I've noticed that many only want 15" hounds?

[Marty Allen]

I forgot to mention the fact that, not only can the small dogs get into places the big dogs just can't, I have also seen the small dogs whole body go through a wire fence,while the bigger dogs were unable to and had to find a better place to cross.

[Cooz's Beagles]

Marty Allen wrote: I have also seen a small dogs whole body go through a wire fence, while a big dogs were unable to and had to find a better place to cross.

My first beagle is a big 16 inch, long legs and athletic looking. Fast but too fast for his nose, and too big sometimes for the tight briar patches around here, and like Marty Allen said, sometimes too big for those wire fences, a few times he even almost got stuck! So for my second beagle I got a little thirteen inch, hopefully she'll be able to get into more tight places.

Cooz's Beagles
Cooz's Just Snoopin Around
Lone Pine Cooz's Nicci

[Ky. Hunter]

I personally like my dogs between 14"--15" but will feed a good 13" dog. We have a mixed pack of both 13" and 15" and when we rabbit hunt the pack stays tight for the first 4--5 hours of hunting but after 6--8 hours of hunting the smaller dogs drop back in the pack some so it seems to me that the bigger dogs can hold up better when hunting long hours day after day. I used to have two male dogs that were 15" + and when they got to a fence and the smaller dogs were going thru the fence they would jump it, I didn't like them jumping like that because I was afraid they would get hung up on the and would be out of my range but they would wear the smaller dogs out after hours of hunting. But like others have said each to his own but I like a big fast 14"--15" dog male or female.

[chapkosbeagles]

i am learning that a little dog has its place in the pack. i dont now about the dogs going under a fence i had to bend fence up at one of my runnning spots so that the little beagles could get thew. when i run my big hounds there they jump the 4 foot fence like it is a log in the woods while other hounds have to run up and down it looking for a way to get thew

[Shady Grove Beagles]

My experience with the wire fences here in Tn. concerning the big and small dogs is that my big bitches will go right over a 4 foot woven wire fence without hardly a pause while the 13-13 1/2" inch dogs are actually too big to get through the fence and especially if they are wearing either a shock collar or tracking collar.Maybe the little 11-12' dogs can but most of the dogs that won't "fence" either have to run up and down the fence looking for a hole,etc. or they just plain get hung up and stand there yammering.In fact I won a Little Pack trial one time because the rabbit the pack was running would continuosly cross through several wire fences during the run.My Sierra dog would go over the fences one after another while the other four hounds either ran up and down the fence ,tried unsucessfully to fight / squeeze through or just hung up on the fence barking.After the third fence it was a one dog race and the judge just scored her.
I apologise here for going off the main subject for a moment but it is related.Many,many times I have been on a Little Pack hunt where dogs could not or would not cross a fence either while the judge hunted them or during the run.I can't tell you how many times I've heard"judge,can I put my dog over the fence?"And the answear was always"ya,go ahead".
I got to thinking about this and when I was judging I supposed I pissed a lot of guys off as I told them no way were they to put their dogs over a fence when the dog was off the leash.To me a fence was just another obstacle in the hunt to overcome like crossing a creek,going in super thick briars,turning down off-game [hey judge can we not turn out here cause I just saw a deer],crossing a dusty gravel road [hey judge can I carry my dog across the road where he can pick up the scent on the other side? ].In this part of the country a hound must learn to negotiate fences one way or another.
One last word about fences and dogs that will go over them.They CAN and WILL eventually get hung in them.I had it happen three times this gun season [twice in one day to the same dog! ]Luckily I run bells on all my dogs and try and stay fairly close to them.When they are hanging by their hind leg or foot a couple of feet off the ground they don't make a sound.

[10ACbeagles]

My little male dog Sammy got a site chase goin this year after a big long loop the rabbit made it across a pasture and went through a small hole in the fence which crossed over to property I couldnt hunt.I blew the whistle to stop them but sammy just plowed his self through.He couldnt fit the first time he backed up a time or two just rammin hisself through it,he was bound and determined he was gonna get that rabbit and he did!He got cut up pretty good but we hunted 10 hours that day on 2 different farms the whole day was nonstop pounding.Give me a little dog with heart all day long,I love em.

[bigdogpace]

ITS NOT TO ME THE SIZE BUT I SIMPLY LIKE BIG RACY BUILT 15 IN DOGS 13 RUN JUST AS GOOD BUT I LIKE THE BIG DOG AT TIMES WILL HAVE A LITTLE MORE STAMINA. SIMPLY LIKE THE WAY THEY LOOK AND PEFORM .TO EACH HIS OWN SOLD ALOT OF 13 WHERE GOOD DOGS BUT WEREN'T BIG ENOUGH 4 ME ITS APERSONAL PREFERCE I GUESS. BIGDOGPACE JOEY U WANT TO SELL THAT BIG DOG . MY DOGS LOAD THERE SELVES. DID THIS WITH FOOD

[Joeyman]

she is 13" class. built to run. Slim with long legs. I had her measured last year. First measurement was 12.75 second was 13.000 inch

she can get thru fences fine. she fits thru them...lol well most of them. Yes i've worn her plumb out on very long hunts back to back but not all the time for the most part she can hang in there. She did really well in the swamps of Tennesse after swampers two days in a row 6 -7 hours of pounding each day and she was leading many of the races i have plenty video of that.

[Casey Harner]

I have a 14 3/4 that will find a hole in the brush pile. I have seen him numerous of times get on top of the pile and will dig into them. I believe any 15" plus dogs can get in there if they have want to and desire, they will find a way in.

[Buckeye Blues]

Funny thing i always loved taller women with blonde hair and ended up with a short woman with black hair. . I just like a tall racey hound with a thin chest and pencil straight legs .

Yup!

[RunninHard]

she is 13" class. built to run. Slim with long legs. I had her measured last year. First measurement was 12.75 second was 13.000 inch

she can get thru fences fine. she fits thru them...lol well most of them. Yes i've worn her plumb out on very long hunts back to back but not all the time for the most part she can hang in there. She did really well in the swamps of Tennesse after swampers two days in a row 6 -7 hours of pounding each day and she was leading many of the races i have plenty video of that.

Funny thing i always loved taller women with blonde hair and ended up with a short woman with black hair. . I just like a tall racey hound with a thin chest and pencil straight legs .

Yup!

Im with you guys....
For her only being 10 months old (today) she can get the job done in a pack or solo, Ton of hunt, good foot, control

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[hounddog]

I like them big, FAST and wild as a buck! Dogs that is!

hounddog
Jim Umbarger

[S.R.Patch]

We don't want our hounds to jump, climb or fight. A perfect fit for where courage and determination are not called for.
Now Snoopy, lay back down, my feet are getting cold...
... no really, the country you hunt will dictate the type hound you keep. Some are suited for the farm rabbit, others do better on the coalmines or swamps and another for the northern hare. The really good ones come to adjust and excel on all three, they are not the norm, but I never thought of them in inches, but rather in quality...

[rabbithunter30]

Rocky my male out of Loko Go Red x Loko Go Buffy he is 16in tall and can go thruogh the thickest brair patch with the best of them with no problem...he has extreme hunt, foot,brains,gears and endless bottom

[Greg Wells]

I started out running 13" females in 1994. I had licensed wins on both of them. Then I don't know why, but I just started running 15" hounds & stuck with them & try to breed for them. I think the 13" female class is usually the smoothest running class in the Mid-West. As far as geting through fences , I think the dogs that can get through them the easiest are dogs with a lot of brains. My big male is full 15" and he amazes me how he can slither right through the tiniest of holes, while some of the smaller hounds I run with can't figure out it out & we have to help them over.