The American Beagler Forum

My three-year old male has two DQ's for off game. One for deer--judge said he started it but didn't go with the others or at least not as far--the other for joining a fox race. I'm torn between holding him back and campaigning him for the remainder of the season. One more DQ and he'll be banned for a year. Here are his stats: He's been in 18 trials this season with 2 DQs. The odds are in his favor. Currently, he is in 3rd place for Hound of the Year in Michigan and needs a win to champ out. There are five club trials left. I have other dogs I can start to campaign. What would you do? Part of me says go for it and another part says lay him up until next year.

Larry

Break him before you put him in a trial.Ron

I would take the risks.... that's not bad odds and could be a fluke. Try to get him to run one and light him up in between trials....

What Ron said x1

I would go for it. But I would take him out and put him on a deer to see what he would do. The fox chase another story, not to many fox chases are seen for sure.

My leaning too. The odds of getting a fox run again are pretty slim. He has crossed hundreds of deer tracks, had a deer come up in front of him and didn't take it. My buddy has a young deer runner. Maybe we can set them up and break his from running and mine from going with. I just hate to quit when he could win HOY with a little luck. The leader doesn't go to every trial or bring the same dog. We're going to go for it. If he champs out he will take the lead; then I can lay him up.

Larry

I would do exactly as you stated yourself. The best way to break one is to have them with one that will start and run deer right before your eyes. If they turn it down with another one running it at the time I figure that's bout as close to broke as one can get. Fox is completely different story because those chases are hard to know for sure what is going on as you seldom see what they are running.

In dogs that are competitive like yours certainly is, they will sometimes especially if not run up, open when others strike something getting to them. It is not always when the other dog opens, it can also be when another dog shows to your dog it is about to open by its excitement that yours will open in anticipation without knowing what the other dog is scenting.
I know this is basic stuff for a Beagle field trialer like you but not the whole story is seen by judges.
I would run my dog up the day before a trial so he would not be so fresh and be more conservative and then continue trialing him.
Congratulations on what ya'll have accomplished so far!!!!

I still sometimes wonder if the fox was actually being run by the dogs or if he just got out of Dodge and the judge saw it and assumed the dogs were running it. Fox races are very rare; first one I've heard of. As an example of the judge and the role luck plays, we were out a couple of weeks ago when my dog opens. About 10 yards ahead a small rabbit cuts across an old food plot right in front of us. The dogs couldn't seem to smell it. My dog would have gotten a minus rather than a jump/strike if the judge hadn't seen the rabbit. The judge didn't have much, if any, experience with a fox race so it's hard to say. I signed the card so it's too late anyway. Just has me wondering. He sure didn't go very far or very fast. They just kind of picked at it.

I've got almost two weeks to set him up and work with him. Thanks for all the advice and comments.

Larry