sooooo sqare one w/ beagle pup... what do i do?

[neil duffey]

some of you know i recently got a beagle pup. anna, who is going on 11 weeks old. i havent started to train her yet... we are still doing basic obedience and potty training. id like to know everything and anything you can tell me or advise me about getting this little pup trained to hunt squirrel and rabbit. keep in mind i have never ever trained a do in my life. bird yes... but not dogs... be gentle.:D

[jeffm]

:yeahthat: what do we do ? :D

[jackbob42]

.... id like to know everything and anything you can tell me or advise me about getting this little pup trained to hunt squirrel and rabbit.


Are you really going to hunt it on squirrels?

[Line-Loc]

jeffm

What do you have?

[predatordave]

first off congrats on getting into the wonderful world of hounds, even though it is a little one. i am not quite sure how a beagle is going to be on squirrels. beagles dont have much treeing instinct in the. but for rabbits it can work. buy an e-collar first off. this will help you greatly. dont use it until you think the pup is big enough to handle it. if you know someone with a beagle that runs would help also. and dont forget to have fun. be patient as much as you can. i used to have a beagle. i ended up starting it using a bunny pen. it works good as long as it is not overutilized. when to start running your pup all depends on the dog itself in my mind. mine started at around 6 months. there are a lot of guys on here that know a lot more about beaqgles than me hopefully they will chime in for you too.
any questions just let us know.

later, dave

[jeffm]

jeffm

What do you have?

I have a beagle, that is long over do, for the woods, about 1 yr. old.

(old pic)
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x7/JeffM_photos/SD530235.jpg

[Nealbopper]

See my post in Freepops post. I give you some starting tips. Good luck.

[KILLnGRILL]

I started my dog using road kill rabbits .I dragged through yard and buried under some leaves .Let the dog loose and he would scent track ( whining the whole way) and find evry time .To make it challenging I would zig zag all over the yard .That 'll get him interested anyway. Dont use squirrels however or it will screw him up ,just stick with bunnies.Do a search lots of good info on this sight.
KNG

[riverroadbeagles]

When the dog is old enough to start hunting and not play. You will know what I am talking about they all have a time when all they want to do is chase rabbits it could be as young as 5 months or as old as a year. Get your self a live trap and catch some rabbits. I have the best luck in dec and jan trapping rabbits. Take to a open spot so the pup can get a good sight chase. It may or may not chase the first time. Continue to do this untill the pup is sight chasing and hopefully giveing mouth. This teaches it what it is supposed to be chasing then let the rabbit go and wait a few minutes and put the dog on the line so it has to use its mouth. Its up to you if you want it to run squirrels I personally dont. Most beagles arent going to tree so all you will have is a dog barking for short chases. Which is annoying to me but it is up to you. Expose the pup to lots of rabbits and rabbit tracks before breaking off undesired game. You can ruin a dog by shocking on off game before you get them going on rabbits. If your ever in the MT. Plesant area and want to run let me know.

[neil duffey]

soooo i just wanted to clear up that i meant to spell square correctly, sadly this lap top key board sucks!:rant::dizzy:

[neil duffey]

When the dog is old enough to start hunting and not play. You will know what I am talking about they all have a time when all they want to do is chase rabbits it could be as young as 5 months or as old as a year. Get your self a live trap and catch some rabbits. I have the best luck in dec and jan trapping rabbits. Take to a open spot so the pup can get a good sight chase. It may or may not chase the first time. Continue to do this untill the pup is sight chasing and hopefully giveing mouth. This teaches it what it is supposed to be chasing then let the rabbit go and wait a few minutes and put the dog on the line so it has to use its mouth. Its up to you if you want it to run squirrels I personally dont. Most beagles arent going to tree so all you will have is a dog barking for short chases. Which is annoying to me but it is up to you. Expose the pup to lots of rabbits and rabbit tracks before breaking off undesired game. You can ruin a dog by shocking on off game before you get them going on rabbits. If your ever in the MT. Plesant area and want to run let me know.

this is an awesome post! thank you. shes only 11 weeks right now, but i find it extremely encouraging that she follows the trail of the rabbit that lives under the porch almost perfectly, ever time we take her out. is that a good sign, or just a curious puppy that really has no idea what shes doing?

[SKUNK]

The first thing I would do is make sure she will stay and come

[jeffm]

(Neil's statement)
shes only 11 weeks right now, but i find it extremely encouraging that she follows the trail of the rabbit that lives under the porch almost perfectly, ever time we take her out. is that a good sign, or just a curious puppy that really has no idea what shes doing?


Hey Neil,
I dont no much about beagle's yet(early starting or not) but if any of my plott dogs took interest at 11 wks. trail'n out a track even if their (not)opening on it and they are doing as yours is doing, I would be vary excited for that age, just my oppinion for the little experience that I have had at it.

[jackbob42]

this is an awesome post! thank you. shes only 11 weeks right now, but i find it extremely encouraging that she follows the trail of the rabbit that lives under the porch almost perfectly, ever time we take her out. is that a good sign, or just a curious puppy that really has no idea what shes doing?

