strong—topline slightly curved, shoulder blades prominent, back curves down near end to tail. Built for SPEED as well as strength and stamina, it’s build should reflect that. These are fast dogs. They are longer than they are tall.

Feet: Feet are of great importance in a working dog...tough, hard pads, long, strong toes, and the ability to carry the dog over great distances over harsh terrain through all types of weather is all that is needed. These dogs put A LOT of wear and tear to the feet so naturally they are tough, thick, and fast healing. Even the toughest dog won’t last long if it’s feet don’t match it’s grit. Full webbing between the toes provides for better footing in swamps, snow, and even help in running. These are built in snowshoes and help in their excellent swimming ability. Can have dew claws front or back feet, up to two on each foot.

Tail: Tails are bobbed on basis of tradition instead of function. Many are born with short tails. Long tails can provide balance for agility. A full tail is set low, held high, and curves over the back. The tail should be well feathered.

As far as looks go, the true breed standard of any breed of Cur dog all comes down to this:
Size: Big enough, but not too big

Why All Enemies, Foreign And Domestic, Want To See Us Disarmed

2011-10-05T14:39:00.003-05:00

Here in the deep south, we are a special, and peculiar kind of people.

We like to live off the land, and on our own terms...

Another thing is, we presently have over 1.6 million Iraq War vets nationwide, and many of the active and veteran military's finest, reside here in the states along the Gulf coast.

But there is something we here in all of the fifty states, need to remember

The world's largest army is......

America's hunters!

And with the help of our dogs and guns we are a force to be reckoned with.

But, it ain't the guns, but the people who carry them, that are the real threat to an invading force or any enemy, foreign or domestic.

I had never thought about this, it is not just us here in the deep south....

A blogger added up the deer license sales in just a handful of states and arrived at a striking conclusion:
There were over 600,000 hunters this season in the state of Wisconsin.
Allow me to restate that number.

Over the last several months,
Wisconsin's hunters became the eighth largest army in the world.
More men under arms than in Iran.
More than in France and Germany combined.
These men deployed to the woods of a single American state to hunt with firearms, and no one was killed.

That number pales in comparison to the 750,000 who hunted the woods of Pennsylvania and Michigan's 700,000 hunters,
All of whom have now returned home.

Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia and it literally establishes the fact that the hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world.

The point?

America will forever be safe from foreign invasion,
with that kind of home-grown firepower.

Hunting -- it's not just a way to fill the freezer.

It's a matter of personal and national security, and here in the south, we start them early.

That's why all enemies, foreign and domestic, want to see us disarmed.

And, many of those enemies of the US Constitution,
are in our own federal government!

At this point:
if the federal corporate government is not an enemy of the constitution,
I want to know who is?

Now don't get me wrong, I am 100% behind our troops who are deployed world wide, but I am at a point where we all need to demand of the federal government, that these wars in the Middle East come to an end, and our troops come home. Homeland security should be in home!

A lot of things have happened since 9/11 that are designed to change America.

And I am not blaming the Muslims for that!

I live in Louisiana, and we from the Cajun Country, went to New Orleans after Katrina with our boats to help rescue OUR people, who were trapped in the flood waters, and FEMA wouldn't let us in!

And if we sneeked in the back way, the way some did, we were labeled as renegade rescuers. What does that mean? Outlaws?

Now I realize many of you are not from here, or have never been to the convention center in New Orleans, where people were told to go and wait to be rescued after Katrina.

So please consider this:

The New Orleans Convention Center is on the Mississippi River, and there is a wharf the runs along the entire length of the convention center, and we were not allowed in as rescuers to serve our fellow Americans in their time of need?

Worse than that: the federal government waited 5 days before rolling in large trucks and buses to transport these desperate people who were trapped there not by the flood waters, but by the government who wouldn't let them leave, or let us in to take them out! The proof of what I am saying is in these You Tube videos.

Think about this: American armed forces were used to illegally search homes and then illegally seize weapons.

Not only that, but the whole city was turned into a giant concentration camp, where no one was allowed to leave OR enter!

Bear in mind, this is the same federal government, that promised to provide and protect us from foreign terrorists, that could not protect us from standing water in August 2005 at Katrina New Orleans.

