The American Beagler Forum

Hi All,

History:
I've been a frequent viewer and posted to this board over the past and have found it very helpful and thank you all for your insight and suggestions. I would consider myself new to the sport of beagling and am in it strictly for hunting purposes(I've had my own dog for three years now). I've been around beagles all my life as my grandfather was an avvid rabbit hunter and have recently started with my own dogs after he passed away.

I currently have a three year old female which I bought as a pup and have trained myself. For hunting purposes I would call her an adequent dog with her major faults being rather slow(not always a bad thing and she does have different gears based on conditions) and she will not hark to other dogs which I think think this is due to to her being trained exclusively solo for her first 2-1/2 years. This spring I had her bred to my uncle's dog and the pups are now 10wks old and showing some real promise already, looks like I may have gotten good traits from both sides of the breeding.

Here are some questions I have as I train this new pup:

1. While my female listens well, she does not know the "down" command. I would like to improve this with the pup and am wondering what regiment to use to train this.

2. Anything I can do at this time with the female to improve harking to other dogs? The biggest obstacle I may have with this is other dogs I have to run with are of a faster speed and she doesn't keep up.

3. I have been exposed to a new friend through beagles who has a 1yr old female. She is EXTREMELY high strung and incredibly fast but her line control is horrible. I already know I can't and won't run this pup with her. She is a good jump dog but when running she swings wide(20-30yards) back and forth across the line and opens each time she crosses, never settling in and running steady. If she were mine I'd have culled by now but I can tell this person to do this. Any advise I can offer him on training to improve her running style?

Thanks again for all your advice

Brian Ott
Appleton, WI

P.S. There seems to be a bumper crop of rabbit here in NE WI this spring

I'm working with four very young pups right now. The down command is a key part of early training. When you enter the pen and she comes to you tell her down and gently push her to the ground. If you are training her to the leash, which you should be by now, each time you go to her to leash her up, tell her down, and gently push her down. Repitition is the key. My older hounds will down by command while they are several yards away, very handy when it comes time to pick them up after a long days running or hunting.

You may think this sounds funny, but to help her hark, when the other hounds open, run to and after them calling the females name. Eventually she should get the idea.

As for your friends hound, some hounds are just loose and wild and there is nothing you can do to fix them. I would try a hound I know was solid and wouldn't be tempted to get rough like it is, but one that is close and could cut her to shreds everytime she got rough or swung off the track. If there's any hope for the hound, she'll be smart enough to see the other hound is cutting her everytime she gets rough, and start running smoother. By no means would I run the pup with that hound, or my other unless I was sure she was solid enough not to pick up bad habits.

You got most of it figured out. Go hunting with your friend and his dog alone a few times. If it gets no better, start acting like you are really bored with your friends dog which you will be if it runs like you said. Maybe he will get the drift. If that don't work, tell your friend to change his dogs address and then go home and change your phone number so he can't call you to go hunting anymore. Of course I am kidding and it is a tough situation if your friend can't see that his dog is not doing well. Good luck!

Start teaching the down command at about 6 weeks using the above describe method or the come command I never used down commands until I start going to trials because I would never take a dog off the line until that race was finished either they holed it , or it was killed or would call them off on a hard check. That is one thing I don't like in trialing is taking dogs off hot ,open tracks and will not do it to young dogs thats one reson I don't trial young hounds , rthe others I will not go into. As for getting the dog to harking in I would suggest releasing her let her get a rabbit started and then releasing a decent dog of similar speed to help her. I have always had good luck with kenneling dogs together for several days and then take them hunting together. Running her with a quicker dog is not helping her at all to harken-in. It is probably the wrong thing to do. I would strongly reccommend finding one with a style close to hers to run her with. This is about the only true advise that I can give for certain. IF YOU ARE NOT ENJOYING YOUR HOUNDS YOU REALLY ARE MISSING THE POINT. so train those pups to suit yourself and don't worry about what others think . You are feeding them make them enjoyable for you. If I run dogs with complainers I usually only make one trip. If I run with people I enjoy being with and that enjoy their hounds I invite them back.I can taking riving over my faulty hounds and I can rive you over your good ones as long as it is for fun but I hate for anyone to downgrade my hounds and mean it. I'm getting off course here, so the biggest suggestion is enjoy them . Man!! that rush when that pup harkings the first time and when they jump their first rabbit . That is where it is . Good Luck