The American Beagler Forum

I was just wondering what some of you guys think is the hardest thing to breed for. Is it hunt,brains,speed,stamina,mouth,
ect.... just thought it would be intersting to see some of your thoughts on this.If you linebreed or outcross what's the hardest thing to predict.

i would have to say brains hands down

all the above in one package,which is what we should strive for and I know it is hard to do,but I am still looking for the total package

In the north I need dogs with big noses if I want to enjoy winter running. A dog with a big nose and the composure to control the mouth is a valuable combination. You will not see very many dogs with both and the ones Ive seen rarely pass it on to next generation.

I don't have a lot of experience in breeding, but i have figured out what i'm after!

I'm breeding two dogs that compliment each other. Both should have the same styles (speed, line control, and nose). i want to consistantly throw the same traits, and I'm not going to try to add to much of one thing fast. I don't believe in breeding a dog that runs a 6 to a fast male that runs an 8! This just doesn't add up to me!

When all else fails you have to go by the old saying "breed your two best dogs"!

IMO, the correct amount of independence. A dog that will pull to a right sounding pack mate yet run the line when the over running yappers are racing for the front at all costs is a rare hound. It's beautiful sight to see a hound follow the line while the majority of the pack follow the leader down the wrong path.

As was mentioned above the complete package is almost impossible to obtain.

Newt wrote:IMO, the correct amount of independence. A dog that will pull to a right sounding pack mate yet run the line when the over running yappers are racing for the front at all costs is a rare hound. It's beautiful sight to see a hound follow the line while the majority of the pack follow the leader down the wrong path.

As was mentioned above the complete package is almost impossible to obtain.

i feel you Newt!

Now find a male and a female that are both doing this and breed them!

Consistancy.Nose.Trex is tight mouthed easily cured if done properly.

lol, Brain, and maybe some brain, and uh............. oh did I mention brain?
a dog, (like people) can have it all but if they dont have the brain to control it its all worthless.
Oh yes and I would like to throw in some brains to boot, without a doubt the hardest thing to get,
but this is just my opinion

I see several comments about breeding for brains. What methods are you using for this? Beagles are not known for being smart dogs, what is it in a beagle that you consider brains. Some may say trainability, calm behavior, kennel manners, what?

I have always believed beagles operate more on instinct rather than brains. If they are bred right with nose, hunt, desire, stamina, and you put them in the proper environment with opportunity they excell. Would like to hear some opinions of what actions in the hound demonstrate brains to you.

Lets face it, a dog that will go run through briars and brush in extreme hot or cold temps, chasing a scent that it seldom if ever catches for 6,7,or 8 hours straight, barking and running to the point of exhaustion, only to get a little kibble and water and back at it again the next day cant be to smart.

but you consider the guy or gal that; pays $200 to $500 for a pup and puts out all that money for feed, meds, gas, and thats not to mention your time (my accountant tells me my time is worth 100$ per hour) and then pays $200 to $800 for a gun and atleast $5 a box for the shells just to listen to that dumb dog run rabbits so you can shoot one now and then, I won't even bring up all the time of aggravation of going through times of the year when that dog couldnt run a rabbit if it were tied to it, smart? I think I would be more inclined to call the guy the dummy. We won't even discuss the fact that most of this is done to feed the guy's or gal's ego

I think there several ways to interpret brains myself and it has always worked for me,

I should say I have learned several ways through the years that work for me

If Im reading your sentence correctly, you feel the owners are pretty dumb themselves. Ok, got it. That still doesnt answer the question of what it is about a beagle that shows you brains.

You say: "I think there several ways to interpret brains myself and it has always worked for me, I should say I have learned several ways through the years that work for me"

Can you share some of these ways with me, Im one of those really dumb beaglers that doesnt know what people are talking about when they say they are breeding for brains.

Who told you beagles were "not smart dogs"? They are clueless. Yes, the old hound tied to a chain in the backyard and never ran may end up dumb but is that the hounds fault?
Brains comes in many forms.
I had a bitch stolen once while running her and the next morning she barked me back to her where she was tied to a fence post in a guys yard over a mile away. I'd say she is a pretty smart hound. Pointing a dog into a thicket with hand commands, the ability to keep a rabbit going for over an hour, not gettting hung up in the check area, not honoring a faulty hound in the pack, knowing where to go in a field or woods to jump rabbits, obedience, a dog that makes good eye contact and communicate or feeds off the handlers mannerisms are just a FEW of the traits that show brains. There are many more traits that exhibit brains in a beagle. These are just a few that come to mind.

mybeagles wrote: Im one of those really dumb beaglers that doesnt know what people are talking about when they say they are breeding for brains.

and..........

"Lets face it, a dog that will go run through briars and brush in extreme hot or cold temps, chasing a scent that it seldom if ever catches for 6,7,or 8 hours straight, barking and running to the point of exhaustion, only to get a little kibble and water and back at it again the next day cant be to smart."

if this is your true belief there isnt anything I can help you with you'll just have to learn from trial and error like I did and learn to recognize the attributes you like in a dog, and Pike Ridge gave a pretty good answer as well,

I'm also surprised that you talk about a dog running for 6,7,or 8 hours and you don't attribute brains to that at all? interesting.

but good luck anyway

Oh and by the way, I did not mean to imply by any means that owners were dumb I was just wording my statement according to the way you made your statement and if you took offense I apologize

No offense taken, just adding sarcasm to your sarcasm. I understand we all like dogs that pound the brush for hours and that doesnt make the dogs dumb, or the owners that enjoy it. Not sure you can call stamina and desire, brains though. You still didnt give any characteristics that you associate with brains. Do you associate anything specific with brains, or do you "just know" what your looking for when you breed thats not tangible.

Anyone else that attributes specific traits as a clear sign of "brains" please join post.

I enjoy a smarter than average beagle, one that doesnt eat $hit, chew fence, fight other dogs, sensless barking, but not sure how you breed for that, other than through omitting complete fools from the breeding pool. I cant really see how you progress with brains in your breeding program. How do you measure success? Just when you think you have bred two top notche hounds, behold you have two or three pups that eat their $hit, or eat a plastic cup in the woods and choke to death.

I would argue that agressive inbreeding/linebreeding has done more to reduce brain power than anything else. But by my own standard, that would be tough to prove. There is scientific evidence that inbreeding increases the rate of health problems, and I dont think the brain is exempt from that......