The American Beagler Forum

I was just thinking, IFC, GRCH, FC, or just plain ol RABBIT DAWG, which title bears the most weight with you as a beagler? I know which one I prefer, but as with all things, we are not all alike. I seem to have the conversation with a few different beaglers and enjoy each ones own personal insight.

All of my Beagles are linebred and papered, but.....I have no loyality to Titles or bloodlines. It is more about how well the dog does it's job. A good grade dog suits me just fine. I do not trial or gun, simply a pleasure runner.

Rabbit dawg bears the most weight to me I've hunted my whole life and been lucky enough to see a couple but I've owned hundreds that were not even close. My question is do these people know what a rabbit dog really is. I've seen several dogs bought from this site badly misrepresented are these sellers cheating people or do they go strictly by bloodlines and not know the difference. Just one mans thoughts.

Rabbit dog for me, I run akc dogs only but that's just because I like to know what's in the back ground of the dogs and what cross might be a better one.

Those titles are of no interest to me because I'll probably never enter another dog in a field trial. I'm only interested in dogs that will bust the brush and briars and run a cottontail efficiently.

Rabbit dawg is most important and anyone of those titles tell me that the dog is a RABBITDAWG, and the owner is not against getting other opinions...

to me the only title there is rabbit dawg

Rabbit dawg.Just curious if titles don't mean much why won't guys breed to a good ole rabbit dawg and stand in line
to breed to a titled dawg?I personally judge a dawg on its abilities alone.Who knows one day we my have to resort
back to putting food on the table with them and my family can't eat papers or trophy's.JMO

rabbit dawg probably is most important to us because they get that from pleasing their owner and after that what else matters. but to me what i like to see is multiple titles and a rabbit dawg to boot.

The first three, are dogs that have been tested. The last is a dog that has not been publiclly tested.
FCGD Brankos Doc Watson has impressed me for two years. If he had never been entered in a trial he would not be any less impressive.
Your question is as much about a dog's situation as it is about a dog's talent.
You have to go watch em run and form an opinion of the hound. That's how they got their title, someone (judges) went and watched em run and formed an opinion.
That's my take on it.

What bears the most weight?

HOW THE DOG RUNS! I don't care if a dog is the WORLD CHAMPION, GREATEST DOG EVER PRODUCED, PRODUCED 1000 CHAMPIONS in 50 registries, if I don't like the way he runs, I ain't breeding to him. Then if I like the way he runs, but I don't like what he's producing, I ain't breeding to him either.

Field trials are a great measure to see how a dog can perform according to the standards set forth by the registries, thats for sure. But I am not going to go out and breed to a dog because he's finished and the owner and his buddies go on the internet and tell me how great the dog is...I'm going to see it with my own two eyes. Which I think a bunch of people on this site should start to do.

Same here, just a good rabbit dawg. I've never had much use for trials myself but it's because of trialers that a lot of us get some good dogs. Not saying Joe Schmoe the plain old rabbit hunter can't or doesn't breed his own and produce dogs just as good as a some of the guys breeding dogs for trials but I think we just don't see or hear much from a lot of them because they aren't out in the public eye as much. I do however fall in line with some others in that I like a registered dog so I can see it's background/pedigree. I don't do much breeding but if and/or when I do I like to see what's back there. The reality for me is I don't get much of a chance to see a lot of other dogs run so to be honest in a lot of cases all I have to go on is the pedigree and the opinions of some other guys that I trust about the dogs I am looking at. That is one reason I do wish I trialed at least a little bit...........trialers get to see a lot of different dogs run that I've never even laid eyes on.

fasttrackpa wrote:Rabbit dawg is most important and anyone of those titles tell me that the dog is a RABBITDAWG, and the owner is not against getting other opinions...

fasttrackpa I like your answer and that is the way I look at it also. If the dog has really earned those titles it is a Rabbit dawg.

Well I ve never seen a tallo ho stick at a rabbit hunt or have i ve ever seen a shot gun at a trial shooting the rabbit.I would say theres alot of dogs that goes to a trial thats never had a rabbit kill in frount of it and alot of rabbit dogs that never seen another dog.I say it need to go both ways.Alot of hunters don t know what a good dog is and alot of trialers don t know what a rabbit dogs is.I think if we are going to get better at dogs you have to see both.Don t matter how many ch the dogs has or how many rabbits are kill in frount of the dogs.Had a man to come to the trial sat with his rabbit dogs and after it was over he said he was going home and selling all his dogs and getting dogs like he saw.I told him wait not so fast.Sure you need some different dogs but look and see were your at.Your in a pen full of rabbit and tallo ho stick ever were and about all these guy don t hunt.Sure they can run him but take these same dogs out in the wild and a gun.You will start thinking about what I say after a hr and they have not jump one yet.Then look at you.You may hunt and jump alot of rabbits but take your dogs were theres not many and you really have to get down and run him.It works both way.RABBITS.We as beaglers has to stop putting each one down and come together.I ve seen alot of trialers and I ve seen alot of rabbit hunters.You need to do both to see whats going on.

What I ve seen in both ways trialers or rabbit hunting.You ve got to have rabbits.I would say the rabbit bears the most weight.Without him there want be a trial or rabbit hunting.I would love to see a format that would reg each dog and the money would go to find out whats going on with our rabbits.Thats the format that cares about our beagles.

If you have the rabbits any dog will look good.

KanesIrish wrote:What bears the most weight?

HOW THE DOG RUNS! I don't care if a dog is the WORLD CHAMPION, GREATEST DOG EVER PRODUCED, PRODUCED 1000 CHAMPIONS in 50 registries, if I don't like the way he runs, I ain't breeding to him. Then if I like the way he runs, but I don't like what he's producing, I ain't breeding to him either.

Field trials are a great measure to see how a dog can perform according to the standards set forth by the registries, thats for sure. But I am not going to go out and breed to a dog because he's finished and the owner and his buddies go on the internet and tell me how great the dog is...I'm going to see it with my own two eyes. Which I think a bunch of people on this site should start to do.