But the worst part was: we who live in Louisiana, who were trying to do the right thing, during a natural disaster, and rescue our fellow Americans, were treated as an enemy combatant and disarmed?

And I don't mean just us Cajuns who went to help, the sheriffs and his employees were subject to the feds too!

If you think Muslim terrorists are the greatest threat to OUR homeland security, then you don't know the corrupt, incompetent, covert federal government that is trying to take our guns away. And as far as I am concerned this not my government, because my government is respectful of people and constitutional rights.

So, if the politicians do not represent the people, nor respect our constitutional rights, who do they represent, and what are we gonna do about it?

Please be aware that the large financial corporations(banks), are often owned by foreign investors who hide behind the corporate veil, and also own the corporate media(news and entertainment), the agriculture, timber, oil and natural gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, and the industrial military complex, not to mention they buy and own the politicians who are put into office to lead us to believe we have power in the voting booth. These same bankers are illegally foreclosing on our homes, and paying lobbyists to influence politicians to create laws to take away our rights.

Now if you think the Patriot Act is here to protect you, guess again.

Napolitano was born in Newark, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Princeton University (where he was a founding member of the Concerned Alumni of Princeton) and Notre Dame Law School. Napolitano sat on the New Jersey bench from 1987 to 1995, becoming the state's youngest then-sitting Superior Court judge. He also served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law for 11 years. Napolitano resigned his judgeship in 1995 to pursue his writing and television career.

In 2004, Napolitano wrote the book, Constitutional Chaos: What Happens When the Government Breaks its Own Laws, a criticism of the American justice system. In the National Review, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy noted that Napolitano had been a mid-level state judge and questioned Napolitano's knowledge of the federal Constitution, citing what McCarthy asserted were numerous errors in Napolitano's writing on the subject.(One must consider if "the federal constitution for corporations" is now different than the one our founding fathers gave us!)

In 2006, his second book, The Constitution in Exile: How the Federal Government Has Seized Power by Rewriting the Supreme Law of the Land was published.

A third book, A Nation of Sheep, was released in October 2007.
In April 2009, Napolitano's fourth book, Dred Scott's Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom in America, was released.

In March, 2010, Napolitano's fifth book was released: Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History.

According to Napolitano's radio show, he is currently working on a sixth book which will be about President Barack Obama and the current state of America.

www.oathkeepers.org

1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people.

2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people.

3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.

4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.

5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.

6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.

7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.

8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control."

9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.

10.We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

What if the Constitution were written not to limit government, but to expand it?

What if the Constitution didn’t fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence, but betrayed it?

What if the Constitution actually permitted the government to limit and constrict freedom?

What if the Bill of Rights was just a paper promise, that the government could avoid whenever it claimed the need to do so?

What if the merchants and bankers who financed the American Revolution bought their way into the new government and got it to enact laws that stifled their competition?

What if the civil war that was fought in the name of freedom actually advanced the cause of tyranny?

What if the federal government were the product of 150 years of stealing power and liberty and property from the people and the states? What if our political elites spent the 20th century importing the socialist ideas of big government statism from Europe? What if our political class was adopting the European political culture from which our founding fathers fought so hard to break free?

What if our political leaders no longer acknowledged that our rights come from our humanity, but insisted instead that they come from the government?

What if you couldn’t board a plane, a train, or a long-distance bus without providing documentation telling the government who you are and where you’re going, without paying the government, and without risking sexual assault?

What if your local police department could shoot down a plane?

What if government agents could write their own search warrants, declare their own enemies, and seize whatever property they want? What if the feds could detain you indefinitely, with no visitors, no lawyer, no judge, and no jury? What if they could make you just disappear?

What if the government broke its own laws in order to enforce them? What if the government broke down your front door in the middle of the night and shot your dog, and claimed it was a mistake?

What if you were required to purchase a product that you didn’t need, didn’t want, and couldn’t afford, from a company you never heard of, just as a condition of living in the United States? What if the government told you what not to put in your body as well as what to put into it; and how much? What if the government claimed that since it will be paying your medical bills, it can tell you what to eat, when to sleep, and how to live?

