Beagles, rabbits and S/W Ontario

Pydpiper · Post by **Pydpiper** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:02 am

I would like to get my beagle out once to run with other dogs, if there are any local guys who run beagles I would like to see how my dog reacts. So far she is a master of running grasshoppers and I can tell she knows there is more too it.
I don't want to hunt, I just want her to watch and follow an experienced dog.
She is a bright dog, in all honesty I wasn't expecting much from a dog who isn't known for being brilliant, but she has proven to be a great asset to our home. She walks the country roads with the family with no leash and is very responsive to commands.
If anyone runs dogs around here and doesn't mind an extra dog for a trip drop me a PM.
Thanks!
David

saxman · Post by **saxman** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:21 am

I love to watch dogs work

bdog · Post by **bdog** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:07 am

Go buy a rabbit and let the dog chase it around the yard or a near by field

philman · Post by **philman** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 12:06 pm

I have two young pups here! Too young to hunt right now but come Dec/Jan they will be starting....Get a couple of meat rabbits and throw em in the back yard. This lets your dog know what you want her chasing. Don't let her kill the rabbits but praise your dog for catching. Repeat this at least once a week until you find somebody with older hounds to run with. You may be surprised at how fast he/she catches on to chasing wild bunnies.......

. Introduce your dog to bunnies before sending he/she off with a seasoned rabbit dogs is the best thing to do trust me. Not all dogs need a seasoned dog to get them started either. My Bluetick male pup started sight chasing on his own at like 12 weeks old and now is running around with his nose down tail up bawling everywhere, my female Redtick is not learning as quick but a few more back yard sessions and I think she will get it. She'll learn its in her blood......

GOODLUCK! HAVE FUN!

MADMAX2 · Post by **MADMAX2** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 12:46 pm

I had a redbone and boy he loved to chase rabbits and fox word of caution make sure you can call the dog off like before dark and if roads are near.

roland · Post by **roland** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:26 pm

I use to live trap rabbits and then let it go in front of the dog and once the rabbit is out of site the dog has to use his nose to track it. If you start her hunting she will be hunting on the walks.

ninepointer · Post by **ninepointer** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:16 am

I love hunting with hounds.

My buddies and I hunt rabbits with beagles and we hunt deer in northern Ontario with black & tans and blueticks. In fact, I leave for my annual northern deer hunt in 4 days and I'm as giddy as a 13 year-old girl at a Miley Cyrus concert!

I almost feel sorry for those hunters who put away their gear by December. Rabbit hunting, which runs until the end of February around here, is like a second hunting season to me!

Arrrrooooooooooooo! Arrrrrroooooooooooo! Arrroooooooooooo!

Pydpiper · Post by **Pydpiper** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:15 pm

That is part of my whole decision making process, the howl.. I have had a lot of PM's from guys wanting to help, lots of advice too.
The way it stands right now is that I have a brilliant dog who fits in to this house perectly, smart, quiet, housetrained and respectful of her surroundings, I don't want to lose that.
If getting her to run rabbits is going to wake up her "inner beagle" than I may pass on the whole dedicated hunting situation and just keep her as a house dog who like to hunt, opposed to a hunter who can be in the house.
Right now she barks at people who knock on the door, but never makes a peep other than that.
This is a tough situation..

ch312 · Post by **ch312** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:12 pm

after seeing my year old beagle/hound cross trail a deer, squirrels, and a coon (she was right up the tree for that one) im interested in getting her on some rabbits. definitely has the hunter instinct in her.

how do hunters retrieve their dogs when the rabbits decide to keep running away instead of circling? the girlfriend would likely shoot me if i lost the little mutt...

ninepointer · Post by **ninepointer** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:23 pm

ch312 wrote:how do hunters retrieve their dogs when the rabbits decide to keep running away instead of circling? the girlfriend would likely shoot me if i lost the little mutt...

Cottontails and snowshoe hares will always circle unless they hole-up. Some circles are tighter than others. But the circles are not so large that the dog might get lost. Mostly its simply a pain in the butt for the hunter to have walk way over (inevitably across a swamp!) to retrieve a beagle that does not want to come back yet.

