Problem with two new dogs

[billi]

What i see a lot of is pups that have been put in pens with a lot of rabbits that keeps them busy. At that time as you described he or she is huntin like crazy then we take them out where we have very few rabbits just plenty of deer smell. I think some young dogs just lose interest. I dont think you should burn a pup up running but if you cant find rabbits quit or go somewere else. There is so much hunting pressure in my area its hard to start a dog for lack of rabbits. It sometime isnt lack of hunt as much as nothing to hunt..

[gus]

I would have taken both of them to the animal shelter some time back. There is something to be said about wasting money but the time to think of that is prior to the purchase. Time is precious also. If you are not having fun with your beagles then find a different beagle/bloodline. If given an opportunity, they were given that in the starting pen, and they don't perform then check out a different hound. Life's too short to put up with the frustration of a worthless beagle no matter how well intended the mating.

[jlboomer]

well im going to share a story with this post. I had a male that i started at 5 months old once by the time he was 8 months old he was running awsome i killed alot of rabbits with this dog, over the next 4 or 5 months it was more of the same he was makin alot of my older dogs look bad i remember taking him out one day by himself and killing 6 rabbits off him but after he turned a year or so old its like he just quiet had no desire. it was the strangest thing id ever seen i hunted him a couple more months and he just didn't care much about nothin so i was at the end of my rope when an old time hound man told me to just put him up so i did he stayed in the kennel from the end of rabbit season to the begining of the next wich was about 10months, don't get me wrong id let him out to strectch and i worked with him on commands but no hunting. so when rabbit season came back in i got him out exspecting the worse and figureing i wouldn't own this dog much longer. well to my suprise after about the second rabbit jumped he took off with them and the rest was history that dog turned into one of the best dogs i ever owned and i keep him for 10yrs until he died. Now to some of the things ive learned i know alot of people don't agree with me on this but if its a good pup from good breeding i will give it 2yrs. Ive noticed alot of things used to i could hunt 5 or 6 days a week easy now 2 or 3 at the most except during the summer i can run alot. with work and family life its hard so to me the dogs aren't getting the exsposure they really need plus seems the rabbit populations not be the best over the past few years so i see alot of pups starting latter. I can't tell you how many pups ive started that where over a year old and have made good rabbit dogs. heck i just started one the other day that was 20months old and seems as if he'll be alright. seems to me people exspect to much from a 6 to 8 month old pup sometimes.

[chapkosbeagles]

i agree with bill

[John Lear]

Perfect story and proof of starting some pups too early. Who needs a four month old pup to be running! They are not mentally, as proven here, and physically ready to come out of a pen where they run by themselves or with other pups and go run with grown mature dogs. Let them grow up to where they can handle the physical strain and then start them. No sermons needed here I know of and have owned pups that did exceptional at early ages but not every one of them will and when put through these demands of too much too early they burn out and can't take it. If they are this young and you feel like you have to prove how awesome your pup or blodline is by pups starting early then let them run alone unti lthey are ready for the big dogs.
Let me say sgain there is some pups that can handle it and that is wonderful but let pups be pups and look at them differently and give them time. Now I agree with most every one else if it is not at least showing interest and attempting to run at 9 to 10 months then it leaves here.