bells on beagles

[Hippy]

Personally I have been running Bells for 50 # years I orginally put a bell( My Grand Father had WORK HORSES and I would steal a bell from there Collar) on a gyp I had that would "Sneak Off" from where you were hunting if she could not find a rabbit. I really used it to keep track of her.

There has been two thoughts on the Coyote one is to annoy them from coming in to the Beagle the other is "IT is Dinner time COME AND GET IT !!!"

Almost like the "Deer Wistlers" of a few years back I have a dear friend who ownes a Auto Body Shop that has replaced many of front bumper,grill,headlights etc with them on !!!!

GO FIGURE

Jim

[beaglerun]

The coyotes have chase mine back to the house while wearing bells. I will still use one when I am soloing a dog and want to know where it is.

[likeemfast]

all a matter of opinion, but i would not run dogs if i had to put bells on them, would drive me crazy having to listen to that, also have a 4 collar set tritronics trashbreaker that sits on the shelf. not a off game runner in the 4 i have, so why use it? they hunt how i like and when i call they come.

[dog]

I've heard everything from keeping coyotes away to helps jump rabbits. Some claim the rabbit will not sit as tight with a bell jingling near by. Some use them to help keep track of dogs. I believe there is some truth to all three reasons to one degree or another (not sold on the yote theory but I'm sure it doesn't hurt). I have tried them a few times but don't like 'em. Mostly for 2 reasons. One is for whatever reason it seems to have a negative affect on handling (I'm guessing the dogs don't hear me calling as well at distance with a bell jingling in their ear) & second, the dad gum things drive me batty

couldnt agree more with the handling part , the only times i have ever had trouble with my gogs not listening was when i had bells on them , watched one of my males stop everytime i would holler and try to figure out where i was , he was going the wrong way , i think it effects their depth perseption and their dirrection of hearing , mine are laying somewhere in a cattail swamp out at the wildlife area , you can have them if you want them ! Lol

[Panther Creek]

I used to use them but like crow noticed that at times it affects what they can hear. I mostly noticed it when a dog or dogs would be out a ways on a rabbit and the bell jingling in their ear can interfere with them hearing the other dogs. I would have to get them to stop and listen more often so they could hear the other dogs and go hark in.

My dogs will do that- When they are separated, I've seen them stop. & listen for the other dogs bells & then join them. I don't mind them, helps me to locate them in the brush.

[bucks better beagles]

No, no LittleE. No bells. It is the gayest thing I ever saw. Nothing personal to the homosexual crowd. You said it best yourself E...

i agree with you i try to keep the load off as much as possible. the whole gps deal is up in the air for me. i dont need to know how many miles my dogs run or how fast they do it.... i can hear my dogs running and can tell when they come out bloody they ran there ass off.

Now that is breaking things down to their simplest form.

[gpen08]

Personally I run both bells and shock collars on my beagles. Originally did it because of yotes but have changed my reasoning lately. I try to take as many people who want to try hunting over dogs as possible. In doing so I'm putting the dogs at risk with an inexperienced hunter. That way they know right where the dogs are. That's why I don't run without them. Like most beaglers I have a ton of money in my dogs which is why I will use anything I can to keep them safe. They do a job for me my job in turn is to take care of them. Never seen any issues with the weight of the collar or the sound of the bell. It may be gay to run them with bells and you can make fun of it if you want but when I release the hounds I have every intention of getting them back. Remington actually makes a bell for dogs sold at Tractor Supply so no need to steal Santa's.

[Bunnyblaster]

The sleigh bell style bells aren't all that great in the snow anyway. They get packed with snow and just turn into a big ball of ice around the dogs neck. I have heard the open ended ones work a little better as far as for keeping the snow from packing in.

[wvforester]

I work around chainsaws, log skidders, log loaders, dozers, feller bunchers, etc. and unfortunatley never wore ear protection for years. I run bells not for coyotes or jumping rabbits but because I'm about deaf anymore. Especially on snow or wet ground which is about all season in WV. I take them off when its dry enough to hear. It doesnt bother my dogs or their handle. Neither my dogs nor myself have turned "gay" either. This board gets out of hand sometimes with the cussing and stuff. Didn't they get onto a young girl for the same thing a while back? Whats wrong with considering the young and impressionable and saying "hind end" or "rear" instead. Just my $0.02

[little e kennels]

Personally I run both bells and shock collars on my beagles. Originally did it because of yotes but have changed my reasoning lately. I try to take as many people who want to try hunting over dogs as possible. In doing so I'm putting the dogs at risk with an inexperienced hunter. That way they know right where the dogs are. That's why I don't run without them. Like most beaglers I have a ton of money in my dogs which is why I will use anything I can to keep them safe. They do a job for me my job in turn is to take care of them. Never seen any issues with the weight of the collar or the sound of the bell. It may be gay to run them with bells and you can make fun of it if you want but when I release the hounds I have every intention of getting them back. Remington actually makes a bell for dogs sold at Tractor Supply so no need to steal Santa's.

gpen08 your reason for putting bells on your dogs make sense i have worried alot of days hunting aout some one shooting one of my dogs but to date it has not happened.. i was not sure of the purpose of the bells thats why i asked. It looks like there is no 100% reason for the bells

[Crow]

I think there are several reasons to run them (tracking dogs, jumping rabbits, yotes) & probably just as many not to (annoying to hunter, possible affects of handling on some dogs, risk of hanging in fence or brush). It's just one more thing in beagling like tritronics vs. sport dog, trackers vs. not, if trackers then gps vs. analog. At the end of the day it's just what works best for you & what you like. Neither is right or wrong, we all feed our own dogs, so we can run 'em the way that pleases us.

