Beagle training tips

[larry]

here's a couple pics of my newest dog...she's just under a year old. This is my 3rd beagle and has the potential of being the best hunter yet. To bad all the snow around here has put a squelch on the rabbit hunting

 

 

[Swanny in MD]

Never heard the 'keep your puppy's bowl full' theory before.  Probably akin to breast feed on demand vs. schedule feedings for newborns.  We always fed three x's a day till 16 weeks and then twice thereafter without adverse effects.  

Here's my oldest daughter's beagle she got a couple years ago on her 12th birthday.  Probably the prettiest we've had with the blue and brown ticking.  Mother was a 15" with father a 13"...Lilly is almost 17".

   

As a kid I let my dogs run loose all the time...didn't ever make sense keeping a farm dog couped up.  Had several get killed when the wabbit went across the main road.  Several got injured when the truck's front tire got em, or the VW beetle go-cart swiped them...they got put down with my .22 pistol.  Wasn't fun.

One of them was missing for months...probably my favorite of all time...Deuce Boy.  

My grandmother happened to run into her friend up at the corner store and they got to chatting about her 'new' dog.  Come to find out this lady found Deuce and thought he was a stray since he didn't have a collar (he ripped it off on a fence).  So she got him fixed and took him in and cared for him. She felt bad for me and said I could have him back...I let her keep him.

It was probably six months between the last time I saw him and when I went to visit him.  My truck had a loud Flowmaster muffler on it and when I pulled in he went bonkers and knew it was me.  

I visited him from time to time for years....watched him grow into a fat monster.    

[Dale Hajas]

I dunno where or how our breeder came about the full bowl idea. I can tell you this, this beagle has never eaten more than a cup of food a day. His bowl holds exactly one cup and it gets filled once a day.

Maybe I could've put it better by saying that we keep food in his bowl constantly, only adding or re-filling when empty.

He has maybe 15 dogs, a very nice kennel set-up. He also lets everyone of his hunting stock free in the yard for a time being everyday. He feels it keeps them happy.

I made a comment about beagles being stubborn and hardheaded and he proved me foolish by calling each dog by name, as soon as they heard their name right back into the pen they went- by themselves!    

He hunts 8 or 9 dogs regularly, and one thing I noticed immediately is that every dog has a simple 1 syllable name like Belle, Smoke, Joe etc. Next time I see him I'm gonna ask him about that.

Anyhow they're great dogs and I cant wait to be able to hunt over my beagle with my bow!

[Buz-AL]

Halle and her first of the year.

 

Some tips I haven't seen are-

-Get a book on crate training if you don't know it already.  It really works if they haven't learned they don't mind being nasty.  Leave 'em in there all the time they aren't supervised, they don't like to mess their bed. The trick to house-training is to realize that house training is really people training more than puppy training.  Take 'em out of the crate every hour or so with plenty of praise for the good deeds for a couple days and you'll never have a problem.  Pick them up from the crate and set them down outside so they don't get a chance to think that outside the crate is "outside" before they get outside.

-Only ONE toy. If you get them one toy at a time, they can easily be taught that everything else is non-chewable. Takes lots of "NO"s though.

-Weather matters.  Don't take the pup out on a nice dry mid-morning that's wariming quickly and expect good scenting conditions.  Go early mornings, afternoons after the thermals begin to cool and when the air hangs low to the ground.  Moist times, too.  

-Carharts and patience. It'll take lots of times with her just chasing them off before one finally comes full circle.  Be glad for those times, and realize the circles will come. And help her get a trail started.

-Once the chase starts, realize that the rabbit is 100-200 yards out in front of your dog, just hopping along slowly.   Its likely not running just ahead of the dog. By the time the dog starts back toward you, you'd better be hunting. Your stand should be very close to where the rabbit started, he is coming back.

-Then start imitating a carrot.  Act just like one and make the very best carrot calls you can.  Be as loud as you want, as long as it sounds just like a carrot growing there ready to eat.  Any other movement or sounds will result in your dog doing a 90 degree turn about 25 yards out in front of you. Maybe if you act like a carrot then you'll get to hear that little rustle-rustle that tells you its time to tighten up on that bowstring in a little while.  Time your draw correctly with their good eyesight or it'll be another circle. :-)

-Field points work great for rabbits in front of dogs. Haven't lost a hit rabbit yet.  Safe for the dog, too.

Beagles are the most willing hunting partners and best roommates you've ever imagined.