solo or not to solo??

[greatwhite_287]

I am pretty new to the Field trialing thing. I have heard alot of people saying that you need to solo a dog to keep them independent and so on. But a few people say if they cant do it in a pack then they will never "shine". What is yalls opinion? If yo do reccomend soloing: How often? How old is a good age to start? Thanks guys..

[nitendaykennels]

I'm fairly new to beagles too, but from what I have heard and experienced, a dog needs to be ran by itself some so that it will learn to hunt better/jump rabbits and to learn how to run the track/push ahead on the line without relying on others in the pack to pick up the slack in their areas of weakness. A lot of dogs are great pack dogs but fewer are "all around" great dogs that can do it all by themselves. Just my opinion.

[ray s]

I am pretty new to the Field trialing thing. I have heard alot of people saying that you need to solo a dog to keep them independent and so on. But a few people say if they cant do it in a pack then they will never "shine". What is yalls opinion? If yo do reccomend soloing: How often? How old is a good age to start? Thanks guys..

http://americanbeagler.huntingboards.co ... &sk=t&sd=a
click on this for 4 pages of opinions on soloing .you should find it interesting.

[Shady Grove Beagles]

I've heard all the pros and cons for soloing a hound all my life and I agree with a whole lot of the pluses and minuses.For me personally I very seldom solo a hound with the exception being a young pup that is still too young/small/immature to put out with grown dogs.I'll take a young pup out by themselves and kick around in the fields and woods watching them hunt,putting them on an occasional rabbit or let them be and see if they can work it up by themself.It's a kick to watch them pick up a line and attempt to run it and within a short time most of mine will be able to stay with it to varying degrees of accuracy.Once they know what a rabbit is and show the desire to run it AND they are physically big/strong enough to stay with the grown dogs [the strain I keep that's about 6-7 months old ] they go with the pack.
The main reasons that I don't often solo is #1 I don't really enjoy it that much!Listening to one hound do his work gives me appreciation for his ability but I don't find it very exciting .I grew up running beagles in a pack and get more enjoyment listening to the pack drive their rabbit.#2 is a time constraint thing.I only have so much time to run dogs and when I go I'm not leaving them home in the pen.I only keep 4 beagles so they all go whenever I go unless in heat.#3 some may not agree with, but we all have our opinions right? So here's mine--- I think a lot of the emphasis on solo, solo,solo comes from trialers. Because at trials the judges are looking for [or should be ] a rule book hound and scoring is awarded accordingly.That means the hound better be smooth ie. close in checks,accurate and close on line and have the self confidence to be able to ignore faulty hounds that might tempt him to err.Soloing WILL most definetly cause a dog to smooth out his running style and be more confident in his own abilities ESPECIALLY when he is running with dogs strange to him.A lot of times I hear guys that are going to a trial or have been up north running hare and now want to put their dog in a cottontail trial say they've been putting a lot of solo time on them to get them to smooth out and get their concentration on that rabbit and not be as distracted by the other hounds.
Some say that if you don't solo your hounds they will be just" me too" or "pack" hounds.I just don't find this to be true at least not in the case of the strain of hounds I've been keeping/raising for the last eighteen years.When I start taking a young dog with it's kennel mates I have NEVER had one that didn't go with them and stay with them right from the start.I don't expect that they will outperform these older dogs but in the next couple of months I'll become aware of the young hound picking up some of the checks,then more of the checks and sometimes they even start to out check one of your older good hounds.Then I'll notice that they are getting some of the jumps and then you see that occasionally they are running the front end in front of a hound or two that you always thought was pretty quick in their own right.If they ARE NOT showing me these kind of "flashes of brilliance" by a year of age then they probably are not what I'm looking to ad to my pack.I don't believe soloing is going to show me this any better.If they can show me what they've got running with dogs that at the outset are definetly superior in their abilities then I know I've really got something of a prospect.This type of hound in my experience goes on to be independant and doesn't need others to show him.I occasionally WILL take one of my hounds out by themselves and often during a hunt will have a split and they have always been able to run their own rabbit without problems even though they almost NEVER get solo time??????????You know that old saying? " IF YOU CAN"T RUN WITH THE BIG DOGS STAY ON THE PORCH" Well there's my 2 cents for what it's worth.

[Shady Grove Beagles]

Just been thinking about one or two other things.The coyotes and wolves are pack animals and their young learn to hunt with the pack NOT solo.
I bear hunted for years with two old timers from Vermont that kept bear dogs and I've never heard of anybody running a bear dog solo--but i have seen a single top flight dog tree a bear by himself.You find out pretty quick if a dog is worth his salt in the pack and not by soloing him.He either is doing his job or the hunters OR the bear will cull him pretty quick!
I think soloing can do a lot for a hound but I don't find it as the be all and end all for the way I use my hounds [primarily gun hunting and pleasure running ].
I feel a bit like what one of the other posters mentioned" if they can't shine in a pack" who cares if they look super all by themselves?When I run all four of mine or I go with a friend and he brings another four then you can see who's who as "the cream will rise to the top".
To me if you have to keep soloing your hound to get him to do it right it's kind of like having to go to summer school.Kind of remedial work.

[ray s]

When I run all four of mine or I go with a friend and he brings another four then you can see who's who as "the cream will rise to the top".

