Late December beagle running

It's been a bit since I've updated so I thought I'd make a short video of the dogs running today. I hope you enjoy.

The latest podcast

RHB podcast radio show

This is our first attempt at a podcast so we'll see if I can get it to work. Just click on the link above to listen. When you get to the page click tghe DOWNLOAD button near the bottom to get the podcast. You can also have your rss reader or pod catcher point at the following link to just have the show downloaded to you phone or ipod.
http://cinch.blogtalkradio.com/rabbithuntingbeagles
I botched it up some at the end but I think I know what to do now. Just stay tuned adn I'll try to get you a new podcast avery few days or so. At least each week.

It's Monday again. Can you believe the middle of September is here. I thought I'd just share a funny story that unfolded in front of my eye's today. My friend Brad Wilson (no relation) came over to help me work on some fence line this morning. Brad arrived about 9:15 this morning and naturally it was one of those days where summer time just asserted it's power over fall. A little hot in good ole south Carolina it was. We packed up the tools on the Kawasaki mule and drove down by the dogs. I turned out four little females to get some exercise and bunny chasing in while we worked. Today I turned out Goldie, Hootie,April, and a young female I call Dinah. I opened the kennel doors and they were instantly out of site. Brad and I drove over to the trailer where I have the fence material stacked up. We loaded three hundred feet of fencing and the necessary supplies on the mule and headed to the area I wanted to get up today. We just got started gooded when the report came in. We heard the four little females singing in harmony, announcing loud and clear that Mr. bunny had been located and all was well. Brad and I worked along..... listening to the girls run the rabbit. We were pulling and hammering....Let me say right here, Brad is a salesman by trade and I'm glad he's good at it. He would have a devil of a time trying to make a living driving fence staples. :) Any way I am thank full Brad came to help and he was a huge help.We had a about half of the second roll all clipped, tied, and stapled when that bunny rabbit came bouncing across the road. We were working along the paved road and the dogs had all ready pushed the rabbit acroos into a patch of woods. Well, Brad spied the rabbit as he crossed back and we paused to watch the dogs work as they came up to the road.That rabbit had crossed over right on to a red clay road bed that I plowed up last week. Now it hasn't rained one drop and that ground was about like powdered sugar.Those girls worked and worked and finally got the rabbit off the plowed ground and in the weeds (mainly due to the determination of Hootie.) By this time the rabbit had had a few minutes to get ahead of them and they were just down grubbing and pecking at the track. I didn't have a lead with me but I was only 150 yard from their kennel and tried to call them to me. I was gonna walk them to the kennels for some water and put them up. It was about 11:00 o'clock by now and it was getting pretty warm. They refused to take a break from their work and just kept toiling on that dusty ole track. I decided to just let them be and we went back to our fence work. We were working down the line one post at a time, tiying and pulling. It wasn't long until the beagles started back down through the weeds towards the road. The weeds are real thick here and they were just pecking.To tell you the truth I thought the race was all but over. Now I was just about half paying attention to those dogs because my main concern was getting this role of wire up tight and then going for lunch. The dogs pecked on getting closer to us when all of a sudden that rabbit shot across the bush hogged path I had cut for the fence. He was heading back across the road to the shade. You should have seen that rabbit when he hit that apron fence. He was completely surprised!!!!! Now this took place less than a hundred feet from where Brad and I were working. He ran down toward us a few feet and then saw us and spun around. About that time Hootie was the first dog to emerge from the tall weeds. She spotted that rabbit and the race was on. Now let me tell you. A rabbit is fast but on open ground is no match for a rabbit dog that has him in her sights.He made it about 40 feet and she caught him..... He was so close to the ditch which would have bought him just a little time. Oh no I thought, there goes another rabbit! I suppose as Hootie collapsed on the rabbit and it stopped running she paused for just a second because the rabbit jumped from under her and hit the ditch. Across the ditch and into the paved road it went. Now at this point the rabbit should have shot straight across as the other dogs were now getting in on the sight chase.Of course rabbits can be dumb and he head back down the road towards the spot he would have went in if the fence hadn't redirected him. He made it to those saw briars and bramble just in time! Those dogs settled right back in and had been running him (hit and miss mind you as it was hot today) about another hour when we finished what we were going to do on the fence. Brad and I headed to the house parked the mule and jumped in the truck for a trip to Dan Scott's big league brbq. After a nice lunch I returned home to find the four little beagles laying inside the garage, no doubt enjoying the cool of the concrete floor.Day's like this makes me thank full for a lifestyle that enables me to enjoy this way of life and a job that allows me just enough spare time to share it with others. I know it's great to read all about beagles on the Internet but if you want to learn about dogs, really learn what qualities make the race better and which ones don't, you got to run dogs. If you could train dogs on the Internet some guys would have some real hum dingers.

