marnold Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Hi all, I have a 10 month old Beagle pup (bitch) and am intereted in training her to be a gun dog. We have had relative success in training her in general - she is very intelligent but also very stubborn. I have to admit, we didn't actually buy her to be a gun dog - she was just an addition to the family! Has anyone had any joy with training a Beagle? I know she is a hunting dog more than a gun dog and I would be better off with a Spaniel/Labrador - I'd just thought I'd see if anyone has had any experience with a Beagle - I know she would love to be out, nose to the floor (as usual), for a good day shooting Thanks as always guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 I havent ever worked with a beagle but i have with hounds. I suspect the beagle might make a great flushing dog but the tendancy i suspect will be to give tounge and chase so you need to nip all that in the bud quickly from the off. Any dog can be trained to retrieve its just some take more work than others having no natural desire and have more tendancy towards a hard mouth. It is quite good fun owning and working a non gundog - gundog though if you pull it off so best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbo1 Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) depends what you want from your dog chap. dont think a beagle will ever make a peg dog for shooting. i have a pointer who im now training up to shoot over and ive got a beagle x foxhound whos a lot older. your right when you say about her being stubborn...they are possibly the worlds most stubborn dog so my advice would be to try and train her up to shoot over, rather than a peg dog or just retrieving. having said that mine hates loud noises....so will never make a gun dog. be prepared for some hard work and frustrating days though buddy....they`re a *** trying to recall.....well mine is anyway!! james P.S. mods.....since when has the word g i t been a swear word.?? Edited December 9, 2011 by jimbo1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marnold Posted December 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Thanks for the replies guys - excellent as always from this forum! From her current trends, I doubt that I would be very successful - once she has caught an interesting scent she is on that trail and there would be no stopping her if she was unleashed. I'll pervsevere with some basic training for now and see how she goes - loud noises don't bother her at all which is a plus - but I have the feeling a good day out shooting would turn into a large operation to try and find her after she disappears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 I'm sorry to say that you are completely wasting your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Chalie is right you won't ever make it into a normal shooting dog. Also there is an element of be careful as well they are hunting dogs as in bred to chase and stopping them is difficult. A friend lost theirs when it got out and chased a fox a mile accroSs the A1 neither made it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straightbarrel Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Hi all, I have a 10 month old Beagle pup (bitch) and am intereted in training her to be a gun dog. We have had relative success in training her in general - she is very intelligent but also very stubborn. I have to admit, we didn't actually buy her to be a gun dog - she was just an addition to the family! Has anyone had any joy with training a Beagle? I know she is a hunting dog more than a gun dog and I would be better off with a Spaniel/Labrador - I'd just thought I'd see if anyone has had any experience with a Beagle - I know she would love to be out, nose to the floor (as usual), for a good day shooting Thanks as always guys Not an easy combination even if you had the right dog for the job. IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiLisCer Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 If you want a dog to flush game for the shotgun, then they are good fun - they need a good recall, otherwise they will be flushing game in the next county for you. We used to use them as kids to flush rabbits to the gun, they generally gave tongue so you knew when something was about to flush - although I do remember spending lots of time running round big briar patches and up and down banks to be in the right place for a shot. If you want a "Standard" gundog, that will flush, retrieve, sit by your side in the hide - hmmm, maybe not. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Forget it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crob12 Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 if they are anything like foxhounds and they are once she picks up the scent she will be away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GW80 Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 Springers, Cockers, Pointers and labs. Plenty of gundog breads out there designed for the job that can be hard enough to train, Why? make it harder on yourself trying to train a hound designed to chase? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marnold Posted December 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Hi GW80. I did state in my original post that I didn't buy her to be a gun dog - it was just a genuine question as to whether anyone had ever had any success with a beagle. My apologies if it was misinterpreted. ATB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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