54 
Beagles and Beagling 
more careful handling might have been obviated 
and the dog made familiar with the gun without 
serious consequences, but here again many, even 
experienced men, are at fault. Introduce the gun 
gradually when training puppies and never fire 
unless the dog’s attention is occupied and when 
he is some distance away. One shot at the wrong- 
moment sometimes will ruin a dog for life. If the 
buyer is selecting a broken dog for gunning pur¬ 
poses he must make certain before deciding on his 
purchase whether or not the animal is gun proof. 
It is quite true many a beagler enjoys the sport of 
rabbit hunting without the gun more than he does 
with it and many a fancier goes out with his pack 
or brace for the pure exhilaration of seeing his dogs 
work and listening to the melodies of their blended 
voices. Once in a while the hounds score a kill, 
but one cotton tail brought to bag by means of the 
clever work of the hounds is worth more to these 
esthetic sportsmen than a score that might he shot 
in front of them. Nevertheless, whether the hunt 
is conducted one way or the other, there is a satis¬ 
faction in knowing that the dogs one owns are fear¬ 
less and that they will stand gun fire if the occa¬ 
sion arises. 
As regards the weight of beagles, this of course 
is correlated with size. Beaglers have always dif¬ 
fered on this point and as far back as the early nine¬ 
ties numerous discussions have been waged through 
the sportsmen's press on this subject in connection 
with size, though after it was once finally determined 
that no regulation beagle could go over fifteen 
inches, that part of the controversy naturally died 
