The American Beagler Forum

This should open up a can of worms lol. I have not had the opportunity to get to many Mid West trials in a while but in talking to a lot of old buddy's it seems that this has been forgotten. I also see dogs be sold that says to clean for Little Pack. Don't get me wrong I don't won't a dog that cuts and slices but at the same time you got to have one that will push the buggy to the check out counter. When I hear they run over the end I kinda shake my head. Not saying go way over and pull the pack but use a little common scene. Any fast dog is gonna run over a little but if any brains on them they will snap back. There's a lot of old field champs that made mistakes but the good out weighed the bad and that is what I think we should look for. When judging if you go out looking for all faults in a hound then your gonna have a winners pack full of a lot me too dogs. Give that sucker that may make a few mistakes a chance if they can push the bunny to a hole r gun. Pretty simple , if the good out weighs the bad then it shouldn't be a problem.

Speed - Control = Rough
Control - Speed = Slow

Speed + Control = Winner

I'll get it started.
One thing, IMO, that would make it interesting. Limit the number of rabbits jumped for a pack. If they can't circle a rabbit, what good are they. The gallery jumps most of the rabbits at trials that I have seen.

hard on a check wrote:Speed - Control = Rough
Control - Speed = Slow

Speed + Control = Winner

Well put

I agree. Weigh the good & bad unless they have a major fault that keeps disrupting the progress of the pack.

Tell your friends there are many trial formats, if they like a rougher hound, there are trials that run that style or if you choose, accomplishment.

What hard on a check said is exactly what is winning the majority of the time in the Midwest and similar style trials I've been to.
I hunt my hounds all winter long and their style accomplishes exactly what they're suppose to, circle rabbits to the gun. Hounds won't accomplish a darn thing up here in the dead of winter if they don't run with control and know where the check is.
I don't have trial hounds, in the off season, I trial my hunting hounds and my hunting hounds seem to do ok in the Midwest which is why I choose to run in that format.

Go to a trial and see for yourself what is winning the majority of the time in the Midwest and similar trials.

hard on a check wrote:Speed - Control = Rough
Control - Speed = Slow

Speed + Control = Winner

Well put Arlie,pretty much says it all.
A fast dog with no control is a rough dog.
A controlled dog with no speed is a slow dog.
A fast dog with control is a winning dog.

The STYLE of working a check close to the point of loss will ACCOMPLISH more; time after time.

Arlie Jr in the game

About every style hound you can think of has made FC in AKC Midwest . Look at the list ! Why is that ?

As far as accomplishment over style goes,judges should write down what they see (good & bad) plus for the positive score an minus the negative,it's simple math,if a hound has 7 positive scores an 3 negatives then 7-3=4 but you might have another hound with 4 positives & 0 negatives,then you have a tie both hounds have 4,One hound got more accomplished with 7 scores but also made more mistakes with 3 minuses,the other hound didn't get as much accomplished with 4 scores but didn't make any mistakes.What do you do? The easiest thing to do is keep running them until the tie is broken.

If a hound is faulty an continues to cause breakdowns,that hound should be picked up,nothing more aggravating than a hound that's disrupting the packs progress.The object is to pound a rabbit,not hit an miss with a bunch of breakdowns,some hounds need to be picked up.

I think theres been 2 arha world champions finish in the mid-west in the last 10-12yrs as well as many of there offspring. what style would you call them ? mid-west style ?

Obviously there has been several dogs that have finished in multiple formats,I would call them a good dog that finished.

Curious what line do you run 66? Well said Mr. Wells.

RUN WHAT YOU LIKE AND LIKE WHAT YOU RUN. NO HOUND IS PERFECT AND GOD KNOWS I GONE THROUGH A BUNCH LOOKING,BUT NO MATER WHAT FORMAT I GO TO WIN OR LOOSE I HAVE A GOOD TIME WIN OR LOOSE.AND MEET A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE.