The American Beagler Forum

OK my question is what makes a good rabbit dog? I have given a lot of thought to this question. I am wondering at what speed a pleasure hunter needs in a good dog. What other qualities would I be looking for? Should I get a female or a male for my first rabbit dog? I was looking at a litter here but the sire is unknown so I am going to pass those by. I will be looking for quality and I do see a lot of impressive dogs in the future litter category. The sad part it seems like all the good ones are in another state which makes it hard to purchase a good quality pup for a lack of transportation to its finally destination. I am not going to give up on my quest to acquire a good bred beagle pup it may just take me longer.

To me if you want a rabbit dog hunt is a must. You don't need a dog that stands at your feet. They gotta hit those thick brush and look hard for them.

I agree. It's all about hunt. If they don't have it, you can't put it them.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
a UBGF guy cant stand to watch a little pack dog, nor could a little pack style guy love a SPO brace dog .
its all what YOU like in a hound. both theses guys run a upper medium speed dog about a 6 or 7 they will tell ya.
and its the truth on their scale.[u

I agree find a line with lots of hunt.
But I found there is 2 kinds of hunt so be specific when asking. there is run around all over the place looking for a line that takes them to a rabbit.
and there is the grubby kind of hunt that looks under any and everything a rabbit could hide in or under.
go watch some trails before you buy a dog/pup. make sure you like that style. (and there are several) watch the sire and dam or litter mates off a prior cross.
the one most important piece of advice I could pass on is ,
Know exactly what you want before you go buy something.
this will save you lot 's of money and time.

Steve

Hunt, Time/Experience, and rabbit tracks.

Rabbits.If I wanted some good old pleasure rabbit dogs I would go to a TCP trial and look and ask ? lots of good dogs there and some good men there that know how to put a pack together. I am sure there will be somebody there glad to help out.

Casey Harner wrote:Hunt, Time/Experience, and rabbit tracks.

I wouldn't go to a trail to find a rabbit dog. If your goal is to rabbit hunt and kill rabbits not every trail dog is what I call a rabbit dog. By hunt I mean get in the thick and search. You don't want a dog that crosses the hill because its looking for only a hot track. I've seen trail dogs you couldn't kill rabbits on. They don't have the hunt. Foot doesn't matter when it comes to gun hunting as long as that dog hunts hard. If they hunt hard more then likely they know how to move a rabbit too regardless of foot. Brains is the second for me. If they can find a rabbit and have the brains they can track it will and keep it going. Even after it's lost. Granted the more tracks you give a dog the better one will become. Running is important.

this is what a rabbit dog looks like

Brains, nose, hunt..............

I would advise against a pup to start. Get an older dog that can train you while you learn from it then get a young dog already doing what you want. Cheaper to buy what you want than to go through so many, feed them to get what you could of bought for half the price and no headaches.

the one that suits u . they come in all different speeds. sizes etc. so u might seek out some people who have hounds and watch there dogs . and see what ones suits u. so my sugestion is to get alittle hound education then buy a hound. but in my opinion brains nose hunt. are key traits for a good hound.

Ole Mule wrote:The sad part it seems like all the good ones are in another state which makes it hard to purchase a good quality pup for a lack of transportation to its finally destination. I am not going to give up on my quest to acquire a good bred beagle pup it may just take me longer.

Why do you think all the good rabbit dogs are in another state? The further away, its more difficult to be sure of what you are buying. Dogs are the same where ever they are located. The salesman can take more liberties with the advertisement if he is out of state.
Be wise, buy close to home,

The number one thing you need is patience. Take the time to know what you like and want in a dog. Take the time to know who is hunting and breeding rabbit dogs close to you. Rabbit dogs. Not ribbon chasers. Field trials are ok to check out but find out which field trailers kill rabbits without apology and will miss a trial to go hunting. There will be a few at every trial, if your lucky everyone at the trial will be like that. Good luck and stay patient.

What makes a good rabbit dog... That's a pretty broad spread question, cause a rabbit dog to one may be junk to another. First thing I would take into consideration is what style of hound you prefer to run and hunt with. Next if I was just starting, I would do what Alabama John recommended. Go ahead and get a broke dog to the style you prefer. It will prob cost you more, but you will save time and money by going this route, plus it will help you decide if the style you thought you wanted is really what you wanted. Then purchase you a younger hound to run with it.

But what makes a rabbit dog?
Handler wise,
- the willingness to give as much attention to your hounds as you can. Loading them up and run, run, run. Try to keep them in rabbits.
-Patience, every dog differs from one another. I don't care if there littermates. It might take one pup 6 months for them have the switch flipped, and littermate might be a year, for them to flip there switch.
-Ability to decide to cull or keep.

Hound wise...
- hound as got to hunt
- heart and desire to pursue it's game
- brains, capability of learning from its wrongs, improving over period of time
- adaptability, to run to his or her potential no matter the terrain

Main thing to remember, is to have fun with it. Nothing better than hound therapy.