Advice

[nwest]

I recently brought home 2 beagle pups(3 1/2 months)Thier mother will run but is not a "hunting" dog. I was just wondering if anyone has any advice on training them. I try to take them out and let them run for at least 30 minutes every afternoon. I am still basicly working on getting them to come to me and not jumping on people. So what next? I have several hundred acres I can run them on behind me, I just don't know what to do when we get out there.

[PhilpotHunter]

If you can get them around a hunting dog that would help. But I had to train a beagle with no help from another dog, and the key is, starting today, get them around rabbits atleast once a day. Go to a spot where you know for a fact rabbits are around, and then stand still and ignore the pups. It will take a few weeks, but they will start to wander farther away from you, and then start to discover smells, and if you have them around rabbit scent all the time they will start to "bump" the rabbits. At that point it is only a matter of time before you have two good dogs.

The only problem I see with this method is it usually leads to pretty fast running beagles.

[KYhunter79]

The easiest thing to do would be to take them to a starting pen if you dont have an older dog to hunt them with. A starting pen is a couple of acres fenced in with rabbit cover and stocked with plenty of rabbits. It's used to start pups in.

[nwest]

The easiest thing to do would be to take them to a starting pen if you dont have an older dog to hunt them with. A starting pen is a couple of acres fenced in with rabbit cover and stocked with plenty of rabbits. It's used to start pups in.


I think we are going to start constructing one later this spring. We are going to start with a 3/4 acre and see if it works. Does anyone know of one close to Hodgenville?

[KYHUNTER14]

If you know anyone who has a good running beagle see if they will come along. It wont take the pups long to learn what they are supposed to do.

If you don't have access to an older good dog, sometimes you have to be the older dog. Jump a rabbit for them and put them on it.

I think you are off to a good start with getting them to mind you and having two of them. I think it is easier to have two at once, especially with no older dog.

I would take some scraps of food (bacon, etc.) This can make it easier to get the dogs to come to you. Sometimes they can be hardheaded and hunt all day long when the owner only has a few hours planned.

Good Luck, there is nothing better than a good rabbit race.

[Kentucky Cooner]

Everyone had great advice.
But I personal dont like a starting pen.People put dogs in them for to long and dont stay with there dogs while there in the pen.And there is to many rabbits in most,so the pup doesnt have to hunt,he just walks around til he sees a rabbit,and then sight chases.So in the end,you get a dog that likes to hunt to deep and doesn't listen.Unless you like a beagle that hunts like a coonhound.And a beagle that hunts like that ends up running more off game,because you dont have control of the dog.
I think there isnt much you can do right at this time,Pups only being 3 1/2 months old.
But what I would do,is as you said you was doing.I think,A dog that doesnt hunt close and don't listen isnt worth trying to start.
Another thing you can start do is take tame rabbits and let the pups run and play with it.After a couple times of that,you will see,as soon as you let the pup out.He will start hunting for his (friend).After he starts doing that.Put the tame rabbit i some tall grass and let the pup find him.Then start place the rabbit out in a tall grass field a hour before you turn the pup lose.To let the rabbit place plenty of scent as he feeds around.As you can see,This all leads to a dog that hunts.(Thats the magic word,isn't it.)
After the pups get about 6 months old,I will go out at night and ( I ) will find rabbits around the edges of thickets.And turn A ( one) pup out on the trial.Rabbits at night are easy to find and dont run very hard.As the pup progress.I start taking him out in the mornings.

A real problem,I have seen.most pups dont use there mouth.Without a another dog to teach...

I do think that there is a time and place for a starting pen.Its only after the dog has already started hunting and tracking...
Sometimes it is hard to get a pup to bark on track without a another dog to show him (some do it naturally,but must dont)But theres were a starting pen shines.Nothing starts a pup barking fast than a couple sight chases.I wouldnt put my pup in one if The owner didnt let me go in with the dog.
Do think just because a couple times in the pen he is going to use his mouth in the field.So after the time in the starting pen.I would go back to finding rabbits at night and placing the pup on the track.There more of a chase of the dog seeing and bumping a rabbit a night.Which will be more likely to make the dog use his mouth.