In essence this is field trialing , just without the trophy.
And it sure is FUN !!!
I train mine the way i'm going to hunt them,in a pack.
and when i run with the boys it's a "field trial" every time.we all know who is taking control of the pack.
Good posts shady grove beagles.

[klrconcrete]

I solo my young dogs alot- probably 75% of their running is solo this lets them develop at their own pace and their own running style. Also, they have absolutely nothing to hide behind you see them and them alone, lots of gents out there that never solo and I would say that they have no idea what any one hound in their pack is capable or incapable of. That incapable part is what keeps some of these fellas from ever putting a dog down solo, safety in numbers mentallity! Kurt

[yorkmtnbeagles]

since everybody is using their ''would yous'' heres mine,,,would you put your little boy in a gocart race without him practicing going around a track beforehand?.....solo your young dogs,it does improve them,no question....another thing i really like about doing it,is,you will see what youve really got,no help,just what the dog can truly do......

[Blubeagle]

i am kinda on the fence about this one...this is what my pack consist of as of now!!...i have a 10 year old female that is a #1 dog...she is a great jump dog ..good line control..was about an 8 on speed ..but is now about a 6.5...(i guess LOL)...and i have a real fast 6 year old female..and i have the 10 month old litter mate females that i raised....so..i had been hunting these pups with my old dog from the age of 4 months...1 at a time...until they all started..by the age of 7 months...i could tell that the pups would be faster than the old dog...but they wouldnt pass her up...so thats when i bought the bluetick..(6 year old)..faster dog...well my pups then could...and would go faster..and it gave my older dog a little more speed....so now the 6 year old is in the front (at all cost)...one of the pups seems to be real fast also usually running 2nd in line..my 2 other pups and the old dog jockying positions...but in the pack i can see..and listen to what each pup is doing.....on the other hand...when i hunt them 1 at a time with my old dog...everything seems to go a lot smoother...because she is a little slower and the line control is alot cleaner.....so i dont know about soloing....but i think time spent with a young dog or pup and a good clean jump dog really seems to get them to get on the mission we all want them to do!....i dont know...just my 2 cents worth...LOL

[Alabama John]

Our pups get a lot of solo time even when I take them all as they often will jump a deer by themselves and be gone for a while, sometimes all night and some the next day. I like them to start learning to stretch out after something, not just run a young or pregnant sneaky, slip around rabbit especially in the warm out of season months.

Break them from Deer when they are older.

Coyotes will usually turn on them and break the young pups, (especially if running solo) from running them.

Dogs that run in front a lot always get plenty of solo time regardless of how many dogs are with 'um.

Behind running dogs need solo time so they can see every once in a while what its like to be in front. Don't have time to solo and its boring so that's why we don't keep run behind dogs.

[Blubeagle]

Our pups get a lot of solo time even when I take them all as they often will jump a deer by themselves and be gone for a while, sometimes all night and some the next day. I like them to start learning to stretch out after something, not just run a young or pregnant sneaky, slip around rabbit especially in the warm out of season months.

Break them from Deer when they are older.

Coyotes will usually turn on them and break the young pups, (especially if running solo) from running them.

Dogs that run in front a lot always get plenty of solo time regardless of how many dogs are with 'um.

Behind running dogs need solo time so they can see every once in a while what its like to be in front. Don't have time to solo and its boring so that's why we don't keep run behind dogs.

i kinda agree.....LOL....strong but tru dat!!!!

[eddywilliams]

So Alabama John ,you let them run deer at a young age or encourage them to ?

[Alabama John]

Eddy

Don't care what they run when starting. Deer, cats, fox, coyotes, hogs, etc. Anything that will stretch them out, except another dog and that is seldom a problem.

Do occasionally have some that won't do it though. A few just won't run trash at all but only run what their mama runs which is rabbits, mostly Canecutters. These are always late starters.

NO, don't encourage at all knowing they'll be stopped later on, just don't stop them. Many times they stop themselves.

[Jeremy Mapes]

Arent they harder to break off deer and other game by allowing them to do that. Seems to me that it would be a little confusing to them. You let them spend the bulk of their young lives running anything and everything, and then all the sudden you start shocking them for doing what you've let them do all along.

[deerhost]

I solo a pup once they are started well. I will solo 3-4 solo to everyone one run with another dog. I may do this untel they are a year old. Even after a year old I will try and solo them every so often. I know this is not possible for everyone. I only keep a few dogs and raise and train one puppy at a time. Its alot of work but you should see some of the pups I've done this with, When they run with an older dog or two and the older dogs make a mistake, overrun, make a wrong turn, the pup that has been soloed alot will just cut their throats. He has a mind of its own. Will not take every turn or hark the other dogs are making as gospel. As far as deer. I try to keep the pup as far away from deer as I can as long as I can, hopefully untel they are at least a year. If the only thing they have ever run is rabbit then a deer usually will not present a problem when they are older. I will keep or buy a pup out of dogs that May be my style. I start taking some video of pups I start and can compare and see how the dog is progressing, speed ,control ability to stay and work a check. I found what I like most about beagling is training and finishing pups. When they start If they look like they will turn out to be to fast or slow big or small for what I like I'll just sell them or give them away to someone who they may suit. This way I only put all the above solo time into a dog the will suit me....Thats just my opinion......DH