Running hounds solo

[J.C. Blair]

I have not found it necessary to solo a hound to find out if it is contributing to the pack. Once a hound is started and physically able to run in a pack, if it doesn't get a check occasionally or take the lead occasionally then, IMO, it's in the wrong pack.

And, if it takes soloing to reach their full potential, then they had limited potential.

Every time I make a breeding, or train a young dog, I think about what the impact will be 20 years down the road. The kennel as a whole is always considered above the needs of any one individual.

Imagine if you bred dogs that didn't have the mental strength to handle pack pressure for 5, 6, or 7 generations in a row. Some with solo time, can learn to jump rabbits and run with very few checks. And a with lot of individual attention, may become successful and win many trophies. But, with each generation, you make this trait more dominant in your line.

Compare this to hounds that generation after generation had to prove their worth in a pack. They reached their maximum ability without special treatment or training. They had the mental strength to become successful, no matter how they were trained.

You make the choice. Which would you choose?

And when you consider the value of soloing, ask yourself, is helping this one dog become good so important that I won't even consider what is best for my whole kennel and all beagles. Or do I want to better the breed, and have better, stronger, more intelligent hounds in 10, 15, and 20 years?

I knew you couldn't resist....you can only sit on your hands so long!

I hate to even say this publicly, but I agree. I just can't justify soloing a dog, when I have 6 more out there in the pen needing running time. If they've got it, they've got it. And if they blow up as a young dog at 10 months from the pressure, well go to your toolbox and get a hammer. One of my males is 7 1/2 yrs old and has never been soloed to my knowledge, and he's been run with some of the roughest dogs in the country. And he still runs the same as he did as a young started dog. This trait is being passed on to his pups, I'm seeing the same abilities and level headed-ness in them as well.

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

When i solo its for one reason. To get mentally crisp and not go back when the cks down.Each his own. I dont run 20 dogs at a time nor desire too, Hell i dont even own 10. I guess when i breed its for stability in the line, run to catch and bottom.

[Dave Swiger]

Folks that would never think of soloing their dogs might be very suprised if they tried it. Ole shep may not be as good as bragged on. Even a me too dog looks good in a pack.
When trying out a dog the first thing I want to see is that dog by itself.

Dave Swiger

[JCM]

I dont run 20 dogs at a time nor desire too, Hell i dont even own 10.

I thinking running young dogs with 2 or 3 dogs of similar ability will definitely help them. I honestly like a pack of 5 dogs the best. I only question the need to solo a 2, 3, or all age dog. I would never own a mature dog that had to have solo time.

I guess when i breed its for stability in the line, run to catch and bottom.

Great traits to breed for. I would only add intelligence and the mental toughness to withstand any situation. This is the trait I see missing in so many dogs that need to be soloed to reach their potential.

[Matt Glomski]

If I REALLY like a dog I will give that dog SOLO time. Some of the most impressive things I have seen is when they are by themself. Watching a good dog glued so tight to the line (running it FAST) that the rabbit can not shake em and the race ends with a caught rabbit is great memories.

I believe soloing helps a dog be the best it can be......I should solo more....wish I had more time.

[Bunnyblaster]

I'm going to make a comparison to human sports again so bear with me........and I know I'm not an expert by any means but I would like to think that it's not as much of a waste of time as a couple of you guys would have us think. If individual practice time is such an unnecessary waste then why does everyone do it? And I'm not just talking soloing a beagle.........I'm talking about guys like Michael Jordan(yeah I know, again ) or even just my kids. You see individual time spent for everything that is a team or "pack" activity. It's done to improve their skills so they can be more of an asset to the team. Now it may be more maintenance than some of you want to put into a dog but that doesn't mean it doesn't help make the dog a better dog...............some may need it, and some may not...........it just means you can't, don't or won't take the time to do it. I know guys on both sides of this one and it's another one of those "to each his own" things. I wouldn't knock a guy that won't own a dog that needs solo time, that's your decision. But it doesn't make everyone else dumb for spending time with a dog that could use it.......it just means their willing to do what it takes.

And for the record, I'm not a big solo time person. I have a hard time leaving the kennel with just one dog too but if I really think one can benefit from it then I'll make the time. JMO

[cspot]

This always starts a heated debate everytime someone asks the question.

[davidc5936]

If every dog were the same, there would be no need to discuss this question. I don't think you can make a blanket statement that covers every dog. Some dogs need to be soloed to reach their potential. Others may not, although you will never know if would have helped one that never got soloed. My own experience is that it helps most dogs, especially when they are young. There are things a dog can learn much quicker if he's running by himself. I'm not saying he can't learn it running in a pack, but if he has to make the check to keep the run going, and can't rely on another more experienced dog to make it, he will learn to do it quicker, and you will learn quicker about his ability as a rabbit dog. A dog that runs behind in a pack may never learn to carry the line by himself without being soloed- and you may never know he can't do it unless you solo him.

Just my opinion.

[TC]

My opinion on solo running dogs is this... When a dog gets to solo run he learns from his mistakes, he learns how to work smarter not harder. Over run you have to pick it back up not rely on the dog behind you. You loose it you have to find it to run it. Keep the nose on the track, and you won't have to work so hard, slow down pay attention to what yer doing and you won't have to work so hard. They learn from their mistakes and learn that they don't have to work as hard if they do it right then if they don't. So to me I think solo is good they learn to work smart not harder.

[sgc]

I would choose the dog that can do both.