Jackrabbits on the other hand might cross 3 farms before they turn around. Beware of jacks!

Your biggest concern, especially in southern Ontario, is roads. Rabbits and beagles do not stop for cars. So try to hunt bigger parcels, away from roads or position yourself to intercept the dog before it reaches a road.

My buddies and I put sheep bells (they look like little cow bells, available at feed stores & co-ops) on our beagles. We find it really helps in keeping track & locating the dogs.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:42 am

Ninepointer your correct that rabbits will normally circle. Cottontails will usually hole up when chased by a dog, snowshoe (varying hare, swamp rabbit) will circle aprox 200 yards or so. I can't tell you the number of times I have stop at the spot the dog started and shot the rabbit when it circled. They try to confuse the dog with the same scent on the same trail and the scent of the dog already there will sometimes get the dog to stop. Jack rabbits will also circle, but they will be a much larger circle, 3 maybe four farms wide. Yes rabbits and dogs do not look for vehicals when the chase is on.

Stopping a dog when on the chase is sometimes a difficult thing to do, it all depends on your training of the dog. If you can train your dog to always respond to just a few commands like FREEZE & NO where they know that they MUST listen, that helps alot. My last beagle CJ (Captain Jack) would freeze on command no matter what and he was not the most obedient beagle that I have had. I have FROOZE him off the trail of deer, rabbits andmost importantly a Porky Stopping him from getting that porky saved him much trouble as well as me money.

To have a good beagle, you must be more stubborn then they are and make sure they know who is boss .......... your wife (but that your second in command and dis out the punishment).[/b]

ch312 · Post by **ch312** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 3:56 pm

i have an e-collar for her so i can always make her stop rather quickly:lol: she is only a year old and VERY stubborn so i know ill need to use it while hunting.

what is the best way to get them started on rabbits besides running with other dogs?

TPM · Post by **TPM** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:21 pm

I almost feel sorry for those hunters who put away their gear by December. Rabbit hunting, which runs until the end of February around here, is like a second hunting season to me!

Agreed! Rabbit hunting is a lot of fun. Years back I used to go hunting with a buddy and his beagle but in more recent years I've hunted dogless. Kinda miss the Arrrrooooooooooooo! Arrrrrroooooooooooo! Arrroooooooooooo!

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:23 am

ch312 wrote:i have an e-collar for her so i can always make her stop rather quickly:lol: she is only a year old and VERY stubborn so i know ill need to use it while hunting.

what is the best way to get them started on rabbits besides running with other dogs?

I have trained many different beagles as hunting dogs and family pets. I have never liked to train a new dog with a group of dogs. The reason is, they seem to rely on the other dogs alot more, never fully develop their own skills. Also, I never liked my dogs to run, run, & run for long periods of time. For deer, I liked them to run for 20-30 minutes then come back to me, this gets the deer moving but not running out of the country. Most of the time, on the way back, they would pick up another animal that back tracked across the original trail (thinking they were safe) and another short run would insue.

Running two or more dogs together can cause a competition between them where they want to out do the other and never want to quit and come back to the handler.

To start a dog without a pack or group of dogs takes a little more work, but I think you get a better dog in the end. Try and get the dog a very close encounter (where the dog sees the animal) and start chasing the animal with the dog. then try and look for the scent with the dog, if you can see the tracks, point them out to the dog, this does really work.

Doing this with kids is great for all involved.

ninepointer · Post by **ninepointer** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:48 am

Tom wrote:I have trained many different beagles as hunting dogs and family pets. I have never liked to train a new dog with a group of dogs.
To start a dog without a pack or group of dogs takes a little more work, but I think you get a better dog in the end.

The only beagle I have ever trained is the one I own. Before I started training I studied a lot on the subject and Tom's principle is the one that I used. Once my dog found its nose on its own, hunting alone or running with other beagles was a breeze.

We presently have one beagle in our group that coming up on its 3rd season. It was never subjected to individual training. So far this dog is a "tag along" dog. It's useful as an extra "flusher", but it does not run rabbits round.

Yet we have a younger dog (coming up on its 2nd season) whose owner put in the necessary individual training time. This dog has quickly become an excellant hunter and is the obvious "apprentice" that will someday replace my older dog.