Question for the guys that trial mid west spo....

[Bringem back kennels]

What age do you start trialing your dogs? I know there will be some variances depending on the dogs but, seems some guys
use a certain age as a base point.

What types of changes do you see in the hounds you trial if any, Like acquiring some bad habits?

I watched a cast of 15" males and not criticizing the dogs but, seemed kinda rough. One instance the rabbit actually ran across the open field
where the gallery was standing and everyone was like "oh yeah, this is going to be good." (get good visual of the cast) now mind you, the
rabbit ran straight out to the middle of the field and made a large arc back into the brush. When the dogs hit the open field a few dogs went 90 degrees and opened
and the whole cast of dogs got into a foot race and never was close to the track or came back to the actual rabbit track. I think they eventually crossed it somewhere in the woods though.
I heard some from the gallery say "probably won't none of them be coming back to second series."

Have you had a dog blow up after trialing it too much? Not trying to start a debate, just info on experiences people have learned from trialing.

Thanks,

[couch potato jim]

I have some advice for you that may be good for you and your hounds. Some people might think the same and some might think different but AKC Midwest is a really awesome format to get into. Most of the time you will see good running from hounds in this format and I feel the judges will get the right ones to the winners pack " just have faith in the judges and your hound". I will say give your pup a chance to grow up and get some rabbits under it's feet before putting it into a trial. Maybe let it get to be 1 year or 1 1/2 years of age before putting it in trails. Most of all remember to have fun at everything you do with your hounds. After you put your hound in a trail bring it home and solo it. Hope this will help you

[Bringem back kennels]

Thanks Jim,

The male I have is pretty competitive and likes the front, he'll be two in July.
I have been running him solo and mixing him with other dogs as much as possible. He seems to be coming along nicely but,
just wondering when to throw him in with the big boys. The soloing after the trial is good advise.

I always enjoy watching dogs do their "thang" no matter what breed or style they have. I enjoy meeting people and talking dogs
and good natured competition. I also like gathering as much data as i can so I can exercise good judgement when it comes to trialing.

[rabbit chaser]

I got a buddy down here that has been doing it a long time. I am just getting into trialing myself and he always tells me not to push it. My young dog is about 18 months and I am just getting ready to start entering him in a few spo trials. You also have to remember that some of the dogs running midwest are used to running hare almost 100 % of the time unless they come south to a trial. Hare dont zigzag like a cottontail so the dogs are used to rolling right along in big sweeping circles that hares make. That may be part of the roughness you were seeing when they got on a cottontail. It only takes one rough dog sometimes to pull the whole pack around. the judges that I have seen do an excellent job of getting that one picked up and the pack smoothed out. just my .02 which won't even get you a half a cup of coffee!

[mybeagles]

Midwest comes under attack at times for running a rough hound and lacks line control. For those that like a cleaner and closer running dog they have formats for that. UBGF runs a close and clean dog with lots control. AHRA Progressive Pack runs a hound sort of in the middle of these two formats.

Watching one trial in any format is not going to give you the complete picture. Scenting conditions, amount of dogs, the judges for that day, amount of game and various other things will determine what you see.

When conditions are right a very strong dog will win and place, if conditions are bad a cleaner and closer dog will do well.

I don't care what association or format you attend you will see some good, some bad, and some real ugly. It's just what you get with a pack of random dogs from all over.

[Bringem back kennels]

I guess I shouldn't have said specifically the mid west but, that's the one I was more interested in.

Not trying to give anyone a black eye, and I know you can't see one cast and give a fair assessment. I did see
enough that I wanted to try and find a dog to compete in that format.

When I was fresh out of high school I owned the old brace dogs (back in the late 70's)that walked the line and blew holes in the ground.
They wasn't practical hunting dogs but, I enjoyed the people and watching the dogs do what they did.

Again, I'm sure the other formats are great and have their fair share of great dogs.