[kkrun]

I have always used bells with tracking collars, and would never run without the bell. Its nice to always know where the hound is when she's not on a rabbit, especially when its time to call it a day. i dont believe that it affects her running or responding to me, and hearing the hound's location helps your piece-of-mind. it's nice not to have to check the e-collar location so much also. I have lost her overnight a couple of times, and the bell may scare the coyotes away.

[likeemfast]

i would gladly take someone hunting with me who was interested in hunting with beagles but i can guarantee you they would not go with me if i could not trust them to identify their target before they pulled the trigger, also i dont wear a bell and dont plan on wearing one anytime soon so i make sure i know whos hunting with me. secondly they would go with me a couple time WITHOUT carrying a gun and walk right with me and learn the ways of hunting with dogs or not go at all. theres a price to pay for hunting over someones hounds and if you cant do that a time or two they can stay home. You dont let a 16 year old who just got their license take your tricked out muscle car for a ride why let someone with no experience carry a gun around your dogs?????? Or do u just put a bell and collar on the car and say have a blast??? JMO and i full of them, just ask me. My point is..... its a privledge to hunt over someones dogs, that we put a lot of money into year after, to have to buy more equipment to put on our dog so they dont get shot by a trigger happy hunter who dont identify their target, dont make no sense, no offense meant, as i said, JMO.

[Buckeye Blues]

I run bells.

1.) Deaf in left ear. I can turn in circles like a radar dish to find what direction the dogs are working.

2.) If they are a long way off and I tone, blow the whistle and start calling them in, I can tell if they are getting closer and give them more time. If they start sounding like they are going further away then I can give them some static encouragement.

3.) If the bell stops making noise, I know to try and call them in and/ or start looking for them. Either 1 of 2 things have happened. 1, the bell is malfunctioning, or 2, my dog isn't moving (which is never a good thing.)

# 3 brings me to my only real negetive. I do fear that the bell may at some point in time get snagged on a fence or brush. I try to avoid this by taping the loop shut as tight as I can, but it is still a worry for me.

Dispelling your myths:

My dogs don't feel any less houndly using bells. My big female will pin your hound to the ground just as quick with a bell as without.

With dogs stinking up an area and sounding off on rabbits why in the world would you think its the bells that call the coyotes to dinner. This ranks right up there with 1 of the dumbest things i have ever heard.

These bells weigh prolly 2 ounces or less. They arent adding weight.

They get used to the noise. If your voice isnt louder than the bell maybe its not the ones using bells that have a questionable preference. If the dogs are so far away that the bell is louder than your voice then the dogs prolly dont know which direction to start heading to begin with. That's why i tone 1st. This lets them know i want them to head my way. Then I start yelling for them and blowing the whistle. They can head the general direction of the noise and zero in the closer they get. And, because they have the bells on I know they are getting closer. Piece of mind.

If ya don't wanna run dogs with bells you certainly don't have to, but the positives sure seem to outway the negatives by a long shot. If you read through most of the negatives are personal preference. Most of the positives are factual bennefits.

To each his own.

[likeemfast]

BUCKEYE wrote:
If the dogs are so far away that the bell is louder than your voice then the dogs prolly dont know which direction to start heading to begin with. That's why i tone 1st. This lets them know i want them to head my way......................."

So the bell is louder than your voice but they can hear it and dont know which direction to go, so you tone them so they know to head in your direction and then head your way. They hear you call and dont know where you are but when they hear the tone they head your way. Thats about the dumbest thing ive ever heard. How does the tone tell them which dirction to head when the sound of your voice does not? Dont tell other people their post is stupid when obviously your not that bright either. I already know im no genius but i know the direction my dogs are hunting because its the direction im headed in, i know if i wanna round them up to give my whistle and they will come running, my dogs handle well cause their trained to, i trained a wide ranging hare hound to hunt with me for cottontails. I understand some of the reasons why guys use bells, one is yours cause your deaf and spin around in circles listening for them, not for me tho. Also since your not bright enough to figure out the dinner bell theory someone posted, if a yote gets a easy meal of a beagle wearing a bell one day, then hears the same ding-a-ling another day and gets a easy meal, its like a rabbit in distress sound, a easy meal. At least that what i assume they meant, and ya know what they say about assuming.

Also u posted 3 reasons u run bells, 1 is your deaf in one ear which not all are but i understand, 2 is your dogs dont hunt with you and u cant keep track of them even with a bell and 3rd you wrote your own negative about your positive. Dont see how the positives far outweigh the negatives there. JMO tho buckeye, not calling anyone dumb or anything.