Branko Owners Step Up

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

fleetwood

Here is a post I had on a different site. Branko and Freida were great people to be with. Someone else posted a link to their website. Check it out and give them a call.
His dogs are not for everyone but they are definitely what I am looking for as a hunter. I have never been to a trial but I hunt hard and need above average dogs to be satisfied. I am sure not every dog he produces is a super dog but he has consistently produced good ones for many years. I got a female that never barked once in the year I owned her and he did not hesitate to replace her. When I bought her and another female as pups I never inquired about replacements and never had to ask he just said I am giving you another puppy. I live in Saskatchewan and the conditions here are brutal during winter. I needed dogs that could run on snow and in adverse conditions. I make my living hunting whitetails and have hunted/trapped all my life and know a good dog when I see one. Hope this helps you.



I just got back from Branko's place with 2 new male puppies. I had a blast and from what I seen anyone that bad mouths him or his dogs just flat doesn't have a clue what their talking about. He volunteered to replace the no-barker within a few minutes after I turned her loose. He doesn't miss anything when it comes to beagles and instantly recognized something was wrong with her. I watched 2 litter-mates go that did excellent. I will be getting a replacement pup in the future as I did not want 3 to train at the same time. I am sure not every single dog he produces are world beaters but he positively is one of the greatest if not the greatest breeder I have ever met.

We ran dogs everyday and and most of it is a blur but I honestly did not see a dog I would not want to feed. We ran dogs from 6 month old puppies to an 11 year old 2 time world champion male named One Tuff Hombre which happens to be Aggies sire. Branko and Freida are HONEST, HARD WORKING, FRIENDLY PEOPLE! My attitude about Frieda has completely changed and I was wrong in my thoughts about her before. She is extremely knowledgeable and was a a very gracious host to me and my wife. Both of them have dedicated their lives to trying to improve the breed and I really think they have succeeded. I had the chance to meet their son Marko and he is a good man as well.

I know I might catch some poop about this next statement but trust me I was more skeptical than anyone of you. The dogs caught hare daily and just flat ran them down to exhaustion and caught them. The first day we ran I put down my Aggie and he turned out 9 females about the same age as her. She will be 1 `year old at the end of April. They jumped and ran like a deer race and in fact I honestly thought they had a deer going for awhile. After about 45 minutes of absolutely one of the best races I have ever witnessed it went dead silent instantly. I never actually seen them catch it but after several minutes dogs starting coming out on the trail by us with blood on them and one of his dogs came out and she looked like she had ate a 55 gallon drum. She could hardly walk she was so full. Now it was bare ground and white bunnies with some hard running dogs and I do think that helped the dogs. He told me he has a hard time keeping the running grounds stocked with bunnies during bare ground and I now believe him after what I witnessed. The bloated dog was put in the trailer and we instantly started 2 rabbits and had a split pack right away. The pack Aggie was in caught their bunny after about an hour and half of hard pounding without any losses. It was just a roar the whole time. There was 5 females in that pack and every time I seen them you could have thrown a blanket over the pack and covered them. That bunny made the mistake of trying to go down the road with 5 screaming beagles about 15 feet behind it. I had brought my video camera but was too dumb to carry it that day. Branko had to go back home for chores so he missed out on that one.

Branko has the perfect place to run in. He has 2 different 1 mile sections fenced plus a couple of 40 acre pens and has lanes cut about every 2 hundreds yard all through them. He has worked super hard to get what he has and it has taken him a lifetime to do it all. We would run in different parts in the mornings and afternoons just to give the bunnies a break. I really think those bunnies would be much better off with coyotes after them than what they face daily!

I watched 5, 15inch males go and his Hammer dog is the absolute best beagle I have ever witnessed. He caught an exhausted hare all by himself. He flat ran off and left the other males after a while and never missed a stroke. He is a chop mouthed dog and barks about 125 barks per minute and never misses a breath. Every time I seen them he was 50 feet to 150 yards in front and the other males were not slouches. Like I said earlier EVERY dog we put down was a good dog. We never ran the same dogs and we ran all day every day I was there. It was dry and windy but Branko knows those 1 mile squares and we would be in on the dogs all the time. I watched about 25-30 different dogs go while I was there and every single day the dogs caught at least 1 bunny that I know of. Branko told me conditions get worse during winter but he will not keep or breed a dog that cant run on snow.

Branko and Freida get up early work all day and go to bed late. They take great pride in the dogs and their accomplishments. The only time either one of them stops is when they eat. They were getting ready to ship out puppies and I never seen a runt or sick dog or puppy. All were fat and sassy. He told me Lumberjack threw one man type dogs but they were not nuts or anything just a little standoffish towards me being a stranger. They do not have a single trophy or ribbon displayed in the house. They have won so many they would probably need a stadium to display all of them. Branko is a very humble man and did not bad mouth anyone or their dogs to me. He is interested in other dogs and stories but his main interest is his own dogs. If he told me the dogs ran a pink elephant I would believe him! He is from Europe and is very stoic and serious and is honest as the day is long.

Even though we ran in enclosures Branko uses tracking collars on every dog. The dogs know the routine and handled excellent. He gets them out of the pen, stands them on his trailer, then puts on the tracking collar. The dogs all stood like show dogs while being collared up. They were excited but handled perfectly. Branko doesn't put up with much so they better behave or be ready to get corrected.

The 2 male puppies I got are out of HammerxMaya and if Branko would have said to me "Come over and pick 2 dogs just by looks to breed" that is the two I would have chosen. Hammer is a big raw boned male and looks like a miniature walker. Maya is a big strong looking female and beautiful to look at. She had just come off the pups so I never got to watch her go but Branko told me all about her. I will get some photos on here soon of my puppies. They are bold, aggressive, beautiful puppies and I have high hopes for both of them.


If any of you ever get the chance to run with him at home jump at the chance you will never be sorry. Everything they do has a method and they are very efficient at what they do. I had a great time, learned a few things, and it was a super good experience. I was invited back and I guarantee you I will be back at the first chance I can go back.

Thanks for reading,
Dingo

I remember the first time i ever seen a dog run from there kennels it was the early 90s,impressed then and impressed now they have redirected the beagle world my hats are off too both of them------------I would love to met them . seem like great folks

[eddywilliams]

I think Branko has done well I have seen a lot of his big name dogs run and have blood in my kennel from a few .Although some of his blood lines produce timid type dogs that get their feelings hurt and sulk around if you raise your voice ,this I do not like .For the most part I like the Jack of All Trades stuff crossed over on ali-baba blood.

[Househounds]

This sounds like Willet Randall and the Patch Hounds JMO. Is this a fair comparison?

[deadeyebeagle]

[eddywilliams]

There are a bunch of Branko dogs that have this, a lot of the lumberjack stuff ,dogs out of CC X Seven and the list can go on .How do I know because I have seen them . Wasnt putting Branko down I have his blood here ,but this is a fact also .I have owned several dogs straight from Brankos kennel that were extremely timid and dogs from a local branko partner and I have also seen some bad azz Branko hounds .

[deadeyebeagle]

[brookbro]

new to the game, which format do these branko superstars compete in/ jus wonderin

[Joeyman]

sounds like branko has a nice set up at his place I think it would be cool as heck to see it in person not only that but go on a guided hare hunt they offer aswell. I think i can live there for the entire gun season. I'm not a fan of alot of snow though

[Nor' Easter]

What about Red River Runner? Didn't he run in alot of different formats?