how to "break" a new dog???

[Jamie Pike]

I was out with a 2 hunting friends today and they had a 1yr old beagle hoping to break her.  she is new to hunting, and has never been at it until today.  right from the get go, she had her nose on the ground, and the hair on the back of her neck was standing up!  she was quite excited the whole day, but having said that, when we jumped a rabbit, she wouldnt chase.  at pne point we jumped one, and she nearly barked, just let out a short whine/squeal, and went in the direction of the rabbit, but never pursued it.  she will be a perfect dog as she is short on her legs, and small...great for getting around.  any advice is appreciated!

 

jamie

[Tony Cooney]

Tip I normally run my puppies with older dogs that are broke
turn the experienced dog in a brush pile, and when they jump turn the pups loose.

Tip: Puppie training.
Drag a ded rabbit arround the yard and then lay it in some tall grass or brush and turn the pups out and walk slowly where the sent trail is the pups will start smelling and will find the rabbit then feed some to each pup.
This is good to start pups but watch that thay are running the rabbit and not
Tip: Speed up scent trailing training by playing "fetch" in the dark. Soak a favorite ball with rabbit scent...then roll it across the lawn after dark and command, "Fetch"...Pup must use her nose to find the ball

Tip: Pup Training. I start with an old sock and begin "fetch" training, I then add a cottontail e sock and continue "fetch" training I then play "hide and seek" by dragging the sock around and hiding it I then use a frozen rabbit to "tease" and entise the pup. I then tie the rabbit to a rope (about 50 feet) and set pup at the rabbit, and yank the rabbit away from the pup, this gets the pup to chase the rabbit, i then increase the time of pulling the rabbit and the time i release the pup until the rabbit is completely out of sight before the pup is released and each time making it more and more difficult by creating checks and crossovers I then introduce the pup to a live rabbit and the trained instinct takes over I do each step everyday for a week starting with a few minutes of play up to a few hours of work, it has never failed.

Tip: Tip: If you have a small puppy take a fishing pole and a drag bag and tie it on and cover it in rabbit scent. Throw it around in the yard and let the little puppy chase it
Tip: When training a puppy, I take it to the woods with old dogs who run good. When the dogs jump the rabbit I follow the dogs and the puppy follows me. Sooner or later the puppy will catch on and start packing with the dogs.

[Jamie Pike]

thanks for the info tony!

[Tony Cooney]

Np one more thing u can try put down some snares and check them with dog if and when u get one the rabbit may not be dead if yo u do find one alive take the rabbit and puppy tp a ball field that is all enclosed and let the rabbit go then let the puppy go if he dont walk toward the rabbit you do it slow wit the puppy in the lead good luck

[Jason Edwards]

Maggie, my 9 month old beagle threw herself into it. On opening day I took her out and she ran 8 rabbits. She lost all of them but was on the last one for at least 30 minutes. I took her out again on thanksgiving and she was on a very large rabbit for 40 minutes before she lost it in a deep bog and I was able to catch her and call her back (it was getting late). I had her out again on Saturday, as luck would have it I ended up following in the trail of a couple other hunters and a rabbit snare. she got on the sent of one and followed it for about 10 minutes when she lead me straight to a dead rabbit in a snare. Then an hour later she started another rabbit this time it was my fault, i missed the shot.

I got her as a new pup and we played lots of scent game, Hide the dog bone, etc. I did have a couple of paws but the cats stole them.

One big thing I have done is really work on her fitness. I try to get her out for runs with me at least three times a week. I try to do at least 10 k with her, with lots of hills, she also gets walked every day, lots of hills and running in the woods. I am getting her a weight vest once she gets 12 months to increase her work out.

My own opinion is that dogs (I have no experience with beagles but lots with setters) is that your mileage may vary with any dog and a good dog will break on its own in its own time and a dog with no skills will never break, but will still make a great buddy.

[Peter Emberley]

I have broke a few dogs as well. The first thing I do is gain the respect and admiration of the animal. Play with the dog as a young pup and it will adore you. Mine sits at the bottom step and knows when I am comming home from work. I'd take the pup in the woods as soon as possible (8 weeks old). The pup will play in the woods and when it gets lost it lets out a pitiful bark. I usually let the pup know where I am, and it comes right over. If you are running broke dogs at this time, I've seen the pup curl up and go to sleep and get a rest. Remember the pup is 8 weeks old, so it tires easily. Do this every time you can, it gets them used to the woods and hardens them at the same time, all while doing it at there speed.

I don't like to run a pup with other dogs as a rule while I am trying to brake them. Here are the reasons why. 1. the pup will pick up any and all bad habits from the dog it is running with. This is the number 1 reason I don't, unless the broke dog is a very good solid hunter. 2. If you run your dog with another, the pup could get used to responding to the dog barking. Which means this, every time you take that dog in the woods later on and it hears another dog bark. The dog will take off and try to run with that dog. 3. It can teach the dog not to start it's own rabbits, but join in when another dog has started a rabbit.

I have used snared rabbits to create a sent in the woods. Liike Tony said, hold the dog and drag the dead rabbit through bushes and trees and hide the rabbit at the end and let the dog find it. This is a great way to get the dog on the way to starting and chasing its own rabbits.

The number 1 way to break the dog is bring it in the woods every chance you can. Walk with the dog, kick at bushes, trees any cover a bunny might hide in. If you see bunny put the dog where the bunny was and the dog will get the idea. the dog will not chase the rabbit the first few times you do it, but it introduces the dog to hot scent. BUT the single most important factor with breaking a dog is instinct. The dog has or it don't and no matter what you do, if the instict is not there, there is nothing you can do.

Some other important aspects to remember are #1. CLEAN WATER I always take a bowl or cup and lots of clean fresh water for my dog when we go hunting. 2. Food, the dog needs to eat just like you do. I always bring in some grub for Telly and a treat. I always stop and have a lunch around 12pm, I put the kettle on grab a sandwich and we have our lunch, so does my dog. just think about how much extra going the dog is doing on a rabbit or just looking.

Again I think the most important thing is take the dog in the woods and spend time with it. Treat the dog well and the dog will give back 10 times what it is given.