Blue Heeler vs Warthog

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vs

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The blue heeler could only catch it in a cage and I think it'd do better out in the open. The warthog might just smash it to death. Or the blue heeler could beat its ass long enough to kill it... Hardcastle would know the limits of a blue heeler.

[Hardcastle]

Blue heeler might be able to eventually harass it to death with evasive hit and run tactics in a somewhat largish enclosure.
In a smaller pit it's screwed, and out in the open the warthog gets away.

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Feb 14, 2023 6:41:42 GMT Hardcastle said:

Blue heeler might be able to eventually harass it to death with evasive hit and run tactics in a somewhat largish enclosure.
In a smaller pit it's screwed, and out in the open the warthog gets away.

Then how did the blue heelers deal with feral pigs in the past? Did they just harass them?

[Hardcastle]

Yes, like curs, brief holds here and there and the humans would sometimes take their chances with great risk, to grab a leg while they had a hold. Hoping it didn't let go, but it might. They'd have guns as well, which they'd probably use on the riskier ones while they were distracted and harassed, but maybe try and live capture the smaller ones to raise for food. The smaller they were the more likely the heeler would hold so that worked out nicely.

[Deleted]

Feb 14, 2023 6:51:10 GMT Hardcastle said:

Yes, like curs, brief holds here and there and the humans would sometimes take their chances with great risk, to grab a leg while they had a hold. Hoping it didn't let go, but it might. They'd have guns as well, which they'd probably use on the riskier ones while they were distracted and harassed, but maybe try and live capture the smaller ones to raise for food. The smaller they were the more likely the heeler would hold so that worked out nicely.

Were the Bully Cattle dogs all hard luggers bred for that purpose? Were they as versatile as the pure blue heelers?

[Hardcastle]

Feb 15, 2023 1:27:17 GMT Bolushi said:

Feb 14, 2023 6:51:10 GMT Hardcastle said:

Yes, like curs, brief holds here and there and the humans would sometimes take their chances with great risk, to grab a leg while they had a hold. Hoping it didn't let go, but it might. They'd have guns as well, which they'd probably use on the riskier ones while they were distracted and harassed, but maybe try and live capture the smaller ones to raise for food. The smaller they were the more likely the heeler would hold so that worked out nicely.

Were the Bully Cattle dogs all hard luggers bred for that purpose? Were they as versatile as the pure blue heelers?

Bully cattles should be hard luggers most of the time, that's the point of them. Whether they're used on boars or scrub bulls. Versatile how? Obviously some versatility is lost. They started being experimented with, reluctantly and gradually, after WW2. Before that they just used heelers, Kelpies, staghounds and somewhat strangely, fox terriers. They weren't big on crossing these for the purpose either which is a shame because I believe heeler X staghound could have come up a treat, or even fox terrier X staghound.
Bully cattles became the main pig dog by the 60s, and then in the 70s the real experimentation began and we finally started accidentally "discovering" real boarhounds. Like those used in the 1800s in south Asia, and the Americas on the 1700s, and Europe in the middle ages, and ancient Rome and Greece in the classical era etc. Australians finally stumbled onto the recipe.
Still the bully cattle held on with many until the 80s. There are still some, and still some people using pure heelers and Kelpies too. I don't see the pure fox terrier anymore. Sadly pure staghound is becoming rare as well, I almost want to breed pure working staghounds to preserve them as they are the original Australian dog.

[Hardcastle]

Feb 15, 2023 5:02:39 GMT Hardcastle said:

Like those used in the 1800s in south Asia,

The irony of this one is the British in India and Ceylon etc were regularly using Aussie staghounds as one of their main preferred ingredients to make boarhounds. But down here we were oblivious to the concept for another century.