The American Beagler Forum

JUST WONDERING DOES A STRONG WIND AFFECT SCENTING? MY 2 BEAGLES USUALLY RUN A VERY SMOOTH LINE BUT I HAD THEM OUT YESTERDAY FOR PA'S FIRST DAY OF RABBIT AND THEY WERE RUNNING AWFULLY ROUGH. ONLY REASON I COULD COME UP WITH WAS THE STRONG WINDS BLOWING.

Yep, wind definitely affects scenting. Rabbits sit tight too. I don't even like to go if there's a strong wind.

It can if you are running in an open terrain/wooded area. I ran yesterday in OH with wind gust up to 30 mph. Early morning running was exceptional but there was a melting frost which kept the ground damp. The afternoon was a little rougher; dogs could run well in the thick weeds but once they ran into the woods it wasn't as good. When the dogs ran in the corn field the chase was wide open and no slowing down! The wind couldn't penetrate the corn stalks would be my guess.

If your dogs are fast and run air scent, wind will definitely affect them to the extreme. If your dogs will gear down and run ground scent across the open areas they can run ok. It will be slower going.