The American Beagler Forum

I maintain that it is the field trial people that give this sport its popularity and credence. The people who campaign their dogs should be applauded because the give us the stud dogs of the future and the interest of the day.

If it was not for field trials. How would we know what was out there? Been there and done that it takes cash and endless time to compete in any format, when ol spot is hot ya gotta go because judges seem to look a little harder if ol spot just won the last one. I have often thought how much money ol Don Hogue has spent over the years and he has finished a truck load, not to point don out but these trials are not cheap then you throw the rest of your expenses in . Everett Morgan once said that the Arha was founded for the poor man. Well the last world hunt i was out i probaly spent 500 bucks. Imho Trialers have cut the way for all of us including myself.

MVK: You put it very nicely. I would hope more trialers that are familiar with the effort will speak out.

Trialing is the only way to measure success in beagling IMO. Any dog in my house will put rabbits in front of my gun but the ones that trial and do well make a name for themselves, and leave the way for others who cant trial to use as a stud dog. They of course go by his performance in trialing, not the # of rabbits i kill over him.

I am an extreme novice at trialing, but I have witnessed the most complete hounds I have seen in the sport at the trials. The FC's I have seen and the IFC I have seen rank up with best I have ever seen and probably will ever seen. The trials are viewed by educated houndsmen, be it they like one style or another. You cannot argue the hounds that get selected to go to the winners packs have had extreme time put into them and they would be deadly in the field to kill rabbits with. They also would be hounds I would like pups out of. JMO.

How many of you woke up one day and said, field trialing is cool so i'm gonna get a dog and do it???

Prob not many.. Most of us either grew up with a gun dog or got a beagle cause they liked shooting rabbits.... then got into field trialing when we were hooked. Field trialing is super fun at times but really my passin is chasin rabbits not trophies and my dogs only have to prove themselves to me...

Just remember not so long ago the beagle as a hunting dog was in real trouble,due to fads in field trials, not knocking brace trialers they do what they like.But if it were not for the gun hunters and pleasure runners the beagle could have gone to the wayside as did the Irish Setter and others.Good houndsmen have always kept their sights on what a beagle has been bred for,hunting and the thrill of the chase.Field trials are great ways to meet new people,compare hounds and have fun,but the true backbone to beagles and their future are the dedicated houndsmen that run their hounds for the pure pleasure of owning hounds no matter how many ribbons,or rabbits are brought home.Al

trialing encourages you to better your dogs to compete and win but gun hunting keeps dogs well rounded. i believe good dogs are easier to come by because of trialing. i believe the scale is balanced between the two because so many trialers are dedicated gun hunters.checks and balances.

I answered yes, I'm a trialer.
But , I'm a houndsman first. I trial because I like it. I like the people and atmosphere at trials. I simply like to see how a dog of mine compares to others. But I just love to run and work dogs period. Trial or no trial.
I do think trialing helps promote the sport , and helps guys gauge their dogs against other dogs. I've come away from trials happy with my dogs performance, ribbon or not, and I have come away with disappointment in my dog . But I always have a good time. It's not the best feeling to get beat, but it's great to see a dog win that beats ya fair and square. Give credit , where credit is due.
I've said to some before, I like to see good dog work,I just hope that my dog is one doing some of it.

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I would say there are way more people that rabbit hunt. There's a lot of people that don't trial or get on this board. I see new hounds man all the time just in my area and most only hunt

I am glad to see that "stupid question" is being out voted.

IMO and this is just a gun hunters opinion, If the beagle world relies on the Trialer to carry on the "Hunting Beagle" breed the 1st thing we would have to do is rename it the "Chasing Beagle". The 1ST thing i look for in a hound is HUNT, the 2nd thing is HUNT, AND THE LAST THING I LOOK FOR IS HUNT. Between the 2nd and last thing theres a couple other things i like to see but it seems i cant find the first 2 anymore as much as i would like let alone the last thing. If you cant find the rabbit then what good is a chasing beagle? Im not talking about a hound that has its nose stuck to the ground all the time either, a hunting beagle looks with its eyes as much as it does its nose, and uses wind to its advantage in trying to catch the scent of a rabbit in its nest. Just like we walk thru the woods and see a good spot where one could be hiding a good hunting beagle should do the same. I am guilty myself as ive kept some great chasing beagles, but i can guarantee i have never bred a chasing beagle. Im not saying all trialers are guilty of this either but the ones that are know who they are and the ones who are doing it right please keep doing so.

Dang it, I knew this thread would suck me in but here goes. I often wondered how a lot of guys say, either selling a hound or describing one, it is the best hound I've ever seen. I'm talking about guys that don't trial and never do anything but just hunt. That comment leads me to this guestion. How Many hounds have you ever seen run. 10 maybe 20 different hounds run? Is that enough hounds to be a good judge of what a good hound is. Yeah, they might bring the rabbit to the gun but I have a lab that will do that.
I, myself, have traveled the country, trialing hounds, judging hounds, hunting hounds and yes, I have seen some very nice hounds go. I owe all of this to trialing. It's so easy to become kennel blind if you've never seen very many hounds go.
I've owns hounds out of just about every Mid West bloodline there is out there, along with patch hounds. I've had good and bad in all of them. That's just how it is. I now breed for one certain format, and the hounds that have done well in that format. So far so good.
I must say by trialing, I know what it takes for a hound to be a complete hound.
As always JMO

hounddog
Jim Umbarger

You dont have to be a trialer to have traveled the country and watch hounds go when you are serious about having the best you can get. I for one as a gunner and pleasure runner have seen more dogs go and have probably spent a small fortune, like a lot have, trying to get what i want. You dont have to be a trialer to know what a complete hound is. JMO