First Day Beagle Hunting Tomorrow

[Shooting in the wind...]

Hey fellas,
Was wondering if you guys that run beagles could give me any tips? I’m taking my 4 year old beagle/lab mix into the woods hunting for the first time tomorrow for squirrels. He is trained well on the come command as he comes every time I call. He is also ok with Whoa and Stay also.I have a sport dog collar for him although I used a whistle train him to Come. He is afraid of the beep and vibrate. I had him out for a few hours last weekend and he didn’t run any deer or anything really. He does try and get the rabbits in the yard though. He is also timid of loud noises, so I’ll use a 22lr. If I clap my hands really loud he doesn’t pay much mine to it just looks at me for a second. I haven’t trained him on any specific scent yet just am trying to get him use to hunting with me. I been training him for awhile now, even though he did excellent off leash I’m still skiddish about it. I never had a real hunting buddy so any options or tips would be awesome. Maybe there’s some hounds man out there that know something I don’t or a lot perhaps.

 

[jepp2]

I'm still trying to clear from my mind that you aren't hunting beagles (was going to ask if you bait or call them before you shoot them)?

Just from what you have said, I would have a few concerns (but I've only trained bird dogs, not squirrel dogs).
- I want mine more accustomed to gunfire than yours is right now. I would start them by banging metal water bowls at a distance while they ate. Working closer each day. When they were Ok with that, I would go to a blank pistol. Always starting at a distance and watching their reaction while they were busy doing something else they like. Eventually up to a shotgun a distance, etc.
- I would want to do some scent trailing in the yard to allow them to be praised for following the squirrel scent trail you laid. Each time more complicated, more praise. So they have an idea of what scent they should pay attention to. With bird dogs, I always started them sight pointing with a wing on a fishing rod. On to scent trails and eventually in the field with catapult releases with live birds I recovered at first. Then on to shooting birds over them I released.

I always put all my dogs through basic obedience training as soon as they hit 6 months old. I did things before that, but always fun and praise. During obedience training they learn they must do what I instruct. But I never started with a 4 year old.

Good luck and enjoy, but have great patience with your dog as he learns.

 

[SSL]

Hope you have better luck than we did with our beagle. When I was a kid (1950s) rabbits, squirrels and the occasional quail covey were all that were around. We bought a Beagle pup and started training her on basic commands and trailing. Not afraid of loud noises until the a$$hole next door decided to get drunk and throw cherry bombs into our yard in the middle of the night for entertainment. He spent a couple days in the local jail (fireworks illegal) and moved as soon as he was released. Only time in my life I saw my mild-mannered dad as being dangerous when pushed. Too late. Damage had been done. Our little beagle only saw the hunting fields once. First shot and she headed back to hide under the car, crying. Nothing we tried cured her, so she just became our house pet.

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

Lol, Srry for the title no I don’t hunt beagles. I live in town where dogs have to be on a leash and banging pans wouldn’t set good with the neighbors, discharging a firearm of any sort even a blank will get me cited and fined. He heard gunshots last weekend in the distance when I took him to a nearby mountain from people going after doves and he paid no mind. But then again that’s different then a 22 going off. When he is busy he doesn’t seem to mind noise, he definitely has a nose and when he smells something he likes he goes but I can call him off usually unless he sees whatever it is he is sniffing then he just goes for it. I havent scent trained him for anything particular because I don’t really know what I want him to hunt, I’d be happy with anything that was legal, small game even pheasants. He doesn’t seem to be interested in deer at all, I intentionally ran him over fresh deer tracks and sigh and he just smelled it and went right by. To be honest I think if he seen a deer he would be scared of it. I did work on his nose by dropping treats into the tall grass then telling him to find it, he will look at me then his nose hits the ground and sniffs till he does. If I can get him on a squirrel tomorrow and he is excited, he might not even pay attention to a 22. My brother raised a few good bird dogs and never conditioned them to gunfire and they were fine but I think he was just lucky. He has been my lap dog for the past 3 years, I got him when he was a year old. So, if he is indeed gun shy then he will just go back to the chair and I will go back to hunting alone.

