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[deadeyebeagle]

[mike crabtree]

I usually wait until they are 7 months old. you will get arguments in either direction. Im bad to run mine with older hounds too young, so I try to wait a little while.I have blew some up putting pressure on them too early.

[Nor' Easter]

You can have a dog get 1st. place by 12 months old.
They remember most of what you teach them when they're young.
We run hare and start them from 8 weeks on. They run nice by 5 months old and are ready for some hunting action.
Deep snow here can be hard for them when small but they are able. I'd have it going as much as possible. Soloed my last pup for @ 50 times in the wild before he was 8 months old Then ran him with some older ones. It takes awhile for them to get the hang of packing by then. Maybe should have shown him other dogs earlier, but there were not many close by. He runs great now at 18 months ready to trial. I hope ?

[TC]

The YOUNGER the BETTER...
IMHO

[Rneil]

The best male I ever had could circle a rabbit at 6 months. He didn't circle them all however; I shot a rabbit over him at six months. He had no problem with a rabbit that would run. By nine months he was running well and I ran him with some seasoned broke dogs and he held his own. I hope to have a few pups soon and they will start training at 8 weeks. By 3 to 4 months I hope they know what a rabbit is.

Good luck

[sanfordssj]

i got 2 friends with 2 different opinoins on when to start a pup what do you thank or who is wrong one says take her out as much as u can from 3 months on the other says wait until thare 1 year old and watch them start 3rd time out he says that if u take them out all the time it teaches them to stay at your feet need imput

There is no age limit when it comes to starting a pup. I wait until the pup is big enough to run with adult dogs. If that is at 6 months or if it is at 10 months. I like to see them around 12 to 12 1/2" tall before i take them out. If you are going to start them with just other pups start them at 3 months! But, i don't have a lot of time to put into ONE dog. So, when i run, i'm running them all, and thats the reason for letting my pups get big enough to run with adults.

I have seen guys (includig myself) take a pup out with an adult pack. The pups are lost, don't know what to do and end just standing at your feet becasue they are to little to do anything. I feel at that piont with this scenario of running with adult dogs all you are doing is teaching them how to NOT hunt and hang out at your feet.

The scenario all depends on if you are running the pup by herself, or if you are going to let a pack naturally start her. Every pup that i have let get big enough to run with adult dogs has started with in a few times out. They take off running with the other dogs the first time trying to see what the hell is going on. All it takes from there i a few sight chases and GAME ON.

[ebag33]

Good question I wish I had all the answers on this. Right now I have a five month old pup that really pours out the mouth and will trail the heck out of a rabbit but wont pay any attention to the older slow female that I have ran him with, she runs off and leaves him he wont give up on the line to go to her but he keeps hunting and moving along just never catches up. Of course he is just five months old so I am sure he will catch on. On the other end of the spectrum I have a nine month old that just wants to follow her and let her do the work. I think Im just going to run them by themselves from now on untill they figure it out on their own.
I think they are all different and it is inside all of them to pack up,chase and scent trail rabbits they just have to be given enough opportunties to become capable of doing these things. Of course some will be better at it than others and some will be better sooner than others, but overall it has been bred into these dogs for generations to do these things so they really cant help but to do it. It just comes down to the owner or handler grooming the dog to chase, hunt, and trail in the fashion they see fit.
So I guess after all that rambling what Im saying is I dont think you can expose them too much or too early they will just naturally catch on at their own pace whenever they are ready.
But Im not a professional and nobody ever has paid for my opinion so take it for what its worth.

Gabe Miskimen

[Pike Ridge Beagles]

There is more to a rabbit dog than just getting it started on rabbits. Handling and socialization needs to be tought at about 6 weeks on.
Setting the pups down on rabbits between 2 to 3 months is good.
Field work begins at 4 months.
If they show good progress and have foot let them get in on a few runs with the older dogs around 5 months old, just for a quick 30 minute exercise then pull them off and put them up. If hunt is bred into the dogs it doesn't matter how much they stand around your feet or chase butterflys. If they have hunt there is no stopping them.
Brace and solo with dogs at the same maturity level as much as possible from there.
90% is in the blood as to what the hound will do. It is our job to give them opportunity and the sooner the better. I think it hurts a dogs progress to wait too long to start a training program...but that's just my opinion.