What if the government tried to cajole and coax and compel you into behaviors and attitudes it considered socially acceptable? What if the government spent your tax money to advertise to you how great the services are that it provides? What if the government kept promising to make you safe while it kept stripping you of your liberties and committing crimes in your name that made you a target of more violence?

What if you didn’t have a right to every dollar you earned? What if the government decided how much of your earnings it will keep and how much it will permit you to have? What if the government took money from you and gave it away to its rich banking and corporate friends whose businesses were proposed to be failing?(Yet, it's CEO's still get enormous bonuses at the end of the same year WE bailed them out?)

What if this is already happening, and we are not aware, OR being told of such by a government that promised transparency?

Will There Be An Uncle Earl's 2012?

2011-09-21T11:48:00.006-05:00

I sure hope so, and I am as serious as the great granddaughter of Cutter and Maurice in the photo below!

I am not mentioning any names or making any promises,

but after this year, one way or another, Winnfield will never be the same.

Hopefully, it will be better, because it cannot and it will not go on like it has in the past.

Although, feelings have been hurt, and friends may be lost, I will not apologize for demanding restrooms for our women and children, reasonable provision of water for our dogs, and an even set of quality hogs. I never openly accused or attacked anyone in my proposals, or my investigative questions.

I have however actually had fun defending myself against two wackadoos who attacked me.

I feel I must apologize for being disenchanted with the hog dog world lately due to being put on hold temporarily. That was not my call, but this ain't about me.

I'm like General Patton, when I am on a mission, I like to roll and advance the charge. No guts, no glory! When I start something, I like to finish it.

But people are coming to buy some dogs, and it is getting cooler, and things are about to heat up in Winnfield, and I am hunting again now that it is cooling off!

Attakapas Island here I come!

My greatest regret may well be that I lose some friends who refuse to pull their head out of their arse, but so be it. That is their choice.

This is not about winning or losing, but doing what is right.

Some of my closest friends have been people I met at the Uncle Earl's.

Unfortunately, I don't see them very much anymore because they quit going on account of the issues I am presenting to the Uncle Earl's committee in Winnfield soon.

Six months after the blood bath that was Uncle Earl's 2 dog bay, and still no one has the courage to answered the glaring question: how many teams were disqualified for catching in the two dog bay at UE 2011?

The audience couldn't watch, and neither could the competitors. But 5 people watched it all...start to finish and did not object to the animal cruelty or the over all unfairness of the event on Saturday, due to an uneven set of hogs. A few competitors got decent hogs, and most did not. Almost 1/2 the teams were disqualified for catching and this is not the dogs fault.

Dogs who are professional athletes and winning all over the country before and after UE 2011, were disqualified for catching at UE 2011. This speaks of an uneven set of hogs, and we who are protesting(not just me), want to know why?

I see why so many of the people who talk to me about the problems at UE don't waste their time trying to talk to the judges or the management about the real issues; it appears to be a waste of time.

If the Uncle Earl's is the Super Bowl of hog dog trails, we need world class hogs, that are big, healthy, mean, and can defend themselves. And I am not talking teeth, I am talking 200 pounds or more, especially in the two dog bay.

And if we can't provide an adequate number of world class hogs to produce a fair and humane two dog event, we should limit it to the one dog, old and young, and puppy bay!

Below is a message I recently sent to one of the judges at Uncle Earl's who accused me of trying to ruin their career, AND assassinate their character.

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FYI: If I wanted to attack any one person at this point, it isn't you. Now, I may be a force to be reckoned with at this point, but I am not on a one man mission to hurt you or person. My hope is: you co-operate with what is about to happen in Winnfield and you can be back on top the judges seat next year keeping an eye on things, as I have always believed you were in the past. At this point, I am an investigator with an open mind. If you think I stirred up shit six months ago, be forewarned: it is about to hit the fan in the next 30 days, and it wont be just me doing the talking.

Regarding the evidence: the jury has been seated. Relax, as far as I know you are not a defendant. But at this point, who knows maybe I am wrong. My one regret in all this between you and me, you never picked up the phone: 337 298 2630, and called me, (so we could work this out).

