The sport can get bloody at times with boars literally tearing apart dogs with their tusks. This year was relatively injury free. Most of the competition dogs are Catahoula breeds, and breeders and kennels bring puppies and grown dogs to sell at the Hog Dog Trials. The Uncle Earl Hog Dog Trials the fourth weekend in March of each year is considered to be the largest and best run hog trials in the world. Because it attracts the most competition, winning here is considered essentially winning the world championship.
Dogs compete in a number of categories.
Puppy Bay - puppies to six months, three pups in the pen 2. Puppy Bay - ages seven to eleven months, three pups in the pen 3. Youth Bay - A scholarship event. Dogs seen in this event cannot be entered in other competitions. The young dog owners earn scholarships to college.