Low Maintenance Line Of Hounds

[chris1971]

Wanted to know if any of you guys feel that a certian bloodline of dogs are lower maintenance. What I mean is that I have seen some dogs that have to be run all the time to be consistant and I have seen others of a different line that seem to be the same day in and day out. I have seen one female in particular that she ran the same after a summer off as she did at the end of season. She was clean and smooth everytime out of the box. I have a young female that gives to much mouth if she is not run up but after she is she smooths up. I know some of that is age but is some of it just the line of dog?

[craigmcm]

I totally believe certain dogs have a training regiment that fits them the best. Whether or not that is bloodline based, I'm not sure. I know of two litter mate males that are opposite. One needs a ton of ground time each week to be trial ready. The other not so much.

Btw the pic below is my little bitch Spunky Monkey lol

Thought our dogs names were interesting!!!

[dhoundman]

I completely understand what you are saying. I had a little grade female that was like that . We ran together till the day I gave her to these twine boys as a house pet she was old and could not run for more the one rabbit race then she would come lay beside me till the other dogs got one going again then she would go run for while , but any way she ran great no matter how much you did or did not run her. man would love another dog like that. but they come along once in a life time.

Don't think it is a blood line cause blood lines worry to much about all the other things they think are so &%^&*^ important. Such as speed /control/nose/hunt/mouth/check/and the list goes on and on
just give me a dog that can run a rabbit around before I freeze to death make some good music while they are doing it and I am happy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[east80kennels]

no mine still eat the same just as much everytime out u go feed em

[Casey Harner]

it all depends on the dog, I've seen some that need the extra miles, and some that are the same day in and day out, without the down time...

[BCBeagles]

IMO, I cant see this being line specific. I feel conditioning is a major factor. I don't lay mine up for any extended period so this won't affect me, but if I did and they could not get back to a decent level in a reasonably short time, I would be looking for other hounds to fit my situation better, again my opinions.

I feel it is individual dog specific. Find what works and go with it.

I have 2 that are very low maintanence and one that a day or two of running takes away the "edge" of inconsistancy. He performs, just not as sharp and focused. Running zones him in, is he a weaker dog, I guess in that respect yes, but tuned in he is just as good if not better than them in all areas.

[chris1971]

I am sure it probably has more to do with the dog but man wouldn't it be nice to isolate this trait and breed for it but then again you would also be giving up on some other trait i'm sure. Guess just being a little lazy but with two boys signed up for sports, work, and keeping things up around the house it would be nice to have dogs that needed limited amounts of running to stay consistant. So on we run!

[Steve CLK]

I totally believe certain dogs have a training regiment that fits them the best. Whether or not that is bloodline based, I'm not sure. I know of two litter mate males that are opposite. One needs a ton of ground time each week to be trial ready. The other not so much.

Btw the pic below is my little bitch Spunky Monkey lol

Thought our dogs names were interesting!!!

Craig,

Just wondering what do you call your dog in the field. I get a smile on my face everytime Chris and I are running dogs and we are gathering them up and he starts yelling "monkey, monkey, monkey". I have often wondered what other people thought when they hear us yelling his name over and over. But, its catchy!

[gun runner]

I am sure it probably has more to do with the dog but man wouldn't it be nice to isolate this trait and breed for it but then again you would also be giving up on some other trait i'm sure. Guess just being a little lazy but with two boys signed up for sports, work, and keeping things up around the house it would be nice to have dogs that needed limited amounts of running to stay consistant. So on we run!

That would be nice,i also have a full deck of cards in my hand.Back to the question my speedy sport is about the same ever time i drop the gate

[chris1971]

Monkey.JPG (53.76 KiB) Viewed 1273 times

Here are my two Monkeys!

[jdwiley]

I've got a male that doesn't require a lot of run time. Matter of fact, he looks better at the beginning of season than the end! The rest of my hounds are of the same blood, more or less. I saw a huge improvement in them through season.
But in this particular males case, I pushed him pretty hard at a young age trialing. I let him run the yard, and work the other three more this off-season!

[craigmcm]

Haha I usually just call her Spunk. Although when at trials and they call her full name out, there is usually a giggle or few smiles on people faces when the here it!!!

[Pine Mt Beagles]

By low maintenance ,,I would think of Food cost, and Veterinary bill's, plus down time to heal.

These trait's can be somewhat blood line specific,,some hound's eat more than other's to stay in the same shape ,some can run 4 or 5 day's a week with out their eye's swelling shut having sore feet ear's torn up tail's beat off etc. I have saw some good hound's that could run 8 or 10 hour's for a couple of day's or night's but,took a week or more for their eye's and ear's to heal before you could run them again.Then other's running in the same pack ,just keep Running with out getting torn up to bad to run .The very best hound is limited if it can only run a couple of day's with out being laid up.


Of course Conformation play's a big part in much of this.and some blood line's show much better conformation than other's.

So we are back to Blood Line's....Again.....

[chris1971]

Sorry didnt mean that kind of maintenance. I was talking about hounds that need constant running to fix some small quirk or inconsistancy. To much mouth ect.

[JCM]

In my opinion, there is no doubt that certain lines of dogs respond differently to hours in the field. I run a lot and over the years have sorted through dogs to find dogs that can stand as much running as I want. I have seen lines that respond to hard training and others that don't do as well. It's not a criticism of these lines. They just are not cut out to take the kind and amount of running that I like to do.

I have seen many dogs out of a certain line that can only take limited amounts of training and pressure. When you don't push them over their limit they can make really good dogs and be very competitive in competition. If you push them over their limit they tend to get rough and have some issues with extra mouth. These dogs are perfect for a guy with a family, or other hobbies that only runs 2 or 3 times a week for a couple of hours each time. When you take the dogs out of this line and pound them day after day in the clearcuts they get real faulty.

Again, this is not finding fault with the dogs in this line. I just think lines of dogs respond differently to different styles of training. In my opinion, the key to enjoying your hounds is finding ones that fit with the way you run, and the hours you spend each week running them.