Houndog, you can do what you want to with your hounds, I would never presume to tell you or anyone else how to train their beagles...but in response to your question about taking a kid to play little league, would I just let them play without seeing a bat or ball before?? The answer is NO. That is what TeeBall, Coach Pitch, Machine Pitch and the Minors are for, to SLOWLY teach them what is needed to play ball. But in all honesty, your post DID say that you begin taking them out with your PACK when they are 8 weeks old. Having raised my fair share of beagles as well (no where near 40 years of it though

), I think its safe to say that 8 week old beagles are not only out of place in the field with a pack, but would be a big distraction to themselves and the rest of the pack. Although, I suppose a seasoned pack of hounds would ignore pups and do their thing anyway. I don't even usually try to start a hound until about 6 or 7 months old anyway, preferring to let them be pups for a while before thrusting them into adulthood prematurely....but, its all JMHO

Tony