The American Beagler Forum

Just wanted to get some ideas on how I should get started again ive had beagles most of my life done a lil bit of trialing when my boys were young now they have grown and gone and I don't have a dog left on the farm lol I have spent several yrs working my life away and now I went to a position that gives me plenty of time to run dogs again anyway to get to the point I will probably not field trial again but I want to build a good pack of good akc hounds I know that takes yrs to do I really don't want to build a starting pen but I have plenty of places to run dogs the big ? is in your opinion should I spend a lot of money and find a good old slow dog to start young dogs or buy good bloodline pups and hope they have the instinct or "brains " to start on their own ? how did you all get em started ? Thank You for any advice

I got two well bred pups from David Bowers and started them with tame rabbits. They have a beautiful voice both are black and tan and they are sisters. These are the first two beagles I have ever owned so training and hunting them is a first time adventure for me. I know papers does not make a dog but these two pups have five World Champions in there background plus multiple other titles, I think I got a good start with good blood. So yes I do believe genes are passed down from generation to generation so I was looking for parents and grand parents and great grand parents that were field trailed or came from field trail stock that was the real deal when it came to rabbit hunting. They were proven so I felt comfortable that my pups would do alright and maybe teach me more than I could teach them.

I would spend the money and get quality bred pups before I would build a starting pen. You can send them to someone else's pen if you don't have enough rabbits around to start them easily. I am lucky enough to have several around the house and can usually start pups quickly here at home. A starting pen is a lot of expense in the beginning and I would rather have the best bred pups I can get! That's just my opinions thow. If you want to be running sooner, I would take that money and buy a well started dog or two. Look around and go watch some dogs run so you know what style you like before you buy! So many different styles of beagles out there, it's amazing how diverse one breed of dog can be!

Before you ever get a dog or a pup or a starting pen. Get the very best tracking/shock collar system you can. This will save you time and maybe even the pup, who will try a deer. Just my opinion.

Good point, Dale. Tracking/shock collars give us a lot of confidence and reduce the panic of not knowing where our dogs are.

Get well-bred pups and get them out often. Don't be too eager to get them with an older dog. They sometimes learn to follow dogs and not run rabbits. It takes time to get pups running well. Be patient or get a started dog.

Thanks guys im starting on my above ground kennels today ive got quite of few rabbits runnin around here maybe ill try it from scratch never done that b4 always used older dogs to start my pups guess it aint gonna hurt to try I do have a trackin system and old wildlife materials brand and a couple ratz collars but I need to get a shock collar I guess then start shoppin for a couple pups Thanks again

Where do you live?

im from central Ill around Shelbyville area

first u must decide what type of dogs u like..go watch some be it trial or just running .... I would always start by getting a older dog at least 3 or 4 years old that can runn a rabbit so u don't get to frustrated starting back out . then get some pups from a cross similar so they can run together ..me personally would get 2 older dogs then maybe 2 pups that's a lot of work right there . .good luck and welcome back ..