What makes a Beagle retrieve rabbits?

[John Lear]

Man that is nice if mine would do that on wild rabbits I'd sell the shotgun and buy gas and dog food. HA!. Nice dog.

[Moore Beagles]

Brad I've said it before and I'll say it again, you should have never sold Jessie. Now she is retreiving rabbits just to make you feel worst
Ken you can put me on a list for a pup too!

[coolbrze]

I think that that dog trying to please it's owner is why it does it. Funny someone mentioned older dogs doing it, my FC is 9 now and he retreives also, Kens seen it a couple times. Jessie is also older and she does it as well.

[Engstfeld]

I have a brace of gyps, both from the same litter, 2 years old. I've only hunted them about 6 times or so, but this last hunt, I winged a rabbit. Well, I was pretty sure I winged it. We hunt the side of a levee that goes off into the marsh in south Louisiana. So here come the dogs a couple minutes behind the rabbit and they head off the side of the levee and into the marsh. About 75 feet into the marsh, you could hear them get at something. We thought it might have been a baby nutria rat, but a few second later, here comes one of the dogs back up to us with the rabbit I'd winged. I never expected that from them! Brought it all the way up to me like she knew I'd be wanting that. It was only about the fifteenth rabbit they'd ever been on.

[deerfield]

My male Baron started retrieving when he was 2yrs old. If someone shoots a rabbit he picks it up and will always bring it to me.

[beaglechase]

hey briarshakers daddy, got one off of Ed that catches the rabbit and brings it to ya, soon as he seen me miss a rabbit out in the open twice, he said I got the dog you need ha ha coarse you no it wasn't cheap....I got my order for two more...save a lot of shells ya know

[Rabbit Fever]

Ive always wanted a beagle to retrieve rabbits for me. The only ones that i have owned only tenderize the rabbits for me. Until this year, I have two females that have been bringing back the rabbits and dropping them at my feet, one of the females i keep in the house and play fetch with her every night, the other hound lives in the kennel and just started doing it this winter. Its really nice that they do it, saves me from looking for a dead Snowshoe in the deep snow, They blend in so well (white on white). The younger female retrieved a snowshoe for me about 70 yards a couple weeks ago, she was so proud i let her carry it all the way back to the truck when we were done hunting for the day.

[Tony Jr]

I think some dogs just have it in them. I didn't train princess to do it but she does. I've noticed my new dogs are wanting to do it now. I think they hear her getting a lot of sweet talk when she does it and I think they want some too.