soloing a dog

[blackdirt beagles]

unless a dog has a problem like it wont hunt out much(waits til rabbit is up), or is mouthy or something like that, i hardly ever solo a dog. i run my just started dogs with 1 or 2 old ones til they start beating the old dogs on a regular basis, then i put them in a pack of equal ability dogs. then when i decide they are ready, they become part of "the pack" and run with the finished dogs. if i only had a couple dogs maybe i would have the time to solo, but personally i see no need for it. im sure most will disagree with that statement, but i have yet to see a problem. and when i do sell a dog, most of the time people want to try it solo and when we do that, i havent had a dog that cant run fine solo yet. i just sold a 6 year old to a guy in WI. i never soloed her in 6 years and when he took her home half the time he runs her, he does it solo. he said she will burn the rabbit by him 4 or 5 times. he calls me every couple weeks and says how he loves her.
hearing stuff like that, makes me think even less of the NEED to solo. if you have the time and want to, thats great, but its not a requirement for a good dog. this is of course only my opinion, but it works for me.

[Steve C.]

I think most dogs that perform well in a pack will also do fine solo, but most of us have seen where we might have overcome a problem if we'd handled them differently at a certain stage of their development. One of things that a lot of us who run hare bloodlines have to deal with is the extremely competitive nature of these bloodlines. Most of us who run Large Pack on Hare trials MUST solo our competition dogs to keep them from getting too rough for the pack. Their extreme desire to run the front gets them in trouble. None of these dogs are ever content to "slot up" but want the front either honestly or by getting "creative". A steady diet of competing with 30 to 60 hounds on a regular basis will sure ruin most hounds. The average hunter will never subject their hounds to this though so solo running may not be as critical to them. I find that those that start solo seem to handle better and include ME as the pack leader though, and are less likely to stray too far off if starts come hard.

[Robert W. Mccoy Jr]

John I'm Glad she is doing good.

I thought with the way she was breed she was going to be a good one.

I wish I had more room.

[tnbeagleman]

Has anyone noticed that after they are soloed they seem to handle better the next time they are packed and that the dogs that are started solo usually handle better. I think it has to do with that one on one bonding between man and hound but then again what do I know!!