The American Beagler Forum

i was just wandering if a tame rabbit smells like a wild rabbit, have heard of people starting beagles with them and was wandering if they smell the same?

Most of the young dogs I have started would run on them, but not real great. I have seen many old dogs that really would do
very little with them. Just my experience.

The last two pups I have had started, were started on tame rabbits in a enclosure. Black, white and orange brown, you just have to find some that will run. After started running good on tame rabbit just start taking them to the wild with older dog and they will go.

they all smell the same to me.[ just kiding ] i've been using tame rabbits for 10 years. any rabbit will work.

I start all my pups on a San Juan rabbit. Never had one pup that started on tame rabbits that didn't immediately switch to cottontails when given an opportunty. They must have similar scent.

My own opinion is that fooling with tame rabbits is basically a waste of time and proves almost nothing in regards to your dogs future ability.Tame rabbits run nothing like a wild rabbit,they are much stronger smelling then wild cottontails and pups will usually open a lot more on a tame rabbit then they ever will on a wild rabbit.From my experience they basically have very little stamina no matter how long you let them live in the enclosure and the several occasions when I stocked them in my 5 acre pen the 16 week old pups from Blue Ninja breeding would run them down in a matter of minutes and kill them.Maybe other lines of beagles from medium speed or conservative backgrounds would work differently but the dogs I keep catch them real quick.
I just like to start my pups on wild rabbits right from the get go and in the wild.I think starting pens often cause more problems for young dogs then they help with sight chases ,too plentiful game,unsupervised running,not handling,being dumped in with too many others and often with faulty running mates,etc.
Tame rabbits and little small starting pens are fun to fool with real young pups in but as to helping them "be all they can be" or in assessing their future potential as a grown rabbit dog I think they are way over rated.

shady grove turn a couple of san jauns loose in the wild for about a month then try to catch them,,,

Ringtail
I stand by my previous post.As always just my humble opinion based on my own hounds.

i baught 50 smokey mt cottontails a couple years ago turned them loose at different spots on out hunting lease i waited a lil over 2 weeks n took 2 7 or 8 month old pups back there let them loose the pups caught 4 or 5 of those rabbits before i could catch my pups just imagine what a fox or a coyote did to those rabbits they got wiped out in no time jb

mine have been chased with 4 wheelers , bikes and dogs and they can flat scoot,,,,,now i have a big thicket,,,,and buildings they can get under,,,,,,