[Clash10660]

Me and My Beagle "Maggie Mae" are on our 3rd season. She's my first beagle because as a Kid we mostly hunted rabits without dogs.

First, Maggie isn't registered nor do I know her blood line. About 3 years ago a friend called saying she had a Female beagle and a very young female pup show up on there door step and were not able to find the owners. I'd been thinking of getting a beagle but was hesitent not knowing what I was going to get. Well, those beagle puppy eyes sucked me in and the rest is history. Now she's my best friend and hunting buddy. Unfortunately she's much faster than my Dad and his friends Dogs. Don't get me wrong, she has a nose to go with her speed and she has more than her fair share of jumps even in the worst conditions. The problem is the other dogs just can't hunt with her becasue of her speed.

This puts me in a bit of a situatuion as I know if frustrates the other guys to see there dogs just trying to keep up. To be fair to them, with her speed she has more loses than there dogs. They being retired get to run there dogs together several days a week year round. There dogs together are a rabits worst enemy. They are maticulous and once on a trail unless if finds a hole its probably going to be a dead rabit.

Does anyone have any experience with slowing a fast dog or do I just have to live with it. Even my dad says if we could just slow her down she could very well be the best dog of the bunch.

 

[Bauer]

My experience has been that beagles that hunt can be divided into three categories, starters, trackers, and pushers. Rarely are fast dogs like your Maggie good starters, but that's no problem if she runs with a starter. Even less frequently are fast dogs good trackers; they over-run and lose the track, but if you have a tracker along there's no problem. I find pushers like Maggie keep the hunt moving and exciting so long as they don't push so hard they drive the cottontail to ground, or drive the white rabbit into the next county.

 

[Mom2Beagles]

That is so interesting! I have two beagles but don't know that much about hunting with beags. I would say from your descriptions that Molly would be a pusher and Vazzy would be a tracker. Very cool

 

[Clash10660]

Even more interesting

I appreciate the feedback. Our group has always considered her a excellent starter. There is no brush pile or briar patch she will not find a way into.

Yesterday I decided to take Maggie out by herself to show my newphew what Rabbit hunting on a dog was all about. The weather was brutal. Light snow, wind gusts and mid 20's. I learned a bitter sweet lesson about my dog yesterday. This is the first time she has hunted alone since I started training her pups with her.

About 15 seconds after I released her she went straight into a heavy multifloral rose patch and instantly opened strong. The area was so think that we never saw the rabbit till the 2nd circle and in all the excitement I failed to chaber a round so the chase continued and the rabit changed circles. We moved after the 4th circle to try and ambush the rabbit and we scored the first kill of the day after a 1 hour chase. While I was cleaning that rabbit Maggied found number 2. I put my newphew in position and continued cleaning my rabbit. After 3 or 4 circles he bagged his first rabbit. Again, while I showed him how to clean the rabbit Maggie sniffed out number 3 and the chase was on again. This rabbit was acted like a young rabbit and was making smaller circles no more than a 2 or 3 acres of area. After 4 or 5 circles and me missing it once maggie finally pushed that little fella across a logging road and I busted it. By then it was time for me to get my nephew home. We didn't have any more than 5 or 10 minutes in a 3 hour hunt that she wasn't on a trail.

It was amazing to see that dog at work by herself. Her pace was good, not too fast but not at all slow, and she held the track even in the bad conditions. I even watched her push that rabbit by 3 deer which we all know is a test for most hounds. I felt like a parent watching there first kid graduate college when the hunt was over.

I can only conclude what my dad and I have suspected for the last couple years. She is too competative when she is running with a pack. She wants to lead and it becomes a footrace instead of a hunt. Today, as much as I hate to leave her at home, I'm going to take her boys a let them run with there Dad. Hopefully training them with her for the last six months hasn't given them the same bad habbits.

 

[Bauer]

Sounds like you have got yourself a fine hound. Enjoy!