 

[KMart]

Hope you have better luck than we did with our beagle. When I was a kid (1950s) rabbits, squirrels and the occasional quail covey were all that were around. We bought a Beagle pup and started training her on basic commands and trailing. Not afraid of loud noises until the a$$hole next door decided to get drunk and throw cherry bombs into our yard in the middle of the night for entertainment. He spent a couple days in the local jail (fireworks illegal) and moved as soon as he was released. Only time in my life I saw my mild-mannered dad as being dangerous when pushed. Too late. Damage had been done. Our little beagle only saw the hunting fields once. First shot and she headed back to hide under the car,

I can sympathize with the dog. I hate New Years and the 4th of July fireworks.
A barrage of 122's out of Happy Valley was my trigger.

 

[Bojo]

Not sure where to start here.

you will have your dog in unfamiliar to him places. Once scared they tend to run off sometimes. If the dog takes off, lay your coat down at that spot as the dog will likely come back to that spot and lay down.
Dogs in general that are scared of rifle / handgun fire will generally warm up to a shotgun sound.

NOW HERE IS THE BIG ONE !!!!!!

YOU and I mean YOU have to watch your dog closely. Way too many a dogs lives are lost to their master not realizing the dog is so close the animal being chased.

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

I can sympathize with the dog. I hate New Years and the 4th of July fireworks.
A barrage of 122's out of Happy Valley was my trigger.

Yea I know the feeling, my one neighbor decided to set off mortars 2 yrs ago. Not only did it scare the crap out of my dogs inside the house but a piece about the size of a golf ball flew just beside my my fiancé’s head and about 3 inches above my then newborn son’s head while we were sitting outside, took me by complete surprise. Nothing like seeing the raging hormones of a post pregnant woman’s fury. Needless to say the cops was called and he got into trouble. That only stopped him for 2 years, now he is doing it again. Pieces still hit my house and land in my yard but there’s nothing the cops can do since they legalized these “fireworks” in the borough. They just made sure he was the required 50 ft away from my house and yes the jack neighbor measured it and stuck his tubes right there just to aggravate me. He doesn’t set them off all at one time either he usally sets off one an hour starting in the morning and ending about 2 minutes before noise ordinance kicks in at 11pm.

 

[Mark W]

IMO, at 4 years old and scared of loud noises this is a pet and not a hunting dog. I agree with @Bojo there’s a good chance of the dog bolting if he gets scared. Hunting dogs are training starts as puppies.

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

IMO, at 4 years old and scared of loud noises this is a pet and not a hunting dog. I agree with @Bojo there’s a good chance of the dog bolting if he gets scared. Hunting dogs are training starts as puppies.

True, however I have heard of a few that became gun shy when the dog wasn’t prior. Usally caused by some accident or event that scared the dog. I have read of a few dogs that just quit hunting and lost interest. I am not saying your wrong at all, I am sure you know tons more than I do. Just pointing out that even dogs raised from a pup and trained properly can still develop gun shyness or shyness towards a certain game animal(s).

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

Not sure where to start here.

you will have your dog in unfamiliar to him places. Once scared they tend to run off sometimes. If the dog takes off, lay your coat down at that spot as the dog will likely come back to that spot and lay down.
Dogs in general that are scared of rifle / handgun fire will generally warm up to a shotgun sound.

NOW HERE IS THE BIG ONE !!!!!!

YOU and I mean YOU have to watch your dog closely. Way too many a dogs lives are lost to their master not realizing the dog is so close the animal being chased.

I completely understand, my dog is more important that the game. I will not shoot unless I know exactly were the dog is at.

 

[Savage243]

I took our beagle hunting once. We crossed a fresh deer track and lit off chasing them. I couldn't keep up and thought I Iost my wife's "baby". I put my gun vest and coat on a fence post and looked for a few hours before calling the wife. She walked around with the garmin turned to 18 holding the button. Eventually we headed back to my stuff as her friend told her that the dog would come back to my stuff. When we got in range all that button pressing hit the collar and locked that poor pup up. Needless to say, she's a pet now. My tips would be to make sure the collars controller is set right and keep an eye on the dog/watch for other animals.

 

[Intheshop]

I don't know what to say about the gun shyness.

