The American Beagler Forum

if you could only have one beagle would it be a male or female and why

If I only could have 1 beagle I would get a male. Simply because females have a heat cylce.

It would be a 15" Male by the name of Duke.
Why? I already have him and have invested 3 years of running and trialing into him and to be honest I just like him alot.

I now also have his son Legendary Earl and he is going to grow up to be a Male too so I think I want to have 2 beagles and they both will be Males.

Females hands down. Easier to train and have one thing on there mind when in the field and that hunting. Males have to P on everytree they come to for the first 10 mins of the day marking territory and if a female should be in season a male will come off the line to check her and even try breeding her.


Jason

why do alot of people say females are better hunters than males

Generally:

Males and more aggressive and bold - good and bad! They do have to pee on everything and try to breed anything that stands still and are basically in heat year round. They tend to be harder headed and harder to break. However, a good male is hard to beat! Look at the top trial beagles in any registry where the males and females compete. I have never done an actual count but I THINK the males out number the females in the top slots.

Females are less aggressive and bold- good and bad! The are generally easier to train and handle (more obidient and receptive to your directions). Hoever, they are more likely to be shy or upset by strange dogs, people, or surroundings. They do not hold up as well as males when hunted hard and do not bounce back as fast after being run hard either. Last but not least is the 3 to 6 weeks per year they are out of commission.

If you want to have pups of course, the female is a necessity. For $200 plus a brucellosis test you can get use of almost any male in the country!

I personally keep about the same number of each sex.

jkidd5 wrote:Females hands down. Easier to train and have one thing on there mind when in the field and that hunting. Males have to P on everytree they come to for the first 10 mins of the day marking territory and if a female should be in season a male will come off the line to check her and even try breeding her.


Jason

If that is the case with Your Males then I think You have the wrong Bloodline,Iam not trying to start a argument,but that is all I hunt,and I will put them up against any pack of females.

Male or female does not matter to me. If I could have only one dog it would be the best rabbit dog I could find and sex would not matter.

If I could only have one dog. I would have a male and I would have my male dog Buster because he can solo a rabbit awesome, Hunts good and close, and listen better than any of my dogs I have owned. When I go hunting by myself he is all I take.

Jason

Female,way more level headed and better hunters on average. It would be my Dixie dog,she does it all great.

I keep more males than females because I hate heat cycles and males are more durable over the long haul(in my opinion). With that being said I try to keep good dogs and what sex they are doesn't play a major role for me if they are good. I do agree with chuck Terry, when you get a good male you have something special. In most of the hunts I go to males run with females and the males seem to dominate when it gets down to the nitty gritty at a big hunt. In order for a female to stay in my kennel she must have something special about her. I only breed or keep females that I think are above average in everything hunt, control, brains, size, speed and grit.

Big Dog

Terrry Sudduth wrote:
If that is the case with Your Males then I think You have the wrong Bloodline,Iam not trying to start a argument,but that is all I hunt,and I will put them up against any pack of females.

So your saying that none of your males go around Peeing on trees or if a female is around thats coming in or going out of heat that they dont try to breed... if so you might have the wrong blood line as its gonna end with the males you got.

Not starting anything here but don't tell me that blood determines if a male is going to breed or not. I've seen quite a few different males over the years and all of them are the same... If a female is in heat thats all they got on there mind. If you take that female out of the pack then they will go back to hunting.

As for putting your pack of males against ANY pack of females I gots 4 females that I might just take ya up on with...... Not saying mine or the best but I have never been put to shame with em and Ive put them up against quite a few packs of dogs. I don't trail much only 2 or 3 spo trials a year so I don't have any fancy trophies or titles but quite a few folks that have seen mine said they would champion in PP EASY.... Im all about the dog and only keep or breed those that are worthy. Ive had 1 litter in 3 years and have 4 of the pups here still 3 of which will most likely find a place in my pack if they keep doing what they are. I don't breed for folks to buy pups from me and don't plan on it. I have my line you have yours and to each his own.

Jason

Everybody has likes and dislikes. I like females bar none. I have owned hounds for 30 years.In that time I have owned 2 outstanding ones both females. Several decent dogs and my share of sorry ones.I just gun hunt and pack run with friends no trialing. I went to the Ky State hunt as an observer males seem to out number the females. I would have no desire to try and rabbit hunt with a pack of males.For those that do more power to them.My hunting buddy finished ninth in the open class with his male I was happy for him. I only keep 3 or 4 dogs at most.They are females.Just my 2 cents worth

whats good about males and whats good about females and then ill pick out what i like in a dog

It isn't that simple as listing things about males and females and just picking one. Every dog is different and everyone has their likes based thier own personal criteria. If you don't want to deal with heat cycles twice a year then go with a male, if you don't mind the heat cycles then go with a female. The breeding of the dog will play more of a role in it's traits and ability than it's gender.

Big Dog