New Beagler

[Hobie1]

Ok I am new to running beagles and I have a 10 week old pup. I hunt with my brother-in-law who has two males who are good dogs. I am trying to get an idea of what I should and should not being doing at this point. I had trapped a rabbit the other day and showed it to her....she seemed semi-interested and when it was let go she missed seeing it somehow. I take her for walks in the woods right now just to get her used to being in the woods and she mostly just whines and walks behind me. today she started walking ahead of me a little bit and she walks with her head down but never really goes hard following any scents. today she stopped by a couple brush piles and stood there with her nose in the air sniffing pretty hard. I am not trying to push her too hard and I know I need alot of patience. So all I am asking is what are some of the things I definitly need to be doing right now and some things I should definitly avoid doing. thanks in advance for any advice.

[beaglerof4]

You are doing the right thing by taking the pup for walks. When the pup is ahead of you stop walking and let it go untill it notices you stopped and keep repeating that until it figures out it should walk in front. There really isnt much to expect from a 10 week old pup except teaching it its name and common commands. The dogs will always do the work with there instinct you just need to take them to the brush with rabbits.

[Hobie1]

Thanks I will try that tomorrow when I take her out.

[bill huttozac]

Just continue walking the pup in the fields and woods, try not to let the pup follow as it belongs in front of you. As you said, lots of patience and time will serve you well. Pups will start on their own since it is bred into them, this will usually take place between 4 and 7 months of age when exposed to rabbits.
The most important thing that you can do is remember that a pup, at 10 weeks of age is like a very young child, you cannot expect much from them.

[RiverRat]

Awful young dog let it be a pup for a while teach to come ,down its nice to be able to get to lay down for shots or nail trimmings.They grow quick you can do alot now to affect the handling of the dog they learn quick when there young.The main thing get em to come ,put on long rope let em out holler nudge er a little if need to then if it does right give it some affection some use treats .Then after you got that teach her about her nose sent dragging that kind of stuff maybe catch rabbit put in cage let her see it smell it shake it around taunt her.I wouldnt worry about it much if it dont do much until 6 months thats when they need to be showing me somthing.Good luck ,I Wish I had one to start this spring .Nothing like them young pups opening up on a rabbit for the first time!!!

[Hobie1]

thanks again for the advice. I am not really expecting much from her right now. I just wanted to make sure there wasnt something I should or should not be doing that could affect her long term.

[rickk]

I purchased rabbit scent in a bottle and would put it on a sock and get the pup to fetch it..Then i would have my son hold him back and i would drag it around the house or yard and play hide and go seek. Always rewarding him when he found it..The next thing i did was picked up a road kill rabbit and kept it in the freezer so i could reuse it, and did the same game. Hide and go seek in a corn field..Id tie a string onto it drag it around and hide it. My pups started loving to play the game. This game seem to help them get interested.

[deerhost]

Teach it to walk on a leash, make sure it knows its name, teach the pup that when you call it and it comes to you that it is a good thing. Make sure it knows when you say "no" that You mean NO. As others have said, take it into the field for walks and let it walk in front of you. When the pup starts to follpw you stop and let it get in front again. It's a good idea to just take the pup into thickets and just stand still or bring a chair and sit. The pup will get bored of sitting in one spot with you and will start to explore on its own a little. This is a good thing, The pup is very young so don't expect it to really start or run a tract yet, but any time in the field is good for them...Good luck....deerhost.