If she's following a track , take her to the woods !
Take her out right at daylight. Let her track down a wild rabbit. If she's not barking yet , she will. When she tracks one down and sees it jump , she'll start barking.
Or , you can find a dirt road and ride along ( at daylight ) till you see a rabbit and put her on it.

[neil duffey]

The first thing I would do is make sure she will stay and come

thats what were working on:D obedience:D shes really good / it. sh leaves it and she stays, now were working on the come here command.

[Wishin_Fish]

She'll put a smile on your face the first time she opens up on a trail I'll tell ya that.

As far as getting her used to guns I say start small. What I did with our beagle when she was about 12 weeks was to take her out in the back yard and while she was playing I'd take two peices of 2 by 4 and slap them together and make a crack sound. I never let her see me do this and after a few times she quit stopping and looking when she heard it.

Once she was totally cool with that we took her squirrel hunting just to get her in the woods. I had a friend with and he would go about 40-50 yards and take a shot with a .22 in an oppisite direction. The first couple times she would stop what she was doing and look or flinch slightly. After a few trips with the .22 and the 2 by 4 smacking at home she didnt care if we took a shot when she was at our feet.

I then stepped up to my .410 in the woods at a distance. Then my 20 guage. And my dads 12 guage. By the time she was 6 months old she wasn't scared of the guns at all. She knows what were gonna do when the gun cases and her ecollar come out. Now when I shoot if she isnt on a trail she runs to me and looks the way my gun is pointing to see what I shot at. She is totally excited to hit the brush.

If your pup is trailing rabbits under your deck you are well on the way. Right now she may be curious but soon her instinct will set in. Expect her to sight chase at first, then pick up with her nose. Stay and come (I use "HERE") are your most important commands right now. Use short commands and be consistant, she'll pick it up.

[john warren]

its never too early to start training.
first thing i do with any dog thats going to be a gun dog is make noise. happy joyful noise. band the food dishes when feeding them. this accustoms them to noise and conditions noise to be associated with positive things like food. when i play with a pup i clap my hands a lot , and use percusive sounding words like calling out to them"pup,pup,pup"
again associates noise with play.
get the dog into the field for walks and play, it helps them to learn what the world smells like and sounds like. and helps to train them that a ride in the car is a fun thing.
when i take them to the field i like to take them near a gunrange,, say maybe a mile away, so they can hear it,,, but its not threatening. over the weeks i will move closer, but never tooclose, watch for them getting nervous about the noise . don't take them to a range or shoot near them just to see if it bothers them,,,it most certainly will.
i never shoot near my dog till their in hot pursute on game, the excitment of the hunt helps them ignore the sound.
make sure the dog meets lots of other dogs to learn to play nice and get along in a pack setting.
same with people. i try to have my dogs meet and interact with 50 or so people in the first six months, to socialise them around others.
once their a little older, you might want to live trap a rabbit. let him get after him in the livetrap . then hold the dog back while releasing the rabbit. let the bunny get a headstart , then release the pup. should only take once or twice and they will get the picture.
then if you can take it to a training pen it wouldn't hurt.

[FREEPOP]

All good information. Get the dog out in the field a lot, then get it out there more. Practice basic commands and riding in a vehicle, it'll save many headaches.

Someone wrote that, a dog is like an ATM, you only get out of them what you put in. There is a lot of thruth in that.

[withgrace]

I think making all the noise around a dog does more harm than good. My inlaws have trained a lot of hounds and the dogs are introduced to the gun when they are hunting. They will shoot a rabbit (usually it is a good distance in front of the dog) and then let the dog catch it. That is the only intoductin they do with the gun.
I almost made my GSP gun shy by trying the noise around the yard. She only started liking gun noise when birds started falling out of the air. She still hates thunder and loud noises like hammering, but if you shoot a gun she comes running to look for a bird.
I know there is going to be a lot of people who will disagree with me, but I have seen to many dogs cowering at the gun range. Scared because they dont know what all the noise is for.

[jackbob42]

I think making all the noise around a dog does more harm than good. My inlaws have trained a lot of hounds and the dogs are introduced to the gun when they are hunting. They will shoot a rabbit (usually it is a good distance in front of the dog) and then let the dog catch it. That is the only intoductin they do with the gun.
I almost made my GSP gun shy by trying the noise around the yard. She only started liking gun noise when birds started falling out of the air. She still hates thunder and loud noises like hammering, but if you shoot a gun she comes running to look for a bird.
I know there is going to be a lot of people who will disagree with me, but I have seen to many dogs cowering at the gun range. Scared because they dont know what all the noise is for.


Exactly !
My coonhounds and beagles only see the gun when it's time to go hunting.
I try and shoot the game with one shot. It only takes a couple times and they realize that shot means game ! That equals FUN !
In 40 years of hunting , I've never had a gunshy dog.

