Concerning Field Trials and Training 
95 
may be made good markers; but in a field trial it 
is even more important, especially now, since it is 
considered part of the beagle’s work. As a matter 
of fact, why should this not be a point of merit for 
the dog'? The beagle is supposed to drive your 
rabbit, bring around to you, or run him to earth 
or cover. Of what good is lie, if he does not show 
you where he holed him? It may be that some 
judges in past years attached little importance to 
this because they have often been fooled by some 
clever handler, who used a convenient hole in some 
good cover as an alibi for a loss. 
Running pack stakes is where the handler must 
be constantly on the alert also. He must keep his 
dogs together as much as possible and not allow 
them to range hither and thither, ad libitum. If 
they are widely scattered he will have still more 
trouble in getting them together when the game 
is up. Training here again plays its part and the 
horn may be used to good advantage with a pack. 
The stragglers should be gone after and kept up, 
and if one dog gets away and is inclined to hunt 
where he pleases, he should be prompty brought up 
with the pack. The idea of pack work is that all 
the dogs should hunt together. It must be team 
work, and this is best accomplished by giving your 
packs an abundance of work daily, long before 
the trials. 
The handler will soon pick up many other points 
after attending a few field trials that will be of 
importance to him; but he should always keep in 
mind that the head piece and brain work of both 
man and dog, go hand in hand. 