I cant believe it's been almost three weeks since I wrote in my blog! I'm falling behind. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to force your self to do it. My biggest problem is getting in the mood to blog.

Since my last entry the World Beagle Extravaganza has come and gone. I think a lot of people had a good time. I cooked a pig on Friday and everyone enjoyed a free dinner on the the beagle club. Let me thank Mike Newman and Pete Peace for all the help with the pig. I'll try to have a couple pictures form the extravaganz posted.

I spent a some seat time on the the John Deere today. I was working on my fall feed plots. I disk in all the millet getting ready to plant some grazer rye and winter peas. Hopefully I can help the bunnies a little. You have time to let you mind wonder when you just riding around on a tractor. I got to thinking about beagles and improving the breed. I remembered what Bill Watt said to me many years back when the UBGF was really starting to grow. He said " if they really wanted to improve the comformation of the beagle they would have the show then take the top five to the field." While I'm not advocating that it did make me think of all the faults people will knowing breed.

I saw in one of the hound magazine a dog advertised as the "greatest dog alive." Now I happen to know this dog has gotten breed a lot. I also know this dog has a bad bite and is very shy. So shy that he got out of the kennel at his owners house and it took three days to get him caught!

To make it worse, many of his puppies are also shy and some have bad bites. This isn't mentioned in the add anywhere. I wonder why any responsible or ethicle breeder would promote a dog like this? These are the type faults that should have caused the dog to be culled before he ever went in the starting pen. The best I can figure, the only reason a person would breed to this type animal is because they are unethical or irresposnible. If they haven't taken the time to find out about these issues and they breed then they are certainly irresponsible. If they know about it and breed, well....

I just feel sorry for the unsuuspceted new or inexperienced folks who buy puppies with out knowing all the facts. Beagles shouldn't be a way to swindle people out of a few dollars or try to bring fame to yourself.

If you are thinking about breeding dogs, remember those pups will be dogs. Remember we have a responsibility to the sport we enjoy to make it better than the way we found it. We need to work to make it easier for new beagles to enjoy our sport. Anything we can do to help them have a good time early on is important.

man was it humid today. It's been great that we've got a dab of rain though. At least the smelling is reasonable for the dogs. The only draw back is they get hot quick. Hard for saliva to evaporate from their tongues with the humidity near 100%. I guess I cast them about 1:00 PM today. I had a really good race out of four little females., at least I did for about a half hour. By then they were pretty hot. It kinda reminded me of those August football practices when I was a youngster. I sure have enjoyed running dogs at the new place. I almost don't want to put up the enclosure, the running has been so good with the wire trurning the rabbit. I suppose I need to get it done though. If you have any time and want to come help me one morning give me a call. I could use the help and we can run some dogs too.

The picture today is from my daughter Ashlyn and the baby turtle she saved while we were out goofing around earlier this week. It seems like just yesterday Charlie Fronhieser published that picture of her looking at an SPO magazine when she was about 3 months old!

The local paper ask me to write a piece on rabbit hunting every year for their annual outdoor section. I thought you may enjoy Reading the article. It geared towards guys who haven't been rabbit hunting so it's pretty simple.

Rabbit hunting is a unique experience. It has little to do with shooting rabbits and a lot to do