Landed the same 80 pound mutt about 8 or 10 times using my eeling rod; Shimano baitrunner and 20# trilene big game line. Bait of choice was a sock with a ball tied in the end. I took my chances and tied the line directly to the lure assuming a tight lure set would keep the mutt's teeth off the line.
It was pretty much a dog on every cast till I wore her out. It was kind of tough to horse her out of the brush and tree's when she took the bait and ran into cover; but by putting the rod down low to the ground and using the power of the butt of the rod I was able to move her out of cover and onto the lawn.
Once I got the dog on the lawn it was simple a question of steady sideways pressure to break her braced paws with rod pressure and move her forwards towards me.
The fight was mediocre once I got her moving; the initial take and run was hard, but once I got the mutt out of cover it was simple a question of keeping her from setting her feet and bracing. Once moving she came quite readily.
All releases were clean, there was no need for a gaff. A whack on the side with the rod tip was all it took for an easy release.
Any suggestions on what weight fly rod necessary to throw a tennis ball fly?