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Bullygreyhounds - Hard and fast pigdogs

Article by Peter Ayre and Rob Van Der Veen

Finally after 30 years of line breeding I believe I have finally produced one of the most versatile working dogs available today. My name is Peter Ayre and what I would like to share with you is a basic insight to how this certain breed (bully/Greyhound) came about.

I originally started chasing pigs back in the early 70s through out central NSW. Like most hunters at that time I was running a faithful bully cross. These types of dogs were relentless when hunting however they were short in the legs and that in its self presented problems in the chase and catch department. I looked around at numerous Bull Terrier out crosses however there was nothing about that would meet my requirements.

After some serious thought I realized that the Greyhound would make a compatible cross with the Bull Terrier. To establish this cross I wanted to put male Bull Terriers over Greyhound bitches. After some time I had managed to do this particular breeding several times with excellent results. Using bitches such as Tara, Patch. Pearl and Tuska to dogs like Ned, Kato, Jack and Stoney. Bitches heights were around 25-26 inches and weights app 40 kilo and up mark. Dog’s heights were around 28-29 Inches and weights app 45 ranging up to 50-kilo mark.

I then started to breed the bigger light coloured dogs back to each other, the results where excellent.
The out come was a hard fast dog. With the pig numbers being high through out NSW it was great to watch these dogs hit maximum speed and pull up good sized boars in a short period of time, however I just needed to polish it off.

I then spent some time with Rod who was a very keen dog man. Rod also had some bully /Greyhounds and had recently visited the USA and brought back with him some top grade Pit Bull Terriers.

The Pit Bull terrier weighing in at around 20-30 kilo is a highly motivated hunter and will go to great extremes to secure game. It was bred for its gameness and not to quit. I had also red the highly regarded book on Pit Bulls, which was written by Straton, which I found to be very interesting showing the diversity of this dog.
After some serious thought I then decided to add the pit bull to my current line in my mind there was nothing these dogs could not do. The dog I choose to use was a Reids dog by the name of Tyson he hunted well, had great stamina and a top nose. After proving himself in the hunting field I put him over 2 of my best bitches.

The breeding were successful the crosses once again proved them selves in the field. After some time good friends Neil and Mick purchased dogs from my breeding, the secret was now out. As time went by Neil and good friend Mick bred from the original lines that I had started way back in the 70 s. After 30 odd years pups are still being sold to hunters through out all states in Australia with exciting results, as we will now look at.

After the breed was established Neil Vanderkolk then went about breeding and producing some excellent pups himself. However Neil did change the breed structure a little. Neil had the opportunity to watch a friends Airedale/greyhound work pigs, in his mind he thought that by crossing this dog into his current line it would enhance their scenting attributes. The first crossing of Airedale terrier blood was successful, the theory being that the origin of the large otter hound and its ties to the bloodhound would produce a better nose to locate well-hidden pigs.

The Airedale Terrier originated from Yorkshire in the mid 19th century. It came about by crossing the English rough coated black and tan terriers and the Bull and terrier types with the Otter hound, which has a strong link to the bloodhound. The Airedale weighs approximately 30-45 kilo, which makes it one of the largest terriers around and has a strong history related to hunting.

It has been some time since Neil did that first crossing; the only detail linking back to the Airedale that can be noticed in some pups is the rough coat. The original body structure weights and heights that Peter created had not much altered in my mind anyway.

Neil’s dogs have been working well throughout Australia. I also had the opportunity to meet and look at Micks dogs. Mick has established a line in Southern Qld these dogs are also catching good quality pigs.
I have also spoken to another keen hunter by the name of Reece who also runs and breeds this line with good results. Over numerous years both Peter and Neil have bred and sold high numbers of dogs through out the country. Most of these dogs have gone to hunting homes and are doing extremely well. The other pups have ended up as family pets or guardians; these dogs have intermingled well with in the family environment.

A good friend of mine Tony had recently purchased a bitch (Bonnie) from this particular 30-year-old line bred type of dog and he is very happy indeed. The dog is approximately 18 months old and weighs 35 kilo. Tony goes on to say that his bitch Bonnie has top prey drive on the ground using her nose well enables her to pick up pigs other dogs may miss. This trait enabled her to catch her first pig at a very early age. She is a hard determined dog that won’t give in until the pig has been dispatched. She scents well of the Ute and has very keen eyesight.

Bonnie has hunted in the Cape York region of Far Nth QLD as well as lignum and stubble paddocks of NSW with success. Tony is very pleased with the progress so far seen especially at a young age they push them selves to great levels. As young dogs its important to show them who is boss once that has been achieve the rest is history. Another important point is that the dog is great around home and excellent with the kids.

Another keen hunter Steve also owns a bitch called Indy, also at around 18 months of age and the same weight as Tony’s bitch Bonnie. Steve goes on to say that he found her very keen at a young age. She was alert and didn’t want to be left out in anything that related to excitement. Steve also mentions that a firm hand was needed, as Indy would at times become over exited, however with patience she soon becomes a well-mannered dog. Her prey drive is huge; she seems to have an inbuilt hatred for feral pigs. As a young dog she picked up hunting very quickly and soon found her first pig at 6 months in thick lignum, she also hunts well in and around cropping paddocks. Indy just got better with age her hunting style became more aggressive however at home she still remained in relaxed state of mind.

Now for myself!! I have always been a sucker for the Bull Terrier Types as well as Greyhounds so it was an inevitable that I would end up owning one of these line bred types. My first original line bred dogs were bred from Neils dogs. Mutly the dog was extremely tall at app 29 inches in height and weighed in at 41 kilo that was sired by a dog-called Brush to Neils bitch Ruby. Kimba weighed in at 33 kilo but was shorter at around 26 inches. Kimba was also bred from Neils dog Ruby but the sire weyas a dog-called Scrappy.

An important thing to remember with these dogs is that their weights can at times alter depending how hard they are being worked. As mentioned above these 2 dogs had high prey drive and started at a very young age. When hunted together they would work way out egging each other on almost like a competition of sorts tracking up scent. Both dogs hunted well of the Ute and on the ground around the Cane and jungle environment around Cairns and accounted for many good boars in the Cape region were spent most of their time hunting.

The only issue I had was their intense eagerness to travel out and nail pigs, these dogs can find well and when they do find a good boar they don’t bark and hate to let go once the pig is dispatched. Currently I have 2 more dogs from this line. I have an 11-month-old bitch called Kya from Neils Bitch called Jayde the sire Max is owned by Peter. The second dog is a 5-month-old male pup called Tyson from Peters bitch Diamond and once again the sire was Max. Both dogs have great conformation.

At present Kya is showing all the signs what it takes to be a good finder and holds very cleanly. Kya has started to catch her own pigs and hunts relentlessly I can’t fault her. Young Tyson is following in her footsteps and if all goes well I myself will be able to possibly breed and put these dogs up here in the far North region. So if you after a tall hard fast working dog that is great around kids and family don’t hesitate to call Peter on 0439491758 or Neil on 0419500750 for further information on pup sales.

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