Most impoprted thing in rabbit hunting with your dogs?

[sparky]

Rabbit season can be some pretty tough weather here in North Central Ohio,therefor the most important thing for me when rabbit hunting is the dogs ability to Smell,they cant run a track that they cant smell. I'm not the greatest shot,so I need them big nose dogs that can keep bringin them rabbits back around to me lol.

[Markday]

What's the sense in having a rabbit dog if they don't even have the desire to jump a rabbit. Hunting and handling comes first for me.

[warddog]

I suppose all these things that have been mentioned are just as speed, subject to interpretation. I will agree with rabbitearl as for me hunt means hunting with me not me hunting with the dog. If I have to hunt the dog that has left the country in lieu of hunting rabbits around me then I don't need the dog either as I can hunt rabbits without one. This I saw in my coon hunting days as many in competition would get deep and get treed but some would mossy around and tree tons of coon behind them. YEP, they got struck and treed by themselves on A coon but some of these others got struck and treed on several coon behind them.

[sparky]

I agree hunting an handling is definitely important when gun hunting,but after they jump a rabbit an cant run it 30 yards when it's 10 degrees an 8 inches of snow it's kinda hard to kill many rabbits unless jump shootin an that's not me. Beagles have a heightened sense of smell,that's what makes them special and the whole reason why they're used as hunting dogs to begin with. Rabbit season,gotta have plenty of nose here or you might as well just stay at home.

[2barrel]

I like a lot of the above mention. But the one thing that I enjoy is hunting behind a dog that wants to be there after 2:00pm in the day after long hard runs all morning long. The type of dog you have to tone them when you get to the truck because they want to keep going. Consistency in producing rabbits after lunch time is in my opinion worth five early morning jumps. Dogs that just hunt rabbits after the scent has disappeared into thin air. I love that explosion of barking hounds after going two or three hrs. without a bark.

[Lone Pine Beagles]

Hunt....and the ability to circle a rabbit (by themselves all day long).

[billpapas]

A dog that hunt with me !!