Big nose? Cold trailing?

[BCBeagles]

Thanks guys I believe I have my answers on this. We hunted today and jumped 16 and got six this female opened on at least 12 of these rabbits first.
She popped off a time or two and twice did not produce a rabbit. I toned her on that one and she ran really well. I think with more ground time I can completely
run that occasional pop off out of her. I am just wanting to produce for myself top quality gundogs and wanted some feedback on this. Thank you all so much
for taking time to post on this.

[ohlinger]

LoL TC as long as they are producing there rabbits and Dirt is no where near a cold trailer he's got a big nose and i watched him walk a check out on other dogs with out breaking down he's a Big Nosed dog! A cold tracker that is boohooing around not producing rabbits will drive me nuts. Seems like alot of people who own cold nosed dogs "say" there dogs will produce a rabbit, but is it really producing the rabbits or is it just fooling you b/c it's the only one barking ? Thats my question. Just like it said in you're post sounding off for forward progression of a moveable track!!! By all means sound off...but if it ain't a produceable trail shut you're mouth and get in the briars where ya belong!

[tommyg]

Got no problem with opening early as long as they produce,but I hate hearing a hound blow holes in the ground and never produce.

[NorWester1]

Ohlinger wrote,

By all means sound off...but if it ain't a produceable trail shut you're mouth and get in the briars where ya belong!

So how does the dog know if there's a rabbit at the end of the track until it actually runs it?

[ohlinger]

Ohlinger wrote,

By all means sound off...but if it ain't a produceable trail shut you're mouth and get in the briars where ya belong!

So how does the dog know if there's a rabbit at the end of the track until it actually runs it?

It has to be able to run it first, if it can't i guess nobody will ever know..

[rabbitearl]

Over the years I have notice that people that got big nose dogs don t have bad smelling days.They can run one about anytime.Sure on a good smelling mor when rabbits walk all night,they open up, but it want be long mor is over.I never had but one dog in my 37 years of hunting that could trail one up.I mean if she bark on it that mor she would stay on it until she jump it.The others dogs like I got now will hit it here and there but want stay there long and move on.But its nice because they are letting me know there s a rabbit around here.So I love a big nose dog.In rabbit hunting around here anyway.There is not many good smelling days to hunt.

I always here this.You get anyrabbits today.No every rabbit we jump went to a hold.They would not run.Go about 50 yds.

But then again if you ve got rabbits you don t need them big nose dog.

[warddog]

Beagles are hounds and hounds pursue game via scent. When a beagle opens then that dog is telling the world that it smells scent. When rabbit hunting I have never understood the phrase of "extra mouth". Yes, I have seen and owned beagles that opened the moment they smelled game and that in my book is what they are supposed to do. I'm of the opinion that those that do open are those that have the nose to do so and those that do not haven't got the nose. I have no problem with a dog that opens before the rabbit is up as that dog has a better nose than those that don't. IMO that dog is able to smell scent from when that rabbit was up or there would be nothing for it to smell. How can you fault that when the sole purpose of the breed is to persue game by scent and one can't pursue it if they can't smell it. I would much rather have them open up early than those that they call tight mouthed as I call them tight nosed, not mouthed. Some want to put brains into the mix but I even doubt that has anything to do with it either as I would venture to say that any beagle that opens on a cold scent track would test out to be of the same intelligence as those that only open on hot track. I personally would fault a hot nosed dog more than a cold nosed one and as others have stated if the game was thin you would certainly see real quickly why. I think a lot of this has come up due to putting so much emphasis on trialing style in lieu of judging these little hounds on their intended purpose of producing game consistantly in any condition. I read trialers crying all the time about not getting any score because they weren't put in any rabbits but maybe they never had the nose power to WORK one up. About any breed of dog can run a hot track but what I like to see is those that get them when the gettins tough. I'd have no problem breeding dogs with the nose power to open and move a track to the point of consistently producing their quarry.

[TC]

Beagles are hounds and hounds pursue game via scent. When a beagle opens then that dog is telling the world that it smells scent. When rabbit hunting I have never understood the phrase of "extra mouth". Yes, I have seen and owned beagles that opened the moment they smelled game and that in my book is what they are supposed to do. I'm of the opinion that those that do open are those that have the nose to do so and those that do not haven't got the nose. I have no problem with a dog that opens before the rabbit is up as that dog has a better nose than those that don't. IMO that dog is able to smell scent from when that rabbit was up or there would be nothing for it to smell. How can you fault that when the sole purpose of the breed is to persue game by scent and one can't pursue it if they can't smell it. I would much rather have them open up early than those that they call tight mouthed as I call them tight nosed, not mouthed. Some want to put brains into the mix but I even doubt that has anything to do with it either as I would venture to say that any beagle that opens on a cold scent track would test out to be of the same intelligence as those that only open on hot track. I personally would fault a hot nosed dog more than a cold nosed one and as others have stated if the game was thin you would certainly see real quickly why. I think a lot of this has come up due to putting so much emphasis on trialing style in lieu of judging these little hounds on their intended purpose of producing game consistantly in any condition. I read trialers crying all the time about not getting any score because they weren't put in any rabbits but maybe they never had the nose power to WORK one up. About any breed of dog can run a hot track but what I like to see is those that get them when the gettins tough. I'd have no problem breeding dogs with the nose power to open and move a track to the point of consistently producing their quarry.

Well said Wardog! These dogs are not sight hounds they are scent hounds. Grey hounds are for sight running rabbits. If you want a sight hound then you are in the wrong game with a beagle.

[BCBeagles]

Thanks again guys for the great insight! I am going to breed this female and see what I get. The male I have in mind should put nose and hunt together with upper
medium speed, perfect for me as a gunhunter. We will see how that works out in the future. I will probably keep several of the pups to see what I get. You can't find out
what you got if you don't try it. May end up with some nices ones you never know.

[steve688]

My ideal hound has to be able to cold track a little bit. I don't mean popping off here and there,and coming up empty. I mean making constant forward progress on a sensilble line and then producing the rabbit in 5 minutes or less. It's not like I'm out there with a stop watch, but 5 minutes is a long time to stand there wondering what is going on. I do agree that the hounds are able to do this have superior noses and shouldn't be disqualified at trials or culled from breeding. The way I see it, would you rather be sitting on the couch because your dog can't run under the conditions mother nature threw at you. Or, do you want to own a dog that can work an old track out and get you outside hunting on any day of the year. So, like I said; as long as the dog produces, I like it.