Most important in your kennel???

[Casey Harner]

Desire & intelligence ! With these two traits the dog has all it needs to become a quality hound.
Desire means they have the willingness to learn.
Intelligence means they have the ability to learn.
IMHO Tom Summers

Good post.....

[clarkkennels4951]

Hunt ,more hunt

[Jazz Beagle]

Speed!!! Speed!!! Speed!!! I want to have fast and furious running when I go hunting. I also want to hear a good race so a good mouth is very important to me. Plus I want a good well built hound.
I think it's harder to find a good fast dog than a good hard hunting dog.

[Tuff-E-Nuff]

The most important thing is when I load the dogs and head for home that I have a big smile on my face, when a dog gets to the point that it don't make me enjoy the time out with it then its on a fast boat out of here.
For me its not all about any one trait , always trying to get as close to the total package as I can.

[Salzer mtn]

It's easier for a human to jump a rabbit than to run a line. If I was starving to death and needed a rabbit to eat and I had to pick between a good jump dog or a dog that can run a line like he's tied to it, i'll take the line control dog every time.

[pilotknob]

Speed!!! Speed!!! Speed!!! I want to have fast and furious running when I go hunting. I also want to hear a good race so a good mouth is very important to me. Plus I want a good well built hound.
I think it's harder to find a good fast dog than a good hard hunting dog.

The problem I've always had with the really fast ones on cottontail was that,the faster they were the more of the race was a dog race instead of a rabbit race.At least when they wern't broke down.They look and sound a lot alike.To answer the post hunt,and brains.You have something to work with there.Most of the time you can begin to see both early on.

[rabbitearl]

Well if it was one dog.HUNT.But a pack.Give me one jumpdog that just jumps rabbits and 4 dogs that just runs a rabbit.All handle good.I mean I can take these 5 dogs and hunt between 95.They listen good.I can go rabbithunting.Theres nothing like a good dog that listen good.

[THALL]

Hunt, nose, accurate mouth while moving in the correct direction, speed (only because I hate slow dogs), line control, stamina, and handle are all important. If you have some of each, you'll have yourself a nice rabbit dog. Leave one of these out, your in trouble. Jmo

[CGS KENNEL SHAWN]

Hunt and brains is to me the qualities that i look for when trying to improve my kennel whether buying or breeding. I had a deal at a feild trial over the weekend that put a big smile on my face. It was when a pup we have rasied out of HOF Johnboy opened on a lead strap during a cast and the group wanted to walk on up before cutting the hounds loose. it put a smile on my face because i knew what he would do soon as the dogs were cut loose he wheeled and went right back where he hit and took the rabbit out of there and the other dogs had no clue what had even happened to them. I have seen his daddy do that more than a few times. JMO

[JUDE]

Looking through old post.

[mn_beagleboy]

I saw this post and let me share what I saw at trial. Midwest trial only cause I haven't been going to other format lately. Dogs that placed and win were fast, close, clean, hunts very hard, and endless endurance. Lazy dog gets pick up rite away. I have many hunting buddies and their dogs are not close to what I saw at trials. If i dont make it to trial, i would not be able to see what i saw. The most important in my kennel is that I like what I am feeding. Win, placed, or no place at the end of the day I will be the person to care for my hound. Akc Midwest trials are promoting gun dogs and they deserve the support. The judges are fair and honest. A winning dog is no joke. I still shoot for winning trait but I don't come close at all. There are many great gun dogs that don't fit for trial. If they are a good gun dog and the owner is happy with his dog, that is the most important about beagling.

Sao

[WELLS WOODS]

Well said.

[Aubrey Holcombe]

Good Post its, strange just How many folks Did Not mention the Handling of the Hound,, I read through them all and there were about two (2) that mentioned the Handling of the Hound? I think Mr. RabbitEarl was the first to say anything.. My Hound has to Handle Well, just like my Kids when growing Up!

D.R.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>>

[Hollarback Kennels]

some people are not voting right on this one.....trials are promoting speed, speed, and speed. When a HB,LP or a PKC dog can dominate in PP like we have seen over the last few years its pretty easy to see that speed is what most people are after or wanting to see. JMO

[SNOWDOGS1]

There should be one more important category and that is Nose. If they can't smell it, they can't run it. I may be wrong since I don't live in the south, but I believe the importance of this trait is relative to where you live and hunt. Guys from the northern U.S. and Canada where running on snow is very common during hunting season would most likely want nose over most anything else. Southern beaglers maybe not quite as much, but I'm sure it is still important to them. Can't stand taking the dogs out and not being able to circle a rabbit due to lack of nose for the conditions. So for me it's nose, hunt and brains are about tied for second, then line control which is important to me also with speed being last. Skirting will get them eliminated from my kennel. Speed is somewhat important to me, but as long as they aren't slow and are strong in the other traits I can live with a little less speed. JMHO