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)
bucks better beagles wrote:Question for Pine Ridge: You said, "I have seen alot of young dogs ruined by pushing to hard at a young age". How do you know that?
My experience is that I start all my pups at 4 months old and run the hell out of them from then on. Them that make it, great. Them that don't can be moved on to people with more patience. I believe that a dog either has it or it doesn't and if it does, it will show it.
I agree!
I've got one that is nine months, one that is seven months, and on the is five months that have all been packing since they were four months. When they couldn't keep up they ran behind, barking when they had a line and shutting up when they come to the end of the line at a check. The reason they do this is that I cull the idiots that don't know forward from backward from the breeding program. The ones that like to chase dogs more than they like rabbit scent are also weeded out.
Pine Ridge, you are correct and some young dogs can be pushed too hard...........others it will never matter. I don't think this makes any better or worse than the other it just means some people don't have the patience to give some dogs the chance they need in the way they need it. And for the record I don't think one way is more right than the other...........it's all personal preference. For every person like buck or newt you can also find people like oakhill who I think would give a pup every possible chance. And I believe they all have good dogs just some go about it differently.
I will say in my "little" bit of experience the ones that started out like a ball of fire almost never turned out to be better than my slow starters.
Bunnyblaster
"You can't change the past but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future."
Bunnyblaster wrote:
I will say in my "little" bit of experience the ones that started out like a ball of fire almost never turned out to be better than my slow starters.
I believe the vast majority of beaglers that have extensive experience in starting pups would agree with you that early starting is no indication the dog will be better than a late starter as an all age hound. "Late starter" to me may be different than Pineridge's definition. I can't remember owning a pup that didn't start before he was six months old. I also can't remember an early starter that had a great sense of direction when started, that lost it as an all age hound. That is until they were old and began losing the sense of smell or losing their mind.
All bloodlines don't mature at the same rate so they may require different levels of patience. I've got a bitch that would bark on a cottontail line at seven weeks. She matured into hound that is a little wide for my taste but she has produced a lot of good "rabbit dogs" that local hunters love. She has as good a sense of direction as any hound that I have seen. I've seen her refuse to run with a hound carrying it backwards, and instead go back to the point of loss and keep working the check until she found the correct line.