[PREACHERS,KENNEL]

i always like to start 2 at a time so they can be trained together ..after getting them chaseing rabbit and barking on scent in my small starting pen ,, i then move them to a great spot in the wild i have that always has rabbits there if a dog will hunt at all they;ll jump rabbits.forgot to say i put the pups in the starting pen at 3 months dont put any pressure on them to start the rabbits are there but they gota dig around a bit to find them in there. usually by 4 months they r ready for the wild spot and by 5 months old i could kill rabbits over them ..seems to me if i wait till later to start a dog it takes forever to get them goin.. i dont like to run young dogs with older dogs till they r near a yr old and can run rabbits by thereself but i dont hardly ever solo a dog either 2 at a time works well for me! and promotes packing!i do run therm however with friends thast have young dogs as well.

[Nor' Easter]

Run your 9 month old with the 5 month old, it should then see what's going on and also give the idea of hunting together to the 5 month old.That should work.

[rabbitearl]

I build my first pen in 87 and have leard alot about started a pup.First of all I wait till there 8 mo old befor I start them on rabbits or later if they are a little shy or donot want to come when I call.They listen to me first then we go and see Mr Rabbit.I have started pup for people at 3 and 4 mo old and the dog look real good at 5 mo.But some of these same pups will blow up at two years of age by started them to early.Some of the best dog I seen didnot start till they were 16 to 20 mo of age.I have mess some pups up by having to many rabbits in the pen.You donot want to many rabbits were ever you go.THis is what I do.I go to one of my pen that does not have many rabbits and catch a rabbit in my box and put the rabbit in a cage and get two or three pup and walk them to the rabbit and let them find the rabbit and get down and praise the dog and then turn the rabbit out.Most of the time the pup are started.They will lose this rabbit and then will come across another.Its amazen how good this works.But like I said I wait till they are 8 mo.I donot start nobody dog no more because of this.They do better if you are in there with them.Some hunters say they donot have time to do this, then you donot need a dog.Just my two cents

[Pike Ridge Beagles]

.But some of these same pups will blow up at two years of age by started them to early.

You don't think they would have blown up if started later? If so, I totally disagree.
I have never had one blow up and I start most of mine early. All my beagling friends start theirs early and I haven't heard of any of them blowing up. Maybe its in the DNA.

[eddywilliams]

If they start early then blow up at age 2 then your handling abilities or choice of blood are in question I start all my pups on rabbits at 2 and 3mos sight chases till they change over to smell .I feel you can hurt a young hound by running it with older broke hounds too much the young hound ends up chasing the others instead of learning how to run a rabbit ,i feel they need ran solo or with an older dog of the same speed but still break them off solo and gauge them on their ability ,YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TILL YOU SEE THEM SOLO ,JUST LIKE A COLD MOONLIT JANUARY NIGHT COON HUNTING ,YOU WILL FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF HOUND YOU HAVE THEN

[Newt]

There is no rule on starting pups, as evident by the many responses. Do what you like and spend as much time with your pup and as much time in the field as you can afford. Starting a pup early will not ruin it, will not teach it to stay at your feet, nor will it affect the finished product. Given the opportunity a pup will develop to it's potential and that is determined by genetics.

[rabbitearl]

The beagle around here are different than yalls at 2 mo of age my pups have not learnd how to run good on there on yet.But the man wanting some opion and I gave him my.Sorry if I step on somebody toes.So you are trying to tell me all the pups that yall raised not one has ever been a cull.Man that a knew one on me.Can t wait till this trial sat an tell everybody I know were there somebody that raised beagle and donot have culls.