A general forum for the discussion of hunting with beagles, guns, clothing and other equipment and just talking dawgs! (Tall tales on hunting allowed, but remember, first liar doesn't stand a chance)
That Field Champion is a real " SON OF A BITCH." I am relatively new at this Beagle Business and have a real problem when I read all the posts that debate what makes a good Beagle. Everyone seems to be looking for the ideal Stud dog. The real world tells me that HE is only half the answer. Tell me why you don't place the same importance on finding the right FEMALE Just thought I'd ask you experts in breeding.
This is just MY opinion and I may get it all wrong, but here is my thinking.
People offer their male Feild Champions up for stud. The fee can range from pick of the litter to $100 and up. You can take a good female to a Feild Champion and HOPE for good pups. Your average litter size is 7 so you may have seven chances of getting a "good" pup.
Now as far as Female Champions go, you either have to BUY the bitch to get the same chances or you have to settle for one or two pups or how ever many the breeder will sell. I can tell you that buying the female isn't going to be easy or cheap. Also, you are getting no garentee either way that YOUR pup is going to turn out. It is just more affordabe to go to a stud then to buy a pup but if I really liked the Female I would buy one.
One the other hand, you cant take a below average female to a great stud male and expect awsome pups. THE FEMALE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE STUD.
I responded to the FC post that I would only breed to a FC if he was everything I liked and if he was of the same line (close pedigree)as my female. By line breeding you narrow the gene pool and have better chances for consistancy. Like I said, these are just my thoughts.
Funny you should bring that up. We've always tried to find a male that was worthy of our female, lol! I figured if we nailed that one, the litter ought to be good.
I feel any beagler with any knowledge knows how important the female is to their breeding program and i also think,as a general rule,females make the best hunters,so to find that great elusive stud beagle is a task you have to work very hard at.This morning i went out with two guys that wanted to see my hounds in action and the hounds-4 out of 6-beat us home-LOL-a fantastic showing of what is in my kennel but i did have two females that done a fair job.Top notch females are not easy to come by and buying a female pup is no guarantee she is going to make the grade to be used in a breeding program to produce what your ideal rabbit hound is.I feel i have some of the best blood in females that can be found anywhere and a few of my own bloodline,but i don't have the male that i want to breed to here-i lost my stud red male app 6 months ago- and i am searching high and low to find that rabbit machine that can produce and in hopes that it is of the same bloodlines or close,out cross does not impress me much,i feel your chances are better staying in the same family of hounds,if you have an exceptional female and male from different bloodlines you may consider an out cross,but in my opinion,they both should be exceptional and than it is a crap game.
The female to me is more important than the male. you breed a bad female to a world champion dogs and you need not expect much , yes they may be a pup or two decent but I don't like those odds. I prefer to run females the only problem is they always come in season when I don't want them to.My expeirce has been if you wnt a good pup that you will increase your chances if you buy from some one who is going keep three or four of the litter for themselves they have breed for quality not to make money and you can bet they used their best Female.
I think it just appears people are putting more emphasis on the male. But that isn't the case. Most of the time they already have what is an exceptional female to them. So all you see or hear is they are looking for a good male. They already have the female so they don't have to ask around about that.
Thanks to all that have replied. TN and kjohn I fully agree with you. The kennel you buy from is the Key. In my view , when you find the blood line that suits , go with it and stay with it. My foundation stock is all from the same Stud, line breed to what I want. I'm just getting started with Beagles {going away from bird dogs} and presently have [2] 16 wk old females, from different dams. [1] 2+ yr old male and a female littermate. All from AKC Gratiot County Andy-NKC Gray Valley Andy One of the pups is a double hit from Andy. No surprises seen to date and none expected. Thanks for your responses.
If you go back thru the history of Beagling, you will find that all of your successful breeders put the emphasis on getting good producing bitches. Seemed they were of the feeling that a GOOD producing bitches could carry 60% of the load in a breeding.
Owen Payne spoke of this about 50 years ago and he was probably one of the most successful "backyard" breeders in the history of Beagling.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Duke, anytime you feel the urge to write an article for TAB about the importance of the bitch in breeding, we'd love to read it and I'd love to print it. I have a feeling you've got many years worth of first-hand experience and knowledge. Us relatively newbies can use such insight in our own quests to better the breed. Merry Christmas!
Bev, Thanks for the compliment. Most of the credit goes to a great Beagling library that I inherited in 1980. Parts of which go back as far as 1929. Also I was lucky enough to befriend a few of the older Beaglers who had seen & judged some of the great hounds that were the cornerstones in the post WW II era. Seems I was always asking about hounds that had been long since gone.
I have learned one thing thru these studies. And that is that errors of our sport will be repeated if the history is not studied. The same holds true for the society and world we exist in. Too many folks live "just for the moment" with little thought of the future or the past!
Bev,
How about seeing if Dale Larsen would do something on some of his dogs for an article. Everyone is always talking about the females, I would like to hear some of his stories on Sand County Penny, I know she was the top reproducing female for 5 years in a row in Better Beagling. She is still alot of his foundation for his breeding now.
Trent
I HAVE HAD BEAGLES FOR ABOUT 50 YEARS. I BOUGHT MY FIRST WITH MY TRAPPIN MONEY. IN THE LAST 15 YEARS I HAVE BOUGHT SEVERAL PUPS BY STUD DOGS ADVERTISED IN MAGAZINES. YES I MADE THE MISTAKE OF NOT SEEING THE MOTHER RUN A RABBIT. HOWEVER IT IS MY FEELING THAT VERY FEW MALES BE IT HORSES , DOGS WHATEVER HAVE THAT MUCH TO DO WITH THE OUTCOME. TAKE SECRETARIAT FOR EXAMPLE..MAYBE THE GREATEST BUT NEVER HAD BABYS WORTH A HOOT. I MANY CASES EVEN THOUGH THEY MAYBE A CHAMPION THE PUPS THAT OR DOING GOOD COULD BE OUT OF REALLY GOOD MOTHERS. I WOULD GUESS THAT IN THE AREA OF 95 PERCENT THE MOTHER IS WHAT THE PUPS WILL BE LIKE. VERY FEW MALES CAN REPRODUCE THERESELFS IN MY OPINION . IN MOST CASES I MIGHT HAS WELL BOUGHT PUPS FROM THE FARMER DOWN THE ROAD. I WOULD SEE IF THE STUD DOG HAS PRODUCED QUALITY PUPS OUT OF VARIOUS FEMALES NOT JUST ONE OR TWO THAT MAY HAVE ALSO BEEN CHAMPIONS. IT JUST TAKES A LOT OF TIME AN EFFORT TO REALLY FOLLOW THROUGH ON RESEARCH ESPECIALLY IF THE OWNER IS SOME DISTANCE AWAY. I HAD A FRIEND THAT HAD A GRAY QUARTER HORSE THAT EVERY BABY HE HAD BY THIS HORSE LOOKED AN ACTED JUST LIKE THE STUD. I THINK I PERSON MAY BE BETTER TO FIND A GOOD FEMALE WITH PUPS THAT A PERSON IS SELLING THEN LOOK FOR PUPS BUY A GREAT MALE THAT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO REPRODUCE HISSELF.
I am relatively new at this Beagle Business and have a real problem when I read all the posts that debate what makes a good Beagle. Everyone seems to be looking for the ideal Stud dog. 
The real world tells me that HE is only half the answer. 
Tell me why you don't place the same importance on finding the right FEMALE 
