A general forum for the discussion of hunting with beagles, guns, clothing and other equipment and just talking dawgs! (Tall tales on hunting allowed, but remember, first liar doesn't stand a chance)
bodetis wrote:its all about the speed these days, with the hunt and check work of a dog being on the back burner.not against trials and i know some people trial with what they hunt over, but there is a reason some guys have gun dogs and and then the ones they trial with, alot of trial dogs are aggressive,fast and over competitive, their not running whats between their legs but running against the other dogs. andi know some who trial consider it a sport and get defensive, but rabbit hunting is the true sport, not points, and trophys, egos, o an dat times the buddy system. jmo
Has some of the quality went down because of the attitudes and laws about culling and state laws against houndsman? It seems like every old timer you talk too either culled pups himself or knew guys who did. Now it seems like everyone sells everything even if it is a cull. It is considered unethical now to kill pups, for better or worse. Some of that has to play into it you would think and also people out to make a buck. If you can sell a crap dog for 100-200 bucks or kill it for 0 like back in the day I am sure a lot of people are choosing the money.
God isn't real, Beer is good and people are crazy, there I fixed it.
The culls I have are free to homes, no money is needed to own one, only the promise you won't breed it.
Maybe others do it different, but I find that unethical, JMO.
I dont agree with the speed issue being a major fault..... lines exist that run the rabbit and know where the point of loss is, they won't run wildly to create checks and they can move a decent enough pace you can enjoy run to catch..... again I say keep looking they are there.
What I find is more faulty are the beaglers who try to sell the culls and not going by their word of such a dog being good. That's why you should always run a dog before buying it or running the sire and dams of the pups. Always try to cover all corners since a mans hand shake doesn't mean much these days anymore. I got my first beagle twenty years ago and he was a beast, so my first experience in dealing in the world of beagles was Successful. I've never been burn yet, but I do not allow it to happen. I always buy dogs or puppies from the sires and dams that I have gunned over. I've been called kennel blind by a few, but to me it's not being kennel blind at all. I haven't seen much out there that I have thought were better or equal mine. When there are a few or more litters up for sale on this board from one breeder, then that throws up a red flag to me.
Hey yall becareful about looking at one run too.That dog will look good with lots of rabbits.Becareful.This is a good trick a lot of hunters don t know about.
Find what you like and run it, doesn't matter what others believe or think.
I have seen several hounds from lines I don't prefer, but that did not make them real nice dogs. Never been afraid to tell someone they had a nice dog OR that it was better than mine... LOL.
If you don't keep looking for the hound that suits you, how much to do enjoy the whole process???? I would not let failures lead me to believe there are "more faulty hounds than ever".... that to me is just an excuse, ALL HOUNDS HAVE HOLES!! Some are just smaller than others........
Looking for the next nice one keeps me going to the field!!!!!!!!!!