I don't solo to give individual attention to make the dog get better. I solo to see if the dog has the ability to lock onto a rabbit and continually account for it. If it can't do that then I wouldn't breed it no matter how well it seems to look in a pack. (Thats just my opinion.) But if the dog can't do both, its not a complete hound.

If you don't run solo, how do you know your dog can continually account for the rabbit? and then when you breed a dog that can't lock onto a rabbit and continually account for it, you're hurting the beagle breed.

[JCM]

Soloing can make an individual better---hmmm. OK, but the question remains, does it make your kennel better in the long run? Is the goal to make the dog you own better, or to find superior individuals that will reach their potential without special treatment?

Sticking to the sports analogy, watching Tiger walk 18 is just not as exciting as watching a run and gun basketball team press full court, putting on pressure until the other team loses their will to fight.

[TC]

Soloing can make an individual better---hmmm. OK, but the question remains, does it make your kennel better in the long run? Is the goal to make the dog you own better, or to find superior individuals that will reach their potential without special treatment?

Sticking to the sports analogy, watching Tiger walk 18 is just not as exciting as watching a run and gun basketball team press full court, putting on pressure until the other team loses their will to fight.

Can't do that with out learning how to dribble first and you can't learn that in a team if the point man has the ball all the time...

[johns03272008]

This is for all the gentlemen that say they dont need to solo or dont believe soloing does anything you ever wonder why your dogs dont win any hunts or dont get past the first round of any trial its because your dog is playing smell a$$ with the dog that is doing all the work!!!! A dog must at some point IMO be soloed at some point to get a independence to themselves so while you are sitting back chatting with your buddys and your dog sounds like its out there pounding a rabbit how do you know its not just out there dog barking while you think your dog is tearing out the check best bet is that your dog is just dog barking in the check area!!! I have personally been to a trial before and had a guy just going crazy saying his dog was this and his dog was that and i watched the entire hunt and even ran along side the judges in the hunt and literally watched this dog non stop barking he was harking to the other dogs just barking and then in the check just barking and right off the lead barking it was ridiculous had i been the judge in that cast i would have picked that dog up quicker that what he did and the guy came screaming at the judge saying my dog was out there tearing it up i heard him the whole time leading i simply smiled at the judge and told the guy in a nice manner his dog was junk and was not doing anything but barking!!!!! Alot of people i have noticed are VERY and i repeat VERY kennel blind if you take your dog out with a pack it may look and sound like a $1000 dog but when you go to solo it and they stand by your feet guess what you have a $5 dog and thats for the box of shells you need to buy !!!! Or maybe it wont stand by your feet and it goes out there and jumps a rabbit or mearly runs into a rabbit track and guess what 5 barks and you are like here he/she goes and then nothing more and you are thinking da$m he/she was running the fire out of the bunny last night with my buddies dogs and now you come up with excuses ohh its high pressure its to dry its raining its this and its that guess what your DOG IS METOING in the pack and is a sh$t eater i think every trial format should do it like Progressive Pack and i dont even run that format but i like how they make the dog jump their own rabbit and then solo the rabbit back to them in a timely matter to be labeled a champion in that format no i am not saying that dogs out there that are FC or champions that cant do this but i like that rule!! imo that helps promote a better dog and keeps all the pot lickers out of the trial, it makes people run better dogs and no junk that they heard in a pack barking their head off!!!!!!!! I will not mention any names here but i was told by a great beagler out there that soloing will bring the best out of a dog, and that a
F.C. or CHAMPION IS MADE NOT BORN

[J.C. Blair]

John,
I guess what I am trying to say is that I don't have time to solo a dog, nor do I have the patience to work with a dog that is a "Special Ed" that needs a lot of attention. Yes there are a lot of me-too'ers that get lost in the pack, but usually if I am running or whoever I am running with, we stay as close as we can to the dogs to see who is doing what work. I agree its easy to sit on the tailgate and listen and think ol fred is burning it up, but ol fred may be barking just tryin to keep up. I feel comfortable in saying all my dogs can circle a rabbit solo, most times that they do get to run solo is when they split on a different rabbit, wherever I am running. We've got a couple places that have a lot of rabbits. I don't have a problem with certifying a dog like they do in Progressive Pack, I've always encouraged it, but it always gets shot down in the voting in rule changes. There's a lot of champions out there that can't circle one on their own, or can't even have so much as a cap gun shot around them. I guess, some of the things I breed for are hunt, brains, and pure grit. They gotta have grit to em, or they'll never live to see life outside of the farm. There are a lot of mixed thoughts on his subject, to each his own. As far as making outta the first round, I've done it once or twice... But seriously, everyone should enjoy their dogs however they run em and train em.

Blair

[thornie]

Soloing is good for a young dog, you can actually see what and where it is having some problems. Like everyone has said time is of the essence. I like to brace dogs and I don't mean those that walk and talk. I like to take a couple of young dogs and put them down together and see who does what,strike, jump and circle. I also like to take a young dog and run it with one of my older dogs to see if it can do what we're looking for out of it, running ability, check area, and take control of it. There's one more thing i do with these young ones, is I shoot the gun over them while running, blank pistol, 22 pistol, whatever to familarize before hunting season. If they can run solo or in a brace, they should be able to do it in a pack. You must remember that all dogs are not the same, some don't like pack style, but just take a good pair and see how many rabbits you can kill with those two. Every dog we own has it own personality, that's why we discuss these questions because we have our own personality of how we should run, train our own dogs. But the best thing that comes out of all of this for me is people that I get to meet, run dogs with and be able to say they are your friend.