[KYhunter79]

Everyone had great advice.
But I personal dont like a starting pen.People put dogs in them for to long and dont stay with there dogs while there in the pen.And there is to many rabbits in most,so the pup doesnt have to hunt,he just walks around til he sees a rabbit,and then sight chases.So in the end,you get a dog that likes to hunt to deep and doesn't listen.Unless you like a beagle that hunts like a coonhound.And a beagle that hunts like that ends up running more off game,because you dont have control of the dog.
I think there isnt much you can do right at this time,Pups only being 3 1/2 months old.
But what I would do,is as you said you was doing.I think,A dog that doesnt hunt close and don't listen isnt worth trying to start.
Another thing you can start do is take tame rabbits and let the pups run and play with it.After a couple times of that,you will see,as soon as you let the pup out.He will start hunting for his (friend).After he starts doing that.Put the tame rabbit i some tall grass and let the pup find him.Then start place the rabbit out in a tall grass field a hour before you turn the pup lose.To let the rabbit place plenty of scent as he feeds around.As you can see,This all leads to a dog that hunts.(Thats the magic word,isn't it.)
After the pups get about 6 months old,I will go out at night and ( I ) will find rabbits around the edges of thickets.And turn A ( one) pup out on the trial.Rabbits at night are easy to find and dont run very hard.As the pup progress.I start taking him out in the mornings.

A real problem,I have seen.most pups dont use there mouth.Without a another dog to teach...

I do think that there is a time and place for a starting pen.Its only after the dog has already started hunting and tracking...
Sometimes it is hard to get a pup to bark on track without a another dog to show him (some do it naturally,but must dont)But theres were a starting pen shines.Nothing starts a pup barking fast than a couple sight chases.I wouldnt put my pup in one if The owner didnt let me go in with the dog.
Do think just because a couple times in the pen he is going to use his mouth in the field.So after the time in the starting pen.I would go back to finding rabbits at night and placing the pup on the track.There more of a chase of the dog seeing and bumping a rabbit a night.Which will be more likely to make the dog use his mouth.

I'm not talking about dropping your dog off to someone that starts beagles. I'm talking about people that have a fenced in area of a couple or 5 acres. It is something that can be overdone. I would use a starting pen to get easy access for the pup to run some rabbits and get the hang of what he is supposed to do.

I am a firm believer in very limited "simulated" situations with hunting dogs. When training coonhounds I dont use rolling cages or show them a caged coon at all. I will start the pup with older dogs and when they start running and treeing with the older dogs. I might release a caged coon a couple minutes in front of him, if I think he needs it. I don't use drags either. IMO, the worst thing you can do is get a dog treeing by sight. I have seen people that do a lot of drags and hang ups have dogs treeing off of sight alone. Several times on Ft. knox I have seen peoples dogs repeatedly tree on these little parachute things they drop out and get hung in trees. Or people that start their dogs out in the daytime on squirrels and then can't figure out why their dogs are slick treeing so much, especially early in the night.

Wow, I got way off topic. But, the point of all that was be careful in your simulated hunting experiences. You want it to be as real as possible. I wouldn't take a pup in a starting pen more than a couple times. You just want him to get the idea. If he is hunted all the time in a starting pen with too many rabbits, he wont gain any hunting power. He will expect to pop a rabbit up every other step.

[Kentucky Cooner]

Kyhunter,sorry I wasnt trying to knock anyones advice.I was just suggesting what works the best for me.
There are many ways that work,we all have fought one thats works the best for us. John

[KYhunter79]

Kyhunter,sorry I wasnt trying to knock anyones advice.I was just suggesting what works the best for me.
There are many ways that work,we all have fought one thats works the best for us. John


No, I was just trying to make my post a little more clear. I was agreeing that you shouldn't take your pups and drop them off at a starting pen and just let them run.