Constant companion,best buddy Dobe was raised in a working machine/cabinet shop. You can drop a board down with a SMACK on concrete that'll raise the dead and she doesn't blink.... will lay on your feet whilst using a nasty chop saw. I wipe sorta oily hands on her,not alot... but really makes her coat shine? Mobile one dog,haha.

Grab a rifle.... OMGoodness,she starts jumping up and down doing the happy dance. Really need to take a video it's that classic? She's been my varmint chasing dog now for little over 2 years. She's H*LL on Ghogs.... need to take her to a city,they have way tougher hogs than out here in the country?

Anyway,best of luck with your dog.

 

[HillbillyLongRifle]

If a dog has it in them to be a squirrel dog it will come out of them with just trips to the woods. Wearing out a pair of boots will be required

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

Well I just got back, he did good and he only ran off once. I don’t think he could see me and he went back towards the car about 100 yards before I caught up with him. I just had to whistle and he came running. We did hear one squirrel but till me and short legs got there it was no where to be seen. So I didn’t get any shooting in but I hung around a shooting range that was about 200 yards from us for a bit before I called it a day. There was a guy shooting pistol, dog would perk his head but wasn’t afraid and the dog couldn’t see him. I would just redirect his attention to something else. He is getting more confident in himself and knowing what he is supposed to do. I really didn’t care that we didn’t see any squirrels, I mainly wanted to take him out for more dog/owner skill building. I was only out about 3hrs but he is ripped and now sleeping. I still can’t get him to drink when we are out. He only drinks when we get home. He has to be thirsty, I swear he can’t have anything left in him, he stops constantly to relieve himself every 5 minutes.

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

I have my training dummy coming Monday, now what to train him on first? Pheasants, rabbits, or squirrels? Any opinions? Pheasants are stocked around here, I always see a ton of rabbit track but never actually see the rabbits, squirrels are getting harder to find and I haven’t see a fox squirrel since I was a little squirt over 20 + years ago. I guess there is grouse too but they are few and far between.

 

[Downeast]

I grew up hunting rabbits with beagles and it comes natural to them. Not to sure about squirrels? I would get him on a rabbit and once he gets into the chase I doubt a little low brass 20 gauge would bother him. Especially if you let him smell the prize. We used to gut the rabbits in the field and hang the entrails off the ground but we would give the dogs the hearts (nothing else!!). Rabbit hunting with a beagle is a tremendous amount of fun and excitement.

 

[Bojo]

My first couple years of hunting are die of my fondest memories. I used to be sad when rabbit would close and deer season would come in. I was just waiting for the second after Christmas small game season to open up.
We had beagles , one uncle beagles as well the other had bassets.
Lot of good memories made hunting with the whole family.

BIG THANK YOU out to the OP for kicking them back up front again.
Still miss the baying of good dog on a trail and the wet beagle smell all the way home on the truck seat.

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

My first couple years of hunting are die of my fondest memories. I used to be sad when rabbit would close and deer season would come in. I was just waiting for the second after Christmas small game season to open up.
We had beagles , one uncle beagles as well the other had bassets.
Lot of good memories made hunting with the whole family.

BIG THANK YOU out to the OP for kicking them back up front again.
Still miss the baying of good dog on a trail and the wet beagle smell all the way home on the truck seat.

That’s what I plan on doing this year some, I never really hunted past rifle season for deer except for the few times I drug the old flintlock out to let the smoke roll. I am usually burnt out till then but this year has me excited to get out there and see what it’s like. I haven’t heard of anyone “beagling” in my area for a LONG time. My dad used to run a crew of coon dogs in the 80’s at night, now that would be fun. He still can’t believe they never got lost, lol. Back then he didn’t have GPS, just had to rely on how familiar you were with the area and landmarks.

 

[6ShotsOr5?]

The title of this thread made me laugh. My first reaction was “What does this guy have against beagles?”

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

Well took the dog out again, managed to get a squirrel. Dog was about 20 yards away from me when I shot. He looked surprised and tuck his tail, he looked unsure of what happened but he didn’t run. I just sounded excited and told him to get the squirrel, he then followed me into the woods where the squirrel laid. He smelled it but didn’t really seem interested in it. He acted kind of unsure and followed behind me for a little bit after that, but soon he went back to his business of smelling everything and appeared to have forgotten about it. I did manage to get him into a creek, lol.