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)
sammiller03 wrote:I love to solo my dogs. You can see things they do on their own that they wouldn't do in a pack. You can take a dog that looks like a million bucks in a pack out and they can't do it by themselves.its not as fun to listen to but I try to solo to make sure every h dog I'm feeding is a well rounded rabbit dog and not just looking good in the pack .
Sam
That is one of the reasons that I solo besides the enjoyment of watching a good dog run a rabbit.
I solo to see if they can do it solo. If they can't they are out of here. Its a tool for culling.
WV, Very important. For a seasoned hound , it can ground them/settle down an over competitive behavior so to speak. I don't mean an hour, but many consecutive sessions. I have used it as a tool many times, for the betterment of a hound, and to confirm ability and fault. Solo tells no lies !
For a young hound, its a no brainer. Unless u spend many hours and days close to your pack of hounds. Have the knowledge to discern ability / accomplishment of a young hound in a pack setting , u could b feeding a well voiced hound that contributes "0" to the pursuit. Always confirm the ability of a young hound individually. For those that don't, or feel they can't afford the time, are not interested in optimally improving their pack. Nothing wrong with anyone's stragety, got to do what works best for your situation.
Ok my main reason for making this post is I have a friend that has 2 pups. They are 7 months old a male and female litter mate. The way we work it's hard to run a lot. I understand then need to get dogs out in the brush. So he has been taken to pups out and they are picking up bad habits. Like a big example is Thursday thur Sunday every time out the female has ran deer. The male went with her Thursday evening and he like to never got them back. Lost them about a hr. Same thing happened Friday evening. Saturday morning the female started another deer race so he toned the male and he stopped. He had to lite the female up. This morning same thing. I know she can be broke but I was just thanking maybe he need to run them solo some to get the male going good and see if he will start a deer on his own or if it's all her. Then one day take her out and try to stop her on the deer. Maybe I'm wrong. But I'm thanking a 7 month old pup really can be pressured to run a deer even If he don't want to really do it. Just thank it may be a good idea to solo some.
John Way wrote:WV, Very important. For a seasoned hound , it can ground them/settle down an over competitive behavior so to speak. I don't mean an hour, but many consecutive sessions. I have used it as a tool many times, for the betterment of a hound, and to confirm ability and fault. Solo tells no lies !
So by soloing are you fixing / covering up a fault? Does soloing permanently fix the over competitiveness or is it something that has to be done several times throughout the dogs life? Would it be better to breed dogs that never needed this extra attention? If someone says that they solo because they enjoy it that is believable but not because they are making a better full time pack hound.
This winter has been rough...... Running a pack was not really an option all winter. Lead dog is only one barking and overcompetetive dogs just blow up race.
I don't believe that soloing a dog fixes faults but rather prevents a dog from developing faults due to being put under too much pressure before they have the independence and skill set to deal with it.
would love somebody here in Michigan to drop down six or eight dogs and show me what a pack of dogs can do in these conditions......and yes I do believe my female that has been soloed all winter will make a much bigger contribution to a pack then she would have if she had been packed all winter
Rob’s Ranger Rabbit Hunter (Lefty)
Rose City Quad King’s
DogPatch Fly
Guys that keep lots of dogs will say it's not necessary.....guys that keep 2-3 dogs seem to be more interested in it.
I solo or brace all the time.....I'm obsessed with individual performance and believe if you have great individual dogs the pack as a whole will run better. I've never owned a dog that wouldn't pack so I only pack when I trial or run with friends.
Bingo #2!! Mybeagles.......Seems to be the only one on here that goes out with one dog and gets his limit. The proof is in the pudding! Like Dave I only keep a few dogs because if they can do it on there own I don't need or want twenty that have to have a pack to run a rabbit. Its funny how its all ways the same guys that get twisted when a soloing thread starts. I guess some have something to prove...DH
I think both guys are exactly right. I keep between 1-3 dogs year around, that keeps my feed bill low and the solo time high. I got a female right now if she would not have been soloed through the week before trials I promise she would not have accomplished the things she done and reached her potential. I would have blowed her up!
If you like to pack dogs that perfectly fine, only time I pack is in trials and when I run with my kennel partners. As the gentleman said PROOF IN THE PUDDING!!
To start off with, everyone has an opinion and this is mine. Running time is important for all dogs. It don’t matter if it’s solo or in a pack. I do it both ways. I will say this much, you can see what a dog does wrong or right solo better then in a pack. [POINT-BLANK- PERIOD.] Some dogs wouldn’t hunt solo because they have always waited on other dogs to do it for them. This is the kind of dogs I will not feed. { My opinion } I have a male who does it better by himself because he is a front runner and nothing is behind him pushing him. { Some guys wouldn’t feed him; but I do.} As for as the 7 month old pups never tone them running deer. SHOCK them hard make them know what they are doing wrong and don’t stop shocking until they are back at your feet or under the truck.