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I have purposely been quiet, because I have been asked to, while we formulated our proposal, we are about to submit to the people running the Uncle Earl's.

It appears we(the protestors) are appreciated by the majority of competitors, and are in agreement with the folks in Winnfield.

Here is the bottom line folks:

If the Uncle Earl's is not rigged, it would be very easy to do so as long as there is an uneven set of hogs. And, if it is not rigged, it is at the very least, not a fair competition, and it will never be fair until we have an even set of hogs.

More so:

What we do in the woods in the name of hog hunting is a conservation necessity

to control the wild hog population and there is no other way to get it done.

However:

What we do in a competition arena, in front of the world, is another thing.

Village Mills September 10,2011

2011-08-28T23:48:00.002-05:00

Hog Dog Trials

GPS Location: 986 Gore Store Road Kountze, TX

Admission: $5.00

Children under 12 free

70% Payback on entry and Calcutta

Puppy Bay $15

1 Dog $30

Old and Young $25

2 Dog $40

Pig Chase for Kids

Books open at 8:00am Baying Starts at 9:00am

Absolutely NO CATCH DOGS

No Females in Heat

No Cameras

One Judge Rule

Concessions

Practice September 23, 2011 6PM

Bring your dogs, we’ll bay some hogs and have fun!

Richard Roberson (409) 736-2411

Cell (409) 365-7611 or 728-2583

HARD TIMES BAY PEN OCTOBER 15, 2011

2011-08-14T00:46:00.001-05:00

HOT SPRINGS, AR

GPS - 1920 MOUNTAIN PINE ROAD, HOT SPRINGS AR, 71913

PUPPY - $15 (3 TO 12 MONTHS OLD)
OLD & YOUNG - $30
TWO DOG - $40
ONE DOG - $30

50% PAYBACK ON ENTRIES, 100% PAYBACK ON CALCUTTAS

BOOKS OPEN AT 7:30 A.M., BAY STARTS AT 8:30 A.M.

$5 GATE FEE, 12 AND UNDER FREE

1 JUDGE RULE, TEETH WILL BE DUBBED

NO CATCH DOGS, NO FEMALES IN HEAT, NO CAMERAS[

CONCESSIONS PROVIDED BY THE LAKE HAMILTON FFA AS A FUNDRAISER FOR THEM

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT DENNIS BOYKIN AT 501-276-3360

Triple R Bay Pen

2011-08-03T12:12:00.003-05:00

FIRST BAYING IS ON OCT 1ST 2011

BOOKS OPEN AT 8AM BAYING WILL START AT 9 AM .

ADMISSION $ 5.00 FOR ADULTS, CHILDREN 13 AND YOUNGER FREE .

CONCESSION AND RESTROOM IS AVAILABLE,

HOGS TEETH ARE DUBBED AND YES WE DO HAVE PLENTY OF HOGS.

YOUNG AND OLD -ENTRY FEE- $25.00-OPTIONS-$10.00

ONE DOG PRO- ENTRY FEE- $30.00- CALCUTTA-$100.00 ADDED MONEY!!!!!!!

TWO DOG BAY-ENTRY FEE-$40.00 -CALCUTTA-$200.00 ADDED MONEY!!!!!!!!

ONE DOG AMATUER- ENTRY FEE-$20.00- OPTIONS-$10.00

100% PAYBACK ON OPTIONS* 50 % PAYBACK ON ENTRIES* 80% PAYBACK ON CALCUTTA**

FIRST PLACE TROPHIES ON ALL EVENTS AND HIGH POINT OF THE DAY TROPHY****

THE ONE DOG AMATUER DOES NOT COUNT TOWARDS THE HIGH POINT TROPHY

****** NO CATCH DOGS*** NO DOGS IN HEAT****

BAY PEN ADDRESS IS: 433 LONNIE MALONE RD DOWNSVILLE,LA 71234

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 318-245-4310

ALSO FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE ASKED, TRIPLE R KENNELS WILL NOT BE COMPETING IN OUR OWN BAY DUE TO WE FEEL IT IS NOT FAIR BECAUSE OUR DOGS PRACTICE HERE AND LIVE HERE!!!

PLEASE COMMENT AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!!!