A general forum for the discussion of hunting with beagles, guns, clothing and other equipment and just talking dawgs! (Tall tales on hunting allowed, but remember, first liar doesn't stand a chance)
Let's go with the old story problem format form math class.
If my buddies dogs run a strong medium-fast style but run a pretty clean line, and my dogs run a solid medium and tend to be tight-mouthed, who's dogs will win the race to the rabbit?
Seriously though, what kind of problems will you incounter when running dogs with different speed, line control, mouth (tight over mouthy), or any other trait tht would put them on uneven ground? Does it help the hunt or hinder it?
Thanks,
Johnny B
Old Meg she was a gypsy;
And liv'd upon the moors:
Her bed it was the brown heath turf,
And her house was out of doors.
--Keats
One problem with running different speed dogs together is if you do it consistently with the same dogs alot of times the slower dog will just throw its head up and start chasing the faster dog wich can result in the dog becoming mouthy also. This will more likely be a problem if the slower dog is a young hound. one problem I encountered once was a dog that was medium speed that was the slower of the two that I ran. And it became mouthy and more worried about the faster dogs in the pack than trying to run the line because I did just what i described above. I hunted her with a faster dog too much when she was young. Then the problem was magnified because the faster dog was also a young aggressive type dog thatwas a little over competetive. So this is what they would do. They would jump the rabbit and take off running the line. Then alot of times when the faster dog would over run the line the slower dog would stay right with her barking every breath. Then although the faster dog didn't smell rabbit anymore and wasn't barking she would many times keep running to try to stay in front of the dog that was just trying to keep up with her!!!! Which at times would result in them over running track by as much as 30 yards. Which to me was quite a problem. So what I have learned is give a pup as much solo time as you can and then once they are older you can pack them up with different style dogs and it usually won't be to much of a problem. A young dog just needs to build confidence in itself without the pressure of faster dogs.
I like having a tight mouth dog in the pack they will always tell you what is really happening, the looser mouth dogs will just tell you they smell something and not how hot it really is , the tighter mouth is saying you better be ready to shoot dummy, that's me . LOL
TNBeagle...LOL. My four kids, wife, and mother-in-law are already smarter than I am. It's kinda nice being able to outwit my hounds...most of the time.
Blue, Thanks. I had an idea that might be a problem but it was nice to have it verified.
Johnny B
Old Meg she was a gypsy;
And liv'd upon the moors:
Her bed it was the brown heath turf,
And her house was out of doors.
--Keats
