Training Beagle puppies to become rabbit hounds is a pursuit that has over a 200 year history. The oldest known form of hound is the Beagle. So I consider it the purest of purebreeds. Does this mean Beagles come out of the womb chasing rabbits? No. They come out especially sniffy and ready to exlpore with theirt noses. They also have the reputation as being highly hard to housebreak. I train Beagles for rabbit hunters! I myself do not pursue shooting any rabbits, but I enjoy the pleasures of teaching the hounds to become what they are bred to do, and that is sniff and chase game!

Whether your Beagle pursues the couch at home or is a field dog, I have tips for both types of owners due to my experiences in dealing with this breed in its own environment. How do I start?

Our philosophy for training our puppies is very simple. We expose our puppies to as much of everything as we can imagine. It isn't the "super puppy" method the military uses but we utilize the peak periods of neurological development to expose our puppies to all sorts of different challenges.

If you want hunting dogs you must know this..

Beagles must run in a pack! In order to find an effective group of running hounds one must employ some trial and error. If you run hounds that do not "click" the result of your hunts could be madness, whereas the owner uneedily rid himself of dog's that may otherwise perform with a different group of dogs. Finding your pack is the key to success.

House Beagles

Your dogs may seem tame but they will never get away from the desire to run in a pack. They will always be "sniffy" and they will always respond to the sound stimulus of dogs in a pack chasing an animal. If you hear some dog activity going on outside your home, you may want to keep "Rover" in for the night otherwise to 200 odd years of genetics will force he or she to submit to the chase.

For those of us interested in hunting...

There are several different pack options for trialing.Which I will not go into great detail at this time (I run in the NKC Progressive Pack ) The basis for all rabbit hunting hounds is the line. The line is referred to as the path which the rabbit actually ran. These terms I will discuss more in depth in my daily blogs, but for now know that a rabbit hound must have some sense of the line and the ability to stay on the line of the rabbit. The nose is another must for a great hunting hound. The slang terms thrown around about a hound's nose are too numerous to name. But in the course of journeying through buying a Beagle one will hear the term "Cold Nosed" most often as a term a dispair in ones hound. A cold nosed Beagle is one that picks up on small patches of sent too old to make a run at the rabbit. The reason this is frowned upon by hunters and trialers alike, is because these dogs waste ample amount of time on dead end tracks.

So my training technique is based on exposure. We don't just want dogs that can run a line. We at Yellow Roses Kennel train the dog to be smarter. Please keep up with my daily training blog to learn the secrets to our success. A beagle is an open book. It can be a loyal pet or hunting companion, but it is essential to understand the make-up of the dog and its tendancies to completely enjoy your companion.