The American Beagler Forum

alright guys is the alpha dog the best rabbit when it is all said and. I have 9 ranger dan / Miss sudduth homer pups a female is by far the alpha dog is that the one to keep sure appreciate any help ? Doug Varney

For what it's worth, which probably isn't much since I only have two males, the one that became the alpha male is definitely my best dog. I guess it depends on what you judge your best dog by but outta the two, he has the most desire and the most hunt. He may not always put on a better show, and he still does stupid stuff, but you can tell when you let them out of the kennel, he's the one that is all business.

As for the pup, That would be one I would keep an eye on. I like my pups/dogs to be very confident. But I think the best dog becomes alpha because we let/make them, not the other way around. We give the best dog in the kennel a little extra attention, he/she goes on every hunt, goes to trials, never gets left behind when running,an extra scatch at feeding time and maybe a little extra sweet talking, it is not on purpose. Probably no one watching would see it, but the dogs notice. The other dogs knowing I am alpha and she is in my favor, give her more respect. There is no way that I am gonna let a chit eater rule over the other hounds in my kennel...

No telling what the end results may be...as far as ability.

As far as alpha,...puppies grow, challenges are offered up and places change. Seems more to do with confidence and a fighting spirit.

The only way you can maintain a lesser hound as alpha, is to make sure they are kept with more subordinate hounds.

A alpha dog with real quality is something to see,... but a alpha lacking ability may only become a liability as to running a rabbit...

I don’t know that the alpha dog is the right choice. I had a litter about two years ago and only three pups survived out of eight. The runt of the litter turned out to be the best dog. He was in no way the alpha pup or dog I know because I kept them all until they were 1.5 years old. The alpha dog is the female and she is really good but she is not as good as the smaller male. I still own the smaller male and the female and she is definitely the alpha dog of the two dogs. Good luck in your choice of pups and keep us posted on how it turns out for you.

A alpha dog with real quality is something to see,... but a alpha lacking ability may only become a liability as to running a rabbit...
S.R.Patch

After reading SR's post, this is a very good point. Keep in mind that my dogs are 14 months old, but when my alpha locks on to one, get the hell outta the way. He will come through you, around you, between you, anywhere or anything to follow that little bugger. However, when he does dumb stuff or causes a loss, my other boy will be right there with him. I honestly don't think its changeable other than solo, solo for the lesser dog. This is IMHO in the short time I've been around...An alpha with the skills seems like he will dominate, an alpha with nothing will just cause a headache...crapshoot

Alpha is a measure of dominance. Dominance and talent are unrelated. I think we tend to want to "assign" alpha status to certain dogs because in our minds, they seem to be the best performers, or our favorite, and sometimes dominant dogs in the kennel are also dominant in the field. But, that is merely coincidence when it happens. It doesn't work that way. We can't choose who gets to be alpha; that's a bio-chemical-hormonal assignment from birth.

Here's a mind-numbingly tedious post I made on the subject if you can bear to sit through it. It's a topic (Canine Behavior, and Wolf Pack Dynamics) that I studied long before I started keeping hounds. Feel free to Google this stuff if you feel skeptical. New theories are born every day.

http://americanbeagler.huntingboards.co ... ha#p339802

well said bev. there is no way of telling which one is gonna be the best, if there was beagleing would be no fun or challenging.