Over bite or Under bite

[2500 HD]

IMO if she has all the traits in a running dog that you want,and her 1 fault is a slightly bad bite. Breed her. Every dog has a fault and what ever the fault may be it's up to the guy feeding to decide what you can tolerate. If you get a bad bite in one of the pups that you don't like you can cull then. If she hunts and runs good I would take her pups over a half effort hound. Just my thoughts. I don't need crusifying for my opinion. Feed what suits you.

[Beagle Huntsman]

I would breed from a littermate instead if possible. You cannot eliminate faults from your bloodline by passing them on.

[BCBeagles]

I would think that would be very sufficient as well....thanks for the input.

[mybeagles]

If breeders would do the right thing and cull puppies with bad bite, cherry eyes, crooked tail's, crooked legs before they reached adult age this would never be a dilemma. The fact that several would breed a faulty dog shows how big of a problem this really is.

The problem does not stop when it comes to confirmation. There are those that will breed and sell faulty dogs for a couple hundred dollars that people will subsequently breed.

In the end it will all boiled down to your own personal standards. Those that maintain very strict and high standards will go down in history as reputable breeders all the rest will just go down as another dog jocky.

Before I sell a pup or adult dog I ask myself if this is a pup I would be happy to get if I were in the market. I tend to error on the side of culling rather than thinking they will "outgrow it".

[Rcoff]

Maybe that's what's wrong with beagles today...breed the pretty ones instead of the ones that can run the rabbit.
Thanks,
Bob

[BCBeagles]

Everyone is entitled to an opinion...open forum.

I just wonder of the "great reproducers" how many dogs in the pedigree were perfect confirmationally, let alone in the field....interesting discussion.

Truth will never be known.. AND everyone has there interpretation..those are two of the most consistent traits in ALL of beagles....lol.

[mybeagles]

Jim,

I think conformation has taken a back seat to field in priority for so many years that's why there is a vast difference in a show beagle and hunting beagle. Same can be said for show beagle. A few little compromises with each generation and pretty soon you reach a point of no return even for a breeder with the highest of standards.

[BCBeagles]

I would agree with that....valid point.

[Newt]

I wouldn't breed to a dog with a skeletal defect. There are plenty of dogs available that are sound with other good field qualities.

When I started breeding, I bred bitch to a Little Ireland male. I got a litter, culled them and kept the best looking. As BC mentioned, at about five months I noticed that she had a serious under bite. I bred her to Gay Baker and the entire litter had an under bite.
Pekingese have under bites, beagles should have an even bite.
We all do what we think is best/necessary at the time to get dogs we can tolerate.


The popular rumor that a bitch with a bad bite can't snip the umbilical cord is just that. The bitch that I bred had no problem. I've seen many pups born and bitches will chew with their molars if necessary, in order to sever the cord.

[warddog]

So here is the scenario....outstanding female...clean, quick, accurate mouth, sound in all areas. Intelligent, good mouth, good hunt, just a natural.

Under bite.....scissor bite in reverse...teeth touch. Linebred to do exactly what she does and shows no other weaknesses. Natural talent that very few have.

Her litter of 5 she is the only with a bad bite. Mother good bite, father good bite. She has a good bite until she hits a growth spurt about 5 months and now the above bite described.
The litter, four living, are all on there way to above average hounds...to muddy the waters more...lol.

CULL her??

Be interesting to get HONEST answers......or internet answers....LOL.

Great question Jim and I have a little more to add to it. How many STUD dog owners would turn down breeding this female or how may would even look her conformation over or watch her in the field to see if she could even run a rabbit. In all my years of taking my females to a stud dog I have yet to see this one single time. I have had several female hounds bred by some top PUBLIC STUD dogs over the years and seen this ZERO, zilch, nada, times. For the fault to be relevant it has to be carried in the genes whether it shows up this generation or years down the line when they match up and folks least expect it. I have seen things to appear to just pop up out of the clear blue sky but they had be carried and hidden for years until that ole roulette wheel matched them up. Of course one can see these things in the individual dog that shows them but what about those littermates that don't show them like a littermate? Are they free of carrying the gene?