The American Beagler Forum

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to hear you opinions on what is the best age to start a pup. I know some dogs will track at two or three months. Will this build bad habbits. Just interested in everybody's opinion and or story.

Thank you
Dan

Well i'm a firm believer that the more you mess with a dog the better it will be. But as far as actually starting one, I think around six months is a good time to take them to a starting pen or try to start them in the wild yourself. but prior to that there are many things you can do to help your pup along. Teaching them basic commands, throwing some treats in the grass and teaching them to use there nose to find it. Just about anything you can think of that would be helpful later in the puppy's life.

rmiller wrote:Well i'm a firm believer that the more you mess with a dog the better it will be. But as far as actually starting one, I think around six months is a good time to take them to a starting pen or try to start them in the wild yourself. but prior to that there are many things you can do to help your pup along. Teaching them basic commands, throwing some treats in the grass and teaching them to use there nose to find it. Just about anything you can think of that would be helpful later in the puppy's life.

X2 great advise.

Rabbit buster wrote:

rmiller wrote:Well i'm a firm believer that the more you mess with a dog the better it will be. But as far as actually starting one, I think around six months is a good time to take them to a starting pen or try to start them in the wild yourself. but prior to that there are many things you can do to help your pup along. Teaching them basic commands, throwing some treats in the grass and teaching them to use there nose to find it. Just about anything you can think of that would be helpful later in the puppy's life.

X2 great advise.

X 3

Thanks guys

dsr7934 wrote:Hello everyone,

I just wanted to hear you opinions on what is the best age to start a pup. I know some dogs will track at two or three months. Will this build bad habbits. Just interested in everybody's opinion and or story.

Thank you
Dan

I usually start messing with the pup at a very young age , with handling and using their nose in the yard.
As far as starting I let the puppy tell me when they are ready, as some mature quicker than others.
I have some pups that will start at around 3 months old and some not until they are about 9 months old.
It just depends on their maturity level, as well as other factors such as how many puppies I have to mess
with at that time.

I agree mdbeagler.I will put my pup in the woods every time i take the pack out,Iam lucky enough to have a bunch of rabbits out there,He will get the hang of it every pup is not the same.But he will go when he is ready

The ony reason I dont like starting mine before six months is body size and strength to me if a pup has a hard time getting through the brush the learn to go around, and they can pick up some bad habits.

I start mine as soon as they are able to stay in the neighborhood with the big dogs. I call it "being raised in the bush". By the time they are a year old they will either be doing what they are supposed to do or they will be gone. My buddy and I used this method on 3 males from the same litter this year. They are now 11 months old and outstanding.

I have a pup that will be 7 months old in a few days that has been running since he was 3 months old. As of right now he by far exceeds my expectations. He is the first I have started at that age. I usually dont start them til they are 6 months. But I am glad he went on and started. Cause the job he is doing in the field.

I start messing with my pups at 5 months old. I usually know when they are ready by how they act. When they run around with there nose and heads in the air they are too young. The minute they start putting there noses on the ground and investigating scent I start showing them rabbits and taking them out with an older dog. Mine usually start at 5 1/2 months old. Once started well I solo them for a while and then start throwing in some brace time with an older dog. I can usually hunt solo with a pup there first winter and shoot rabbits. Watch the videos below. Most of them have Rangerdan and or Speedy Sport in there blood line....DH

Castanella's Gina







Castanella"s Nina



Castanella's Marky Mark