Need veteran beagler advice and opinions???

[Guest]

I have 2 Females from a linebred Kennel one is 19 months and the other is 6 months. They both can easily run a rabbit and seem to have better than average noses, The problem I have is getting them to jump rabbits!!! I seldom see them jump rabbits usually me, or a huntingpartner, or an older dog will jump the rabbits then the chase is on, they just dont seem to find them as easily as some older dogs I have seen you know the ones that just seem to run from brushpile to brushpile and then wham the rabbits up!!! They just dont do that, I have had them start tracking a rabbit and say 40 yards from where they start boom the rabbits up and the chase is on but this is seldom and not what I would call jumping a rabbit. Is it just the age of the dogs will they pick this habit up or is there something I should do to help this, I mean dont get me wrong they go in the brush fine but they just don't act like the older dogs we run with that seem to just jump on every bush until something jumps out?? I mean 60% of the time once the rabbit is up they lead the pack but just cant seem to find one without help..
Any thought would be appreciated
thanx

[New York Hillbilly]

Guest,
The answer to your question seems to be right there in your post. They do not ack like your older hounds because they are not "older". The fact that they are running there own rabbits, especially a 6 month speaks well for them. If it were me I would take one at a time along with a good older hound that does go brush pile to brush pile. Hunt an area like fence rows and abandoned rail road tracks, this way they hunt close to you as you move along. As you hunt them encourage them by talking and pointing them into brushy areas. With a "here he is, " "is he in there," "get him him out of there girls (boys)," and acting excited yourself they soon catch on. And as soon as they start popping rabbits out of those spots your encouraging them to go into they will soon by doing it on their own. And the added bonus is when you see a brush pile that you just "know" there has to be one in there you can direct your hound in to find out!
Hope it works for you like it has for me over the years.
Good luck,
NYH

[New York Hillbilly]

Guest,
OOOOPPPPssss "act" not "ack", I work nights and must be spelling suffers when first waking up! But the advice was still on "targit"!
Good luck,
NYH

[Guest]

They must learn "they" have to find the rabbit before "they" get to enjoy the run. To build strength, we must allow them to work on their weakness. I would take to two out by themselves and allow them to learn to hunt for themselves. If one catches on an seem to be doing all the work, work the other solo.
"If you pull the sled up the hill, I will gladly ride it down with you", so it is with hounds...Patch

[Guest]

Sounds good I was hoping it was an age factor, On another note the 6 month old running her own rabbit it the same dog I posted about running her own rabbit at 4 months, as a matter of fact it is the same dog I shot this november and got it off of my chest by posting it here..LOl! She has a great nose and I dont know muh about field trialing but watching her run makes me think of in my mind a trial type dog, she never jumps to the front of the pack right away she seems to go only as fast as she can smell but when the older dogs over run a line she seems to catch up at that point and lead the way..it is funny to watch because a nice flat out straight line run after a rabbit she will be 30 feet behind the pack but as soon as something goes wrong or the rabbit makes a quick turn or even doubles back she is right there to show the older dogs the way.. and it has been like this since she was 4 months old. I just never thought it was that big of a deal for a young dog to run a rabbit on her own but I guess it is.
thanx

[Big Dog]

I have learned that patience is the key when dealing with young dogs. I have 6 that are less than a year old, and when they struggle I would like to help them out a little too soon sometimes. I used to try to jump rabbits for them, but now I just walk to the brush pile and stand there telling them to hunt him up, he's in there, and normally they will go right in. After 4 months of doing this several of my pups are showing signs of making real good jump dogs, as a matter of fact all of them will jump a rabbit but one is noticeably better than the rest. I say this to stress that breeding plays a major part in how hard dogs hunt and how well they are at jumping and other things. For example when I was a young boy I had a dog named Judy, in the 8 years I kept her I don't think she jumped more than 5 rabbits, but if he ever got up he was in deep trouble as she would not lose him. We all want that dog that can do it all, but the reality is that some dogs are better at some things than others. A lot of people wouldn't have kept her, but I did because she pleased me. Feed what pleases you and if neither turn out to be good jump dogs, so be it. Either you be the jump dog or buy a dog that is a known good jump dog. That is what a pack is all about.(Team work) With us being the Captain of the team.

Big Dog

[TomPA]

All the above posts give great advice but there is another possibility also. Some of todays bloodlines have had the hunt bred out of them. Especially some of the lines that are popular in trials where the handlers jump the rabbits for the dogs. You can see on some of these boards people complaining about dogs not being judged for search like they should be at some trials. Either way I wish you luck with the dogs and remember not every dog will be a super jump dog! The ones that are can be worth their weight in gold to a rabbit hunter.

[stanimals2]

Givem time! You might want to slow down a bit in the brush to, givem a little more time to work the area before you go in.