[steve w]

Good advice,safest way to gunbreak a beagle is like the above two posts say. More beagles are made gunshy by thier owners then are born gunshy.

[MPD068]

Congrats on the new pup. I have a 2 1/2 and 1 year old. I got the 1 year old from a guy who field trials and has an enclosure. Try to get the pup a couple of live releases and some time in an enclosure. My young pup drove rabbitts her first time in the woods 5 months old!!!!!! I believe genetics plays a big part in the pups development. As stated earlier time in the woods and her genetics will help her development!!!!! my 2 cents

[DDay]

riverroadbeagles has great points. Just getting the dog out in the field used to that enviroment with you and working on basics helps alone too. Training can depend too on if your going to run the beagle alone or in a pack. Training to early with a pack can sometimes cause a dog to pick up bad habits others may have. But can pick up some good traits too. You just have to get to know your dogs own habits of running well enough to tell what he's picking up with a pack. Do you know anyone locally that runs dogs? You may also look and see if you have a Beagle Club close by. I belonged to and ran the Central Illinois Beagle Club for years. For a while I also belonged to the Lake Superior Beagle Club many years ago. They can be great fun too. You may do a search for magazines. I used to get Hounds and Hunting Magazine for eons. Although training is time consuming it is quite rewarding. Remember that this will be you first as well as the pups. Best of luck to you on your endeavor and enjoy.

[neil duffey]

heres my trouble... i cant put an "enclouser" in the yard... what do i do? run here in an open field?

[FREEPOP]

Neil, I have about 5 acres at my house and neither of the neighbors care about the dogs running. I plant some clover and a cover/food mix and the rabbits love it. We call it the dog's playground. But I feel the more time you spend with a dog, anywhere, it's going to be a positive thing. I routinely spend a minimum of an hour letting them explore per day and they are used to it, know when it's time and are ready to go. By doing that you are working on basic handling skills, like come etc. and my oldest will even follow hand signals. Reinforcing the bond and heirarcy is always good, you will be rewarded by your efforts.

[Selectiveharvest]

Neil-
I enjoyed reading this thread, I reminds me of a few years back when I adopted a stray beagle. Unfortunately, I asked the same questions on another site and got no response at all. What I found was that basic commands were the most important for starters. My trouble was that Gypsy would take off anytime I had her off leash. The Sportdog FT-400 collar solved that problem quickly. Beagles are generally very intelligent dogs, and after of first trek in the park w/ her new collar, she followed me out on heal w/out a leash! My next problem was, how do I get her to bark when on scent and chase/circle rabbits to give me a shot? I found that the first time we went hunting she did all of the above very well. Maybe she had been trained before I got her, maybe it was instinct(I believe it's the latter), but the only training she's needs is to go hunting. I also run her along metro bike paths and thickets in nearby parks as often as I can. I put a bell around her neck when hunting, and that helps her distinguish between drills and the real thing. I can call her off a hot bunny on a walk w/ just a verbal command. She is the greatest dog I've ever been blessed to know, I'm sure yours will be for you. Just remember to give her the 3 things she needs in life... Love(includes dicipline), Food, and Bunnies!
Brandan

[cjric]

Your beagle already knows how to hunt. Teach it the basic commands that you will use every day and in the field. Teach her in the field where there are distractions and smells. My 1.5 yr old beagle minded really well last year as I was training it in my back yard, but got terribly distracted in the field. Part of that is just the fact that it's a pup and will settle down as it grows.

I got mine when he was 7 mo. old and had been crate trained, house broke and taught sit. But Zeke had never been hunted. I went hunting w/ my uncle and a couple other guys and we had two or three dogs (including mine) at all times. After about 4-5 times out my beagle caught on and by the end of the season was running rabbits full circle by himself. Sadly, my uncles beloved beagle isnt around this season, so the torch has been passed to my little Zeke. He's got big paws to fill!
They know how to hunt, and from what I've experienced, the best way to get them hunting is to get them out w/ GOOD dogs and GOOD dog handlers.

[Big Reds]

Keep things simple so as you don't confuse the little tyke. Two words for any training be it dogs or children. Repetition and reward! It will be a fine bunny hound. It should really be doing great at 2 or so. Depending on number of trips to the field. Don't over think things, pretty soon the pup will be teaching you! Good luck!

[FREEPOP]

Keep things simple so as you don't confuse the little tyke. Two words for any training be it dogs or children. Repetition and reward! It will be a fine bunny hound. It should really be doing great at 2 or so. Depending on number of trips to the field. Don't over think things, pretty soon the pup will be teaching you! Good luck!

Good advise. I've been wanting to remind you to keep things fun and let the dog run. Don't constantly harp on it and distract it from exploring. Running with another dog can be a scary experience for a young dog too, as some may be a bit agressive. Take it slow and enjoy it, before you know, you'll be listening to the music on a regular basis :)

[FREEPOP]

A guy turned me on to a bunch of these mags he had saved http://www.betrbeagle.com/

[john warren]

well ,,let us know how things are going. it will be good to have a running report.