Michael Conatser

Michael David Conatser is a lifelong dog man, hog hunter, husband, father, entrepreneur, and author from Lingleville, Texas. A second-generation hog hunter and fourth-generation dog man, Michael was raised around hunting dogs and has spent his entire life running through the woods with them.

Michael’s hunting heritage reaches back to his great-grandfather, who ran Running Walker foxhounds in Tennessee. His father, David Conatser, began hunting with beagles as a child, moved on to coonhounds in his early teens, and started hunting hogs with dogs when he was 18 years old. David hunted competition coonhounds for many years and served as a handler for several old-time houndsmen.

Michael’s connection to hog hunting began before he was even born. The night his mother went into labor with him, his father was out hog hunting. When David returned home, he found a note telling him that she was in labor and rushed to the hospital with the dogs still in the box. Michael grew up listening to his father’s old hog-hunting and coon-hunting stories. He describes David as a great storyteller who has always had a “wildfire” in him—something Michael deeply admires and carries with him today.

An avid hunter and trapper of all species, Michael began tagging along with his father on hog hunts as soon as he could walk. He kept coonhounds when he was younger and began running his own dogs after earning his driver’s license. He has continued ever since. Although his father no longer keeps dogs of his own, he still goes hunting whenever he can with Michael or Michael’s younger brother and their dogs.

Michael grew up hunting in Erath County and still considers it his home range, although he has hunted throughout Texas. Today, he primarily hunts from Central Texas to the deserts of far West Texas and spends three to four days a week pursuing hogs with his dogs.

Michael prefers Hound–Cur and Hound–Catahoula crosses. He breeds and hunts his own line of dogs, known as Conasty Curs, which combines Running Hound and Black Mouth Cur bloodlines. Although he does not advertise the line, he takes great pride in raising and developing these working dogs.

While Michael loves the excitement and rush of wrestling hogs, he considers himself a dog man at heart before anything else. For him, the true calling to this way of life will always be the dogs. His greatest passion is raising, training, breeding, and developing working dogs—and watching a young dog grow into a sure-enough hunting dog. He appreciates hunting dogs of all kinds and believes there are few things more rewarding than seeing the natural ability, heart, grit, and intelligence of a good dog come together in the woods.

Michael is president of the Dogmen Outdoor Initiative, a nonprofit organization focused on giving veterans and kids an opportunity to get into the woods. The organization promotes wellness through the outdoors while encouraging stewardship, fellowship, and the traditions of hunting with dogs. In March 2027, the organization will host its first annual Boar Buster Nationals, a one-of-a-kind, multistate hog-hunting tournament.

Much like his father, Michael also has a passion for storytelling. He is the author of Where the Green Briar Grows – A Hog Dog Story and its sequel, Call of the Woods – A Hog Dog Story Part 2. Although the books are fictional, many of their names, places, and events come from Michael’s personal experiences or stories passed down by his father. He is currently working on the third and final installment in the series.

Outside the woods, Michael is an entrepreneur and the owner of Full Boar LLC, an oilfield service company, along with several other ventures. While his love for dogs and the outdoors is deeply rooted in generations of dog men, the most important parts of his life are his faith in God and his family. He is a devoted husband to a wonderful wife and the proud father of two boys and a daughter.

Michael is proud to represent Wild Boar USA as a member of its Pro Staff and to stand behind a company that supports the hog-dog community and builds gear for the men, women, and dogs who live this lifestyle.