The Need to Cull

[THALL]

Been sayen it for years!

[Steve Mikkelson]

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[blitzen4]

The results of this poll, I think, pretty much sum up our expierience with the need to cull beagles. I recently bought a pup (well bred) sight unseen from what I thought at the time was a well respected beagler. Well this poor pup had the most deformed front legs and his back legs were severely cow hocked when I approached the kennel he would try to stand on his back legs but would fall over because of his deformities. I should never have been sold this pup he should have been culled by the breeder not by the buyer. I guess most people have been swimming in mediocrity for so long it has become their accepted standard by which they judge all beagles. Mediocrity is an easy place to live not very stressful anyone can hang out here and when confronted they can spew forth things like supply and demand and no one has the right to say what I can sell a beagle for and whats more, their right. These people may never aspire to be more or contribute more to their respective gene pools. I would like to think that it is because they don't know any better. They have never seen a truly exceptonal hound and don't have the wherewithall to take their program to new and better heights. So they bask in mediocrity and crow like they really know what a hound is and does. This post is not directed at anyone in particular it is based on my obsevations through time.

Dave

[Bunnyblaster]

if you are gonna breed beagles, then you need to learn to cull.

................I came to the conclusion after a few years with this man that while everyone can own and run beagles some should NEVER breed and should only buy their dogs from someone else. Personally I have no problem with someone taking a beagle that doesn't cut it as a rabbit dog and giving it away as a pet. But I'll also tell you I no longer am looking to breed anything myself either.

[bucks better beagles]

Some of you people (no one in particular ) seem a little high brow on this issue. We have talked it to death before and seem destined to do so again. I ask you, if you sell a man a dog which you might consider a cull, and you sell it at a price he is willing to pay, and he takes it home and tries it out for 2 weeks, and he likes it for all its little quirks, and he buys it, where is the issue? In his mind, he did not buy a cull but a dog he liked.

Perhaps, the word "cull" is the word that gets people going. I prefer to say "a dog that doesn't suit me". Example, Steve has a lot of dogs that don't suit him, I am less discriminating, soo...Steve send me them Trails puppies and a bag of dog food. I will take them all. LOL

I am always reminded of the Charley Brown Christmas tree when this issue comes up. Some of you younger people may not remember the Charley Brown christmas specials.

[Bobby Vest]

Buck a friend of mine paid $100.00 for a beagle another guy didn't want. He ran this dog for the best part of a year and started trialing him. A few months later he won the World Hunt with him. It wasn't long after the World he was offered big money for the dog so he sold him. The very next year the dog won the World again for the new owner. This dog was bred to quite a few females and I don't think he ever produced anything worth a hoot. A lot of people wouldn't know a good hound if they had it and a lot just like different styles. Just because one man decides to cull one doesn't necessarily mean he isn't any good. Buying someone elses culls can be a great deal if the person knows what he's doing. I think selling them or giving them to someone is great if you can do that.

[Mo. Beagler 5000]

i think we all agree certain dogs dont need culled but given to owners or sold to owners who don't mind that trait.....I think where a lot of contention comes when someone is buying a hound and it is pure crap... i.e. deformed, wont run anything, runs everything, major faults..... those dogs need a 22 shell and the dogs that are mediocre people need to frigging have FIXED!!!!!!

[golden acres]

Some dogs are better at growing tomatoes than running a rabbit.

[bucks better beagles]

Jamie, Bobby, Mo., I have always thought that the ability to cull is the hardest trait to achieve as a beagle man. If you cannot cull, you will end up with a kennel full of culls. That said, physical deformities aside, Many dogs that I get and I call culls have nothing wrong with them other than I do not like them for whatever reasons. These are not shooters. I try to find a proper home for dogs like this.

[old blood beagles]

Steve,

How many pups have been culled off of trails and how many pups has he had?

Has he been bred to average/above average/great hounds or just to anything?

The reason that I ask, is because I watched a very nice hound out of him (Bella) and I started t wonder what happened to the rest of her littermates?

Have you ever taken a non-running beagle, bred it to trails and seen the results?

I like the effort that you are putting into him on his stud add but the numbers that are reported could be conflicting, as you did not tell us anything about the females that he was bred too.

Thanks for all the information on this great hound.

Duane

[Steve Mikkelson]

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[Kenny VanHoose]

Breed better beagles and dont be a puppy factory and you wont have near as many to cull. Sounds like those who cull a lot are just breeding sorry dogs together in the first place.