The American Beagler Forum

When i got into beagleing my father in law told me i was holding that beagle pupy to much and that it would not get out and hunt if i kept that up. Well i set him down and never pick up another that much again to find out if he was right anybody ever try that.

Well I let my son raise his pup in the house it was loved on a ton his hunt and range was good

Its in there dna and how you handle them

I don't think you can socialize a pup too much. Just MHO.

rabbitatfarm has it right, I haven't heard that for years but it use to be a pretty commonly held belief around here, it went hand in hand with the belief that if you keep one in the house it would ruin it, A couple more wives tales!

I don't think you can handle a pup to much. Look at all the dogs that are left in a pen. The majority of them don't handle at all. As was already said its in their DNA to hunt or not hunt. But it's also the way they are trained whether they handle or not.

Been there done that, wrong thing to do ,my opinion.
All my pups get handled by me,wife,kids as much as possible. We reinforce commands(come,down etc) . All dogs will learn down or sit before being fed. They will handle so much better when in the field.

dhoundman wrote:When i got into beagleing my father in law told me i was holding that beagle pupy to much and that it would not get out and hunt if i kept that up. Well i set him down and never pick up another that much again to find out if he was right anybody ever try that.

Sounds like good advice.Your next litter you have don't touch or handle them.When they get about 6 mos.old take them out in the wild and start them.Let us know how well they do.

pilotknob;

I totally disagree!!! I started taking my pups to the field at around eight weeks. Let me ask, if a pup is going to learn something for the first time, going into a brush pile for example, does it make any difference how old he is? First time is first time. IMO getting pups out early instills confidence, curiosity, aka hunt, and a desire to be afield. Keep the outing short, but often, as they have a short attention span. The more contacts with people and situations the better socialized they are, IMO. I take my pups anywhere I can.

IMHO I do not think you can SPOIL a beagle to much--the good things that come from handling them FAR outweigh the negative a lot of guys do not want to hear this as I TRULY believe the more interaction with the dogs gives them more desire to please in the field--will it make a SORRY dog a good dog NO BUT it will make a good dog a BETTER dog.

I keep (Wife's Idea) my best two in the house 24/7 with a enclosed back yard they get plenty of exercise and in the field they do NOT need a leash on them when it comes time to leave the field . Yes it may take the edge off of their hunting BUT a week in the running pen 24/7 before season SOLO makes them as good as they can be.

Good Luck

Jim

rabbitatfarm wrote:pilotknob;

I totally disagree!!! I started taking my pups to the field at around eight weeks. Let me ask, if a pup is going to learn something for the first time, going into a brush pile for example, does it make any difference how old he is? First time is first time. IMO getting pups out early instills confidence, curiosity, aka hunt, and a desire to be afield. Keep the outing short, but often, as they have a short attention span. The more contacts with people and situations the better socialized they are, IMO. I take my pups anywhere I can.

I think Pilot was being sarcastic. I agree socialization is the key. Break them of being shy early. As pups grow they get faster and are harder to handle when shy. Your be more frustrated and might loose your temper. You end up doing worse to the dog.

Casey;

I've been watching too much "Big Bang Theory." Must be getting like Sheldon in recognizing sarcasm.

I never had a problem as long as the pups were kenneled with their own kind. If they were a single pup and had association with human and not amongst their brothers, they come to be fonder being with you.
Now if your line has a strong hunting instinct, this is not a problem but if your line is lacking hunt or late to mature as hunters, it can seem like it takes forever to get them going and broke from constantly checking in or venturing out on their own to hunt.
I'd say that's where the idea of playing with the puppy to much is bad...the pup didn't want to hunt for dad because he missed his little child friend at home...jmho