I was waiting for someone else to chime in on the dog question, but no one stepped up, so here goes. I don't actually know of anyone in So Cal who hunts hogs with a dog or dogs, although I am sure there are some who do. Typically, hogs here are a spot and stalk proposition, although you can sometimes stumble into them at close range.
FWIW, one of the cable TV channels (Discovery?) recently ran a series of episodes on professional hog hunters (animal control types) in places from Florida to Hawaii, and those who used dogs had everything from a ginormous Great Dane to small packs of pit bulls. I have read that some of the Southern boys use Walker Hounds, and I can understand why. My all time favorite dog was a Walker that was 132 pounds of gristle with jaws big enough to pick up a pit bull and throw it around.
