If I were dog hunting--- I would bear in mind some dogs have a natural instinct for chasing horses that cannot be gotten rid of even if you kill them. Our blue heeler Alice has been kicked really bad three times now, the last time I thought she was a goner--- and still she persists. Now when I do turnout and I know the horses are gonna take off galloping and bucking and farting I leave her inside, because it just makes her go nuts chasing them. I imagine she could be trained but it would probably be easier to teach nasi to dance the nutcracker in a tutu.
My friend sylvia has a catahoula "hog dog" and she is real good trail dog. But Sylvia has to muzzle her. Not because of the horses, but because if we came up on another dog on the trail Sissy would most likely kill it. I never liked bulldogs til my daughter got an english bulldog and oh man, that is a good dog. I would not be so quick to write off the mastiff. they say english bulldogs are very similar to mastiffs and if so, wow, they are really smart and easy going. but yes, big piles :) is it female? Do you have lots of room? My dogs dont like to leave their piles near the house for some reason.. they tend to go near the property lines, as if to let dogs passing by know who lives there... Janice -- yipie tie yie yo
