[pshandrick]

Hi everyone I have a few questions. I have hunted many times with beagles and the beagle I have recently come into ownership of I have hunted with. Here is the situation a friend of mine moved to SC for work and was unable to take all of his beagles with him. The youngest of his beagles is three and he asked me if I would take her of course I did. The beagle is 3 years old and hasn't hunted in about a year. She was really running good and we killed many bunnies over her. Here is my question(s). What is the best way to get some work in with her so that I can get her back into hunting shape. I know she was broke of deer and my buddy gave me a brand new shock collar along with her. I am just looking for some input. I have always had all purpose labs that we used to hunt upland birds and waterfowl but there is nothing better than running bunnies with a beagle. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[oldhounddog]

pshandrick ,
Welcome to Beagles Unlimited , and thanks for asking some very good questions.................
Do some bonding / quality time with your new Beag and make sure she does not have any separation anxiety from the loss of her pack and old home place.

I would put the training collar on her every time out and would not turn on for a week. Next , I would start with a some time outside letting her do some hunting and at this time I would find the lowest working stim level on your new training collar and give lots of praise and a small treat for good recall. ( Please say model training collar you have ) Tip... Don't over use training collar...

I would invest time to make sure she in happy with her new home and do a little basic command training with her with lots of small treats and praise to keep things fun...

If all is looking good I would start her on a few hunting trips just to see how she sounds when she opens on a new scent.
Just go slow and keep everything fun and I'm sure she will get better with every hunting trip.

Post some pics when you have time and let us know how things are going.

Will your new Beag be an inside dog? What will you feed her? Is she UTD on shots?

Good Luck and post back often.

Best , oldhounddog

 

[pshandrick]

Oldhounddog,

That is pretty much the plan I had in mind. Do you reccomend getting some scent and letting her run a premade trail just to get the juices flowing? Bonding has been going really well she is a sweetheart and an inside dog. I have to check the model on the collar it is still packed away. I can tell she has a little separation anxiety but she is getting more comfortable with the surroundings each day. Any suggestions on easing the anxiety or is it just a matter of affection and time? I will post up some pics soon so you all can see her!

Thanks again. pshandrick

 

[oldhounddog]

pshandrick ,

On the SA , if it is mild and no chewing at the door , drooling and crying type of behavior , then this is what I would try and I am sure this will pass in time. And , yes , you are correct here >>> " just a matter of affection and time " <<<

Daily exercise and a little fun play with you. You can be creative with indoor games here... Link :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJxG--4t3SU&feature=player_embedded

If she will not eat/chew the item , put something with your scent in her crate or bed at night. Keep her in your room at night if you can.

For mental stimulation , feed her meal or part of meal in a puzzle toy. Like this: http://www.amazon.com/Our-Pets-Atomic-Treat-Ball/dp/B0002ZADXW

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For the tracking , the scent and premade trail will work fine and give you an opportunity to work with your girl , something she will enjoy. If you are in an area with rabbits you could set a rabbit box and trap a live rabbit for her to run , or , kill the rabbit and use whole rabbit for drag scent... When finished with rabbit for drag scent just put in gallon plastic jug w/lid and freeze... Next time just take rabbit out of freezer and layout a trail and return to freezer when finished as it will prolly still be frozen.

My guess is that your Beag will be fine after she settles into her new home.

Don't forget those pics...........................

Beagles are a very special dog , great inside companion and fierce hunter. It has been many years since my last Beag , but this old heart holds very clear memories from 45 years ago of our Beag playing in the house with our children and in the back yard howling to chase rabbits. Music to my ears to this day....

Today my rescue work is with large breed hounds , mostly Redbone and a couple of retrievers.

Best , oldhounddog