I have always said, Dogs are like humans teach them right early in life and 9 out of 10 times when they grow up you will be happy, happy, happy.
Well, I tried to stay out of it, even started another subject so as not to change the subject. In that post I said Johnny and I (ROWCO) don't solo because we don't have the time. Truth be told, we also hate to go in the woods without the dog box loaded. There is nothing better than 8 to 20 beagles running a rabbit to the hole or death. To those of you who like to solo that is fine. You will probably see things you had not seen before; but, if you really want to see things you do not know about you dog, run him with a pack that hunts hard and runs with bad intentions (to kill). We have had the coldest winter in modern history here in eastern NC and we have hunted on snow and hard frozen bare ground since late Dec and we expect frozen rain tomorrow. Last day of the season those non-soloed dogs had 16 killed over them and caught 4 with the DNA retrieved (not much left). ROWCO
I solo..solo. and then solo.. It works for me.. Sometimes I will brace 2 dogs. It doesn't take long to figure out how hard your dog will hunt when he's down alone.
I think its very important to not only run em solo when freshly started, but think its important to brace em one day and pack em up another. But solo is important. Not that packing up is less important but they must be able to do their job by themselves.
wvdaniel wrote:Ok my main reason for making this post is I have a friend that has 2 pups. They are 7 months old a male and female litter mate. The way we work it's hard to run a lot. I understand then need to get dogs out in the brush. So he has been taken to pups out and they are picking up bad habits. Like a big example is Thursday thur Sunday every time out the female has ran deer. The male went with her Thursday evening and he like to never got them back. Lost them about a hr. Same thing happened Friday evening. Saturday morning the female started another deer race so he toned the male and he stopped. He had to lite the female up. This morning same thing. I know she can be broke but I was just thanking maybe he need to run them solo some to get the male going good and see if he will start a deer on his own or if it's all her. Then one day take her out and try to stop her on the deer. Maybe I'm wrong. But I'm thanking a 7 month old pup really can be pressured to run a deer even If he don't want to really do it. Just thank it may be a good idea to solo some.
I think you are going to find it very difficult to break your pups from running off game as they are not being corrected properly for it. The more they get away with it the more difficult it will be. if a dog goes along and doesn't bark it's just as guilty. Guilt by association. I have had dogs run along with a trash runner without barking and a couple times of getting burned up they learn to get away from that dog and come back and tell on them.
I solo as much as possible with young pups and switch brace them with old dog so they get the front and dont get pounded and then with a dog that keeps the front. All pups are different and need a little bit more of one or the other but if he cant do it all on his own he wont be here. I solo mostly at night time or whenever i can sometimes only 45min and other times for hours. Whatever works one thing thats nice is when that pup gets the check and never looks back cause he knows he has it and doesnt need the pack to go.
To me the purpose of soloing is to make that dog less independent on a pack. For example I've seen dogs that just walk the edge of a thicket. Won't get in the thick stuff till another dog jumps a rabbit. That dog runs in to do line and check work. Once it's holed that dog comes back, and waits for another dog to get the rabbit jumped.
For me I want a group of dogs that will go in the thicket, hard hunt, and jump that rabbit. I'm not a fan of me too dogs. I don't have the best dog by any means but I solo her a bit. She jumps and runs her own rabbits. She's not amazing at anything, but she's not awful at anything either.
If you have a dog that can do everything then it will contribute to a pack more then a dog that is only really good in one area. That's just me.
Budd, Those are tough questions to address as a whole. One really needs to experience this method with a promising hound to see change. Then ask " Did you achieve the result desired"
It's not a one size fits all. Every individual responds differently. This hound your soloing needs to possess some strong characteristics all ready. As the handler I'm trying to put my hound into a situation which benefits it most.
Over the years I've witnessed the transformation / benefit soloing has provided on many occassions. I've challenged and brought around individual " Blown up hounds" so to speak, from beaglers that placed to much emphasis or pressure , on a young hound , to perform in a large pack setting. As with any remedy , hard work and dedication show best results. Hounds are no different. To bring out the best a hound has to offer, it should b subjected to perform in as many situations as possible. No substitute for hours on the ground, hound and handler alike. These are only my obeservations and opinions. The most important rule is , always enjoy your hounds and time afield. Life is to short not to.
I know I put on my post he toned the male and he stopped. Guess what I should have put was he only looked at the female and never went but it's my buddy's dog. And he toned him to warn him what he got last time. And he fried the female. If the male would have even acted like he was going he would have been fried too. We pack our dogs up a lot. And I was just telling him where there young and just starting may be good to solo them a little. At least till he got the female straightened out.
