competiveness in a dog?

[JUDE]

Just following the post ...

[mybeagles]

I dont think anyone wants checks.....

What they want is the front end dog that wont get shown up or left behind. This requires a competetive dog that will drive for the front.......

The result........the majority of the field trials you attend with an excessive amount of checks......with no one willing to admit its their dog causing the checks......

Few dogs are able to do this and handle it......everyone knows the dogs that can........the list is very short........

If you were to poll the board everyone thinks they have 1 or 2.......truth is there are only 1 or 2 on the trial circuit at any given time......the rest are just wishfull thinking that show up to trial after trial and make judges miserable......

Mybeagles

[yorkmtnbeagles]

im just gonna say it,,if you think a dog that causes checks ,just so he can find them to get points,is a good dog,and if you think that is any kind of a good format that awards that kind of thinking,,you have no idea what a truly good dog is.....period.....

[dave g]

oh come on jude. what do you think?

this has been a very good discussion. does anyone have all the different levels of competitiveness and different styles and builds a pack like that? or do most packs consist of one style of dog?

later, dave

[JCM]

I can't believe someone would actally WANT their dogs to have checks.

I agree with this 100%. No houndsman would ever want a dog to wreck the race.

I believe this desire for faulty hound work has been caused by the way Little Pack is scored. It actually promotes faulty hound work by only awarding points to hounds that recover a lost track and awarding nothing to the hound that keeps a check from occurring.

The best LP dogs that I have seen do not do this. Although some people think LP hounds win by being rough, the majority of winners are the dogs that run the most rabbit. If you attend a lot of LP hunts, at all times of the year, in all conditions, and stick around to watch (or judge) the finals, you will see a lot of excellent hounds that can pound a rabbit.

Usually the guys that want rough, sloppy dogs just don't know what it takes to win. They might get lucky and win some of the time, but they will most likely not win consistently. They are usually the guys just looking for a trophy, but won't spend the time, or make the effort to train good rabbit hounds. Even when they do win, they don't get any respect to go with it.

im just gonna say it,,if you think a dog that causes checks ,just so he can find them to get points,is a good dog, you have no idea what a truly good dog is.....period.....

This is absolutely the truest point in this entire post!

[THALL]

I'll end with this: My dogs are competitive, they like the front. I'm never happy to say "look at ole lucky, he's right in the middle of the pack where i want him."I can have a decent race most days and awsome running some days.I do have a few days when i only get spurt running. I know guys who have those dogs that don't over-run and "don't butt heads." I have went with them and seen days when they couldn't run a rabbit either. No beagle, rabbit dog,field champ, or family pet has a perfect running style, but no matter what we like in a dog, we should be always looking to improve our kennel. I'll agree competiveness is a double edge sword! JMO

[Bunnyblaster]

I'll end with this: My dogs are competitive, they like the front. I'm never happy to say "look at ole lucky, he's right in the middle of the pack where i want him."

So who's actually the competitive one here, your dogs or you???

No beagle, rabbit dog,field champ, or family pet has a perfect running style, but no matter what we like in a dog, we should be always looking to improve our kennel. I'll agree competiveness is a double edge sword! JMO

Very good and very true statements........and the double edged sword applies to most traits a beagle can have I think. Just like anything in life there's usually good and bad sides to everything.