The American Beagler Forum

This question was ask at the last trial.What the different between a gun dog beagle that is hunting all the time than a beagle that trials all the time.There all till running a rabbit.We had a lot of input on this at the club.Please just your opion not jump on somebody eles opion.

im not 100% sure of this so dont bank on it . but i thought i read once in one format in akc a beagle has to be gunned over while runnin to be a champion.

I see no differences. I trial my hounds and I gun hunt my hounds and they do a good job at both.
To me, it's someone's excuse for not wanting to trial there hounds which is totally up to them but a good RABBIT HOUND should be able to do both.

hounddog
Jim Umbarger

maybe it is a fear of lossing.

the difference i see is one format is running your dogs for trophies and to see how your dogs compare against other dogs that you normally wouldnt get to hunt with.The other format your your running your dogs for food and as much as i like competion and trophies i gotta say that this fat boy really likes to eat.

The way I see it is any good trial dog better be a good hunting dog as well. On the other hand a good hunting dog might not make a good trial dog in certain formats because of the manner in which he hunts. The goal of hunting would be to find, jump, trail, and circle the rabbit to the gun. The manner in which he does this is really not important as long as he accomplishes his task in a timely fashion. Extra mouth in checks, swinging, over running, etc, are trial faults that don't really matter to some hunters, as long as the dog circles the rabbit to the gun. Truly accomplishment over style. JMO. Brian.

hounddog wrote:I see no differences. I trial my hounds and I gun hunt my hounds and they do a good job at both.
To me, it's someone's excuse for not wanting to trial there hounds which is totally up to them but a good RABBIT HOUND should be able to do both.

hounddog
Jim Umbarger

Well said Jim, my sentiments exactly ! Trials have opened my eyes to what is out there.
Anthony

I think it is according to the format or type of hunt and how it is scored. IMO anything not in the wild is not going to be like hunting.

I run my dogs every day all year long and I never gun hunt over them. Why kill a rabbit today when you can run him tomorrow? It dosn`t take much of a dog to circle a rabit once. Each time the rabbit trys to lose the hounds in a different way. When you shoot a rabbit it just ends a good race. Let the rabbit hole up or let the dogs catch him. I can think of a hell of a lot better things to eat then a rabbit. Most of the people I know that do kill rabbits give them away anyway. When it is gun season in KY I run my dogs at night anyway. The only reason I ever run dogs in compatition was to bullshit with other beagles and see how the running was in different places. It`s getting harder every day to find places with rabbits around here, so why should you kill them?

im a rabbit hunter! you kill the rabbits and let the dogs get that taste in their mouth.....i like to go to some trails dont get me wrong but you kill rabbits to praise your dogs and to eat as well... i think thats why you kill them

Steve, I think you've got away from the question altogether but just a little input to your situation and questions. First of all, I don't shoot a lot of rabbits myself but that is what I choose to do. A beagle was born and bred to rabbit hunt with.
I do know that there are some places that lack a good population of rabbits but on the other hand, there are places that are eat up with them and there are a lot of hunters that enjoy eating them. I'm like you as far as better things to eat but the main thing here is TO EACH HIS OWN. You cannot bash someone for hunting or doing things that are different than the way you do them. I say if you have the rabbits and you don't waste them, then shoot what you want. Remember though, you are first hand game manager to the property that you hunt, so no whining if you shoot all the rabbits and then complain there are none. Just the way that I see things.

hounddog
Jim Umbarger

The difference is Competition from the many oyher dogs in the c;lass that makes the dog run rougher alot of times and swing etc. After a trial season your gun dog is a bit crazier from always trying to keep up or in the front. Some are worse than others ofcourse. When hunting the cometition is much less and the dog smoothes out. You may run 4-6 dogs hunting but the pressure is not the same as a class of conditioned and FC hounds. Hounds love the kill of the hunt, it can give them even more desire to go all day too. Maybe even retrieve if your really lucky.

The purpose.
A gun dog's purpose in life is to bring the rabbit around to the gun in all conditions.
A trial dog's purpose in life is to beat the other dog based on the rules of the format.

Faults in a gun dog such as incorrect use of mouth, conformation, etc. are not judged as harshly as long as the dog works with the pack and brings the rabbit back around.

People will accept a lot more faults in a trial dog as long as it wins.
That is why you see some trial dogs that have faults like no hunt, too fast, creating losses/over runs, run the front at all costs even though it doesn't have the line therefore not being able to run its rabbit.

I like a hard hitting, upper medium speed dog, but it has to have a ton of hunt, be able to run its own rabbit, and have good conformation.

hounddog wrote:I see no differences. I trial my hounds and I gun hunt my hounds and they do a good job at both.
To me, it's someone's excuse for not wanting to trial there hounds which is totally up to them but a good RABBIT HOUND should be able to do both.

hounddog
Jim Umbarger

A good rabbit dog will do well at both.
That is why I said "some" trial dogs. I enjoy trials, it has let me see a lot of dogs run in different conditions.
This exposure has let me figure out exactly what I want in a dog.
I want a dog that knows its place in the pack, contributes, and can run the front when it is at the front.

Casting the dogs at a trial once I noticed a dog that's ears were ragged and the tip of his tail was well worn. He belonged to a nice guy that was there for his first trial with his best Rabbit Dog.

A strike was made an the pack was pushing hard. We saw the rabbit cross a logging path and one dog returned to the owners side. It was the ragged eared dog. The owner said " I've never seen him do this while rabbit hunting with my pack".

I'm sure this dog is a nice gun dog and could run a rabbit.

Trials expose beagles to pressure and running with different dogs. We can then see how they will handle it.