It Is All Good News!

If you keep up with my blog you may be wondering what is going on with me from the last few posts I have written. So before I tell you the good news about Amos, my new hunting lease just up the road, and my new status as an N.A.L.C. certified breeder, I need to explain something because you may have suspected that I have lost my mind by posting a picture of a dead puppy.

I'm sure many of you did not like seeing a picture of a dead dog at the top of my last post. And frankly, it was an ugly situation, and I did not like putting it there, but some things are about to change if I have anything to say about it.

I hope I haven't lost too many readers because of that picture, because I put it there hoping to help educate the public about the need to vaccinate puppies.

Well if you haven't figuired it out, let me state it plainly: I have the red ass!
And what is really chapping my ass is peoples failure to relate to their dogs and to me.

Or is it a failure to communicate? I know I did my part, because I have spent hundreds of hours on the phone trying to educate the public about relating to their dogs and proper care of these servants who are often doing their best to figuire out what we want from them.

So... bear with me here, because I am about to preach. Didn't you know I am a preacher?

Yes I am. Furthermore, I want to state, I did not go to school to become a preacher, and did not grow up in a church or a family that went to church or had religion.

But I did learn something along the way, it ain't about religion, it is about a personal relationship with our Creator through Christ.

Jesus clearly stated: No one gets to the Father unless he goes through Me. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Are you listening? And can I get an Amen!

I know some of you think you are saved because you got religion, a denomination, and a church. Well folks, it ain't about church either, it is about Christ and Him crucified.

And like our dogs who love us, and are willing to put their life on the line to serve us, Jesus Christ gave Himself as a living sacrifice, did the work we could never do on our own, hung on a cross, shed His blood, and is now begging for us to relate to Him personally. He wants you to do your part. He wants you to spend time with Him, talk to Him and love on Him. Just like your dog does. Ohh yah, I am comparing Christ to your dog, and I am sure gonna offend some people with that one!

Now I may have lost a few more readers here, but so be it, so if you are still with me, I ain't finished. And I ain't perfect, but I do have a new life, a new mind, a pure heart, and I have been transformed by Him, and he ain't finished with me.

Almost ten years ago, as I contemplated my service to the Lord, I was concerned that I had too many dogs and maybe they were hindering the ministry I was being called into, so I asked the Lord if I should sacrifice(get rid of) my dogs. And...He said: "No, I will use these dogs to put you on the road to tell people about Me".

OK, I am sure I have lost a few more readers and some of you are convinced I have truly lost my mind to publicly state that I talk to Jesus, and he talks back to me!

Maybe that's why he plans to use me, because I don't care what people think of me. I care what He thinks of me, and that is why I try to be a man of my word.

He further went on to state that if I was half the servant to Him, that my dogs were to me, we could really get some things done. And on that note, I looked at how my dogs worshipped me, and loved on me every chance they got.

 They wanted go everywhere I went and if I had trouble with anyone such as an intruder, they were there to defend me, or anything like a mule or a hog, they were there to back me up and help any way they could. They were eager to learn and followed my lead, even into harms way and were willing to lay thier life down to serve my interests. And they listened to me, they knew my voice, and could not speak, but did very much understand English.

Beaux Jeaque a son of Maurice and Angel


Do you talk to your dogs like they understand English?

If you don't, you should. And... you should help them to understand what you want, because whether you know it or not, they live to serve and please you.

Now furthermore, if you think you are, or you want to be a great hunter, why don't you try it with out your dogs and see how successful you are on your own.

My point here is we should show some appreciation and consideration for our best friend, who gives us bragging rights and puts meat on the table to feed our family.

Relate to your dog, he may have something to teach you. I will be putting up a post soon titled: My Dogs Are Smarter Than Me.

And now to the rest of the good news.

Amos, a two year old Plott/Catahoula cross with a lot of heart, and a lot of scars for his age. Bless his heart, he is trying to become a servant of someone who will give him a chance.


First I want to announce that due to the last post I put up with the picture of Amos the Plott/Catahoula cross(as seen above), I have found him. I am happy to announce, after several really good cuts on a hog hunt Monday, from which he is recovering just fine, Amos is in a good home with a young man who is just getting into hog hunting, and very pleased with the way Amos hunts. It appears Amos went through several owners since September when Kendall bought him from me, all of whom Brian claims were not giving the dog a chance to get to know them and warm up. Amos was being harshly judged by several people, all whom sold him for laying down and hanging around the feet of the hunter. Now Amos, who in spite of his ability to find and catch hogs, was not being given the chance to be the great dog, I believe he will become, if he survives a few more years. Brian Wendle in Columbus, Mississippi called me on Monday to get some advise on treating Amos's wounds and advised me that it appeared to be the dog in the photos of last weeks post, was his dog. And I really do appreciate his interest in the dogs welfare, and allowing me to know he is in a good home and as usual, he is getting it done to the best of his ability as a young started, two year old hog dog.

Because Amos will be set up healing for a while, I will meet Brian in Vicksburg to deliver a couple more young started dogs, to fill in for Amos until he is back to finding and catching again.

Also, another positive report, is the hunting lease I am going on about 45 minutes north of my house is over run with hogs. Wildlife cameras are in place at the feeders and showing a couple of big boars and at least two sows with a couple of litters of pigs each, we will be seeing if these new recruits in my yard, can bring home the bacon!

Simon and Coco will be 16 month old and going to the woods for the first time

They will have Sheila Kate, Patch, Scarlet, Luke Skywalker, Big, and Angel to show em how to do it, in case we get there and they, the newbies don't know what to do.

This is Luke Skywalker a son of Handsome and Lady

I will be photographing the hunt when possible and will try to get some video in of some good baying if possible. The problem with videoing a bay is that hogs tend to be very camera shy and usually run when they see me coming.

Just a joke!

This is Rose, a daughter of Patch and Bebe' at four months old, but is now almost two years old and will be out trying to find her first hog on her own.


I have about 9 or 10 started dogs between 16 months and two years old who are ready to fire off and be finding their own hogs this spring. This 3000 acre hunting lease should be just the ticket, because compared to the other options I have for hunting it is really close to home, and should allow plenty of hunting to come my way in the summer months if we can produce some caught and/or dead hogs and prove ourselves as a valuable contribution to the club.

And last but not least, I spent about an hour on the phone with Betty Ann Eaves working out my invitation into the N.A.L.C. yesterday. It seems a whole lot of people are so impressed with my dogs which I do not register N.A.L.C, that that they have been contacting her to try to get these dogs registered. Betty Ann wants to have all the papers of the dogs I have bought and brought into my kennel to breed to my old Louisiana working bloodline and get them into the N.A.L.C. books. When I started mentioning names like Ray, McQuire, Camp a While, Muddy Rivers, Two Diamonds, Wagers, C.W. Crews, Alexander's Smoke, etc, she asked why haven't you been registering these dogs?

My answer: I breed for performance, not pedigree.

See ya in the woods...

Who I Am and What I Am Going to Do

I am Marcus de la Houssaye the owner of de la Houssaye's Catahoulas. When I first started hunting hogs 20 years ago, I learned to hunt with people who ran a large pack of dogs at one time and I thought that was the only way it was done. I have since been taught by some old time masters who hunt one dog at a time.

In the last year that I have been marketing my dogs on the internet, the majority of people who call me also run a large pack of dogs and consequently, I don't sell dogs to these people because my breeding program creates mostly one dog situations and I don't want to sell someone a dog that won't work in their large pack way of hunting.


The problem with hunting Blair-bred Catahoulas in a pack is that the strong pack instinct causes the dogs to be too gritty or catchy, which leads to way too much mortality and injuries. Another problem is that putting too many dogs on a hog at one time causes the hog to bust or run. Considering that the most dangerous part of hog hunting for the dog is stopping a running hog, if the hog is not going to stand at bay because of too much pressure and is constantly busting the bay, the dogs are at a much higher risk of getting killed or seriously injured and you are in for a long chase.

I was recently on a hunt with a pack of fine Plott hounds. One of the unexperienced "new" hunters questioned why my dogs weren't running with the pack. I advised him that my dogs were short range and didn't run with Plotts. My answer seemed to cause him even more confusion. His lack of understanding caused him to comment that my dogs must not be any good. I didn't argue with the damn fool.

I let him and about 10 other hunters leave on ATV's with the Plotts and run the hog on a 10 mile round trip chase. They never got close to the hog because the dogs were open mouthed. I am not critizing these fine dogs they were doing their job. But...When the hog circled back to where I and my fast, well rested dogs were waiting, we caught the hog.

The result of not understanding the pack instinct and running too many dogs at one time has created a large demand for finished catahoula hog dogs. So much so that many people are selling poor quality breeding to the buying public and the buyers based upon previous disappointments, are very suspicious of high priced, well bred started dogs.

Another problem I have with people wanting to buy a finished dog, is that the buyer only wants to invest money and no time in the dog. I have seen people buy a dog on a 30 day trail and bring him back the next day, claiming that they knew the dog was no good!

Well for hound dogs I can understand that, but for a cur dog with a strong pack instinct like a Catahoula, there is a warm up period that may be only a week or two for some dogs or as much as 6 months or more for others. Many people don't understand that a catahoula will not hunt for just anyone, and more specifically they will not hunt for someone they don't like. I have learned that Catahoulas can read people like a book. They may not like you from the moment they see you and that may never change.

And on that note, the best catahoula hog dog you will ever own is one you raised up from a pup, ideally a pup that played with children everyday after school.

I am creating this blog with the intent of finding people who hunt only one dog at a time or hopefully finding hog hunters who want to learn the proper way to hunt a Catahoula.

Marcus de la Houssaye