The American Beagler Forum

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL. GOT A QUESTION FOR EVERYONE. I LIVE IN SOUTHCENTRAL INDIANA. DONT GET THAT MUCH SNOW, LAST YEAR HARDLY ANY AND IT DIDNT LAST. NOW WE GOT CLOSE TO 5 INCHES ON THE GROUND. FOR FOLKS WHO GUNHUNT LIKE ME AND DONT GET TO HUNT IN IT LIKE ME, HOW DO YOUR DOGS DO? I LIKE HUNTING IN THE SNOW FOR VARIOUS REASONS, BUT MY DOGS, ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG ONES ARENT USED TO IT AND WAS JUST WONDERING HOW SOME FOLKS DOGS DO ON THE WHITE STUFF. (NOT A QUESTION FOR NORTHERN FOLKS I GUESS). THANKS

jon, there's no reason why your hounds won't quickly tune their noses in to snow the same way they tune their noses in on a hot dry day or a heavy frost, etc. One of our best snow hounds is the slick-haired Southern Kentucky-bred red dog of mine, Redd Man. We've found that given just a short time to adjust, even our new younger hounds can handle the snow just fine. Sometimes they struggle a bit on the hard, crusty stuff, much like running where there are a lot of ice patches, but then again, I've seen them struggle on days that would seem to be perfect running conditions.

It shouldn't take a dog very long to get adjusted to snow. Maybe not the first day out, but the next should be much better. Of course, if it is colder than you know what (single digits or even the low teens), any dog may not do well... Good luck and have fun in the snow!

Emery

HEY DID GET TO HUNT ON THE SNOW TODAY. DOG DID GREAT AND JUMPED THREE AND WE GOT TWO OF EM. GREAT RUNS, THERE WERE TIMES DOGS HAD TO GEAR DOWN BUT THEY DID THE JOB AND ACCOUNTED FOR THERE GAME. GOOD HUNTING TO ALL.

been my experience that dogs that can run on snow are very scarce. single digits and teens are no problem for a good snow dog.most dogs will run on packy snow. packy snow is almost as good to run on as damp ground. thats when you put your hand in it and it comes out without snow sticking to it. leave a perfect print of your hand. thats not what im talking about when i say most cant run on snow. if snows melting too fast track turns old looking real fast than most dogs cant run. if it gets below zero most wont run till it thaws again and if snow is a week old most have trouble. very few will run on crust. dogs with good noses wil learn to run on snow . i wont say cold nose causes too much distress among the hot nose dog fans. ive rabbit hunted 30 years and was a long time i didnt know you could run rabbits when there wasnt snow. i tried a pair of very expensive beagles today . they run cottontails and hare on bare ground. they didnt run at all today. two other dogs that i dont call great ran hard all day. i have had dogs that died of old age that never ran on bare ground except when starting them as pups. now dogs that i called good snow dogs were not the greatest on bare ground . not sure if this was just lack of experience or something else but ive seen dogs make them look bad on bare ground that couldnt run on snow at all. jon im glad your dogs did run on snow today. i guess the rabbits werent all white. to me if they arent white rabbits on snow its not real rabbit huntin . well ive never got to run any swampers that sounds good to me too pete