492 
November, 1921 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Banjo 
TRAINING 
THE 
BEAGLE 
Afton Flash 
EACH HOUND IN A WELL-TRAINED PACK SHOULD GO OUT AND HUNT 
FOR A RABBIT JUST AS THOUGH HE WAS THE ONLY BEAGLE HUNTING 
By W. A. B. 
Illustrations by courtesy of the American Field 
T HE merry beagle and the timorous 
rabbit contribute more healthy 
sport to the lives of sportsmen, 
both as men and boys, than any 
other- animal within the realms of the 
out-of-doors. Although the rabbit is re- 
garded by some sportsmen as a quarry 
worthy only of boys or the happy-go-hit 
hunter who is out for the day with an 
unquenchable love for noise and action, 
the fact remains that no living animal is 
more adept at all the arts of concealment 
or is more skillful in eluding its pursuers 
than the common rabbit of our fields and 
woodlands. Its protective coloration for 
every season of the year and under 
all conditions is as nearly perfect 
as nature has conferred upon any 
of its wild creatures. Its sense of 
sight and smell and hearing are all 
wonderfully acute. Its body odor 
is hut slight and its footprints 
leave only the minimum of the tell- 
tale scent that marks the way for 
beagle and hound ; and as for the 
intelligence of this timorous crea- 
ture, it may be safely said that the 
wisest old deer or the wiliest moose 
has not at his command the reper- 
toire of tricks in the way of con- 
cealment and the art of dodging 
and covering his trail that the 
ordinary buck rabbit, who has 
reached the age of discretion, is 
capable of pulling upon half a 
dozen hounds and hunters any No- 
vember afternoon, when the crisp 
of winter is in the air and the 
shadows are lengthening in the 
corn fields. 
The beagle is essentially a hunt- 
ing-dog and to-day occupies a posi- 
tion on full parity with the setter 
and the pointer. Interest in him is 
growing steadily, for those who 
love the music of the hounds and 
enjoy the excitement of the chase 
have learned that a pack of well- 
trained beagles will furnish a good day’s 
sport for even the seasoned fox hunter. 
For these merry little hounds have good 
tongues and when hunting rabbits, the 
music they make equals that of a pack of 
fox hounds. 
Up to within a comparatively recent 
period, it has usually been believed that 
the training of a beagle could be left 
pretty well to the dog itself and all that 
was necessary to do was to take him 
afield with some older dogs or allow him 
to exercise and develop the adeptness for 
the chase that he has inherited from his 
ancestors. With the advent of the field 
trials, however, it was soon discovered 
that there were many things that the dogs 
could be taught to do and many things 
that they could be trained not to do which 
would add materially to their effective- 
ness in the field and would increase cor- 
respondingly the opportunities for the 
sportsman. 
Gangs Flora, a Field Trial Winner 
There is a right way and a wrong way 
of hunting with the beagle and it is safe 
to say that many beagles do not hunt as 
they should, due largely to the fact that 
they have been allowed to train them- 
selves and no attempt has been made to 
develop their good qualities or restrain 
those peculiarities which were wrong. 
D EFORE undertaking the training of a 
ID beagle, it is well to consider what is 
to he expected of the individual dog as 
well as from the pack. Each hound in 
a well-trained pack should go out and 
search for a rabbit just as though he was 
the only beagle hunting. With each 
beagle in the pack searching the brush 
piles, the hedge rows and the likely 
places, the greatest possible efficiency 
will he obtained. A beagle working in- 
dependently learns by experience to 
know the character of the country 
and the most likely places in which to 
jump a rabbit or search for a trail. He 
learns also to know the character 
of the trail as soon as he strikes 
it and does not deceive the other 
dogs by giving a false note. When 
he does strike a good working trail, 
he 'gives tongue and the other dogs, 
knowing the quality of his notes, 
run to him, and each, working in- 
dependently, helps to work out the 
trail. Once it is straightened out 
all go away in a pack, not mere- 
ly running to a few leaders, but 
each being ready and able to take 
up the trail alone. 
Working independently does not 
mean that the dogs are not to run 
to each other when a trail has been 
found. On the contrary, it means 
they are to work alone until a re- 
liable note is sounded, then they 
all run to the dog which gives 
tongue on the trail. But no really 
good beagle waits until another dog 
gives tongue. Fie keeps searching 
until one does open. 
In order to make each dog in a 
pack work as he should work, it is 
necessary in the first place to train 
each beagle separately. That is, 
each hound should he trained alone 
and be permitted to hunt with one 
or more hounds only as it seems 
to be necessary to do so for his par- 
ticular benefit. When he has learned to 
rely thoroughly upon himself and will 
pay little or no attention to another 
beagle working with him, he may he 
worked with a small pack and eventually 
he will work well with any number of 
hounds under all conditions. 
