The American Beagler Forum

Hey Yall,
I'm new to the board. Man have I got a problem. I have three 8 month old litter mates that WERE running great for their age, all three can and have circled a rabbit around to the gun solo. All three pups have great hunt. About three weeks ago one of them opened on a rat while we were hunting a place with very few rabbits. Not listening to myself I follwed the advise of an older "houndsmen" who advised me not to scold her because rats and rabbits smell so much alike. Well to say the least that was about the dumbest thing I could have ever done. Since then that pup has taught her sisters the "art" of rat running. Here's my problem since field rats and rabbits live in such similar areas its hard to tell what they open on at first. After a few seconds it becomes obvious its a rat if they dont move the track at a reasonable pace which is upper med under good conditions. I want to put the collar to them but several folks say they will grow out of it. Any and all advise is greatly appreciated. THANX

i don't see how they will grow out of it as long as the rats are there.it shouldn't hurt them to shock them but start out with a light shocking and if they don't stop then turn it up a little each time.

hope this helps!!

My advise would be to make 100% sure it is a rat when you correct them and not a rabbit.Good Luck Jim

sorry but I have to comment on this, that old houndsman must have a pretty good nose to know that a rat and rabbits smell a lot alike, unless he had a talking hound that told him, red dawg this is a young hound ( a scent hound ) he is doing what comes natural to him, the only reason to be dissapointed in this little hound would be if he's not catching and killing the rats, I have had many a young hound scent field mice, rat, and birds, but to no long term effect. the dog will out grow this and its not a good idea to shock a young hound for being a hound. my older hounds will still kill every rat, mouse or mole that gets in the yard and on hunt day they still know their job chase the bunny. shock collars are a great tool but only when used wisely.

Almost all mine went after field mice etc. when they were young.Now It`s not a problem at all .i am sure they will grow out of it.Just keep feeding them rabbits.

When I built my 2 acre starting pen, I turned all my hounds out in it the first night it was secured just to let em run around and exercise. Within about 15 minutes all 10 hounds were bringing rats to me. Needless to say we got em all cleaned out before the rabbits went in. LOL I picked up a friend of mines female in a trial a couple of weeks ago for trailing rats around a deer feeder. So they may or may not grow out of it. They're young, just get em on rabbits. You can always shock em later.

I just went out and smelled them both and they do smell alike .
I had a pup last year that did the same thing. He did grow out of it.

oh yah I had a talk with him about how if I wanted a mouser I would own a cat

He realy did grow out of it. good luck

red dawg wrote:About three weeks ago one of them opened on a rat while we were hunting a place with very few rabbits.

Red Dawg,

The problem here isn't the dog, but rather the location you were hunting. You want to put young dogs in places that have plenty of rabbits. I wouldn't worry about them opening on rats. They'll figure it out, and you have already started to figure out the difference between when it's a rat or a rabbit.

Sometimes we want our dogs to advance too much too soon. At only 8 months old, they still have a lot of puppy in them and a lot to learn. Running rats is no problem when you consider all of the other things that could be going wrong. Just do your best to put them in places that have plenty of rabbits. Avoid any location that may lead to bad experiences.

Finally, when you find that place that has plenty of rabbits, just the right size, areas where you can see your hounds work, and little to no trash for them to get on;
KEEP IT TO YOUR SELF !

Thanks guys for all the advise. I have owned beagles since I was a teen and I am now in my 30's. I have had pups open on rats first then once they jumped that first rabbit things changed in a hurry. I have never had one running as good as these pups on rabbits start opening on rats. Seems kind of backwards to me. Maybe they got bored because the places I had been taking them to the 2 months before had plenty of rabbits. Ithink I'll start taking them one at a time with my older dogs. You are right things could be worse. (I know we're not suppose to curse on the board, but I'm going to say it anyway.) Thank God its not DEER!!!!!

red dawg wrote:Thanks guys for all the advise. I have owned beagles since I was a teen and I am now in my 30's. I have had pups open on rats first then once they jumped that first rabbit things changed in a hurry. I have never had one running as good as these pups on rabbits start opening on rats. Seems kind of backwards to me. Maybe they got bored because the places I had been taking them to the 2 months before had plenty of rabbits. Ithink I'll start taking them one at a time with my older dogs. You are right things could be worse. (I know we're not suppose to curse on the board, but I'm going to say it anyway.) Thank God its not DEER!!!!!

that will be next!!

bill (flint river ) wrote:

red dawg wrote:Thanks guys for all the advise. I have owned beagles since I was a teen and I am now in my 30's. I have had pups open on rats first then once they jumped that first rabbit things changed in a hurry. I have never had one running as good as these pups on rabbits start opening on rats. Seems kind of backwards to me. Maybe they got bored because the places I had been taking them to the 2 months before had plenty of rabbits. Ithink I'll start taking them one at a time with my older dogs. You are right things could be worse. (I know we're not suppose to curse on the board, but I'm going to say it anyway.) Thank God its not DEER!!!!!

that will be next!!

YOU always have to stir up the pot don't you. Get a life

Many thanks Joey,

Just because his dogs run deer does not mean mine will. And besides, my e collars make that idiotic statement simply preposterous. (notice the great use of $10 words)
And again many thanks guys.

My pups do it too. I can't count the times i've gotten excited to hear them open, only to see a field mouse run into the brush! They do seem to grow out of it though.

I see my dogs nosing around where I think there might be mouse nests and encourage them with 'mouse, where's the mouse.' They get all excited and snort and snuff and sometimes they eat a few. Then we go find rabbits. Maybe I'm not serious enough but the pig beagles on mouse nests crack me up. They seem to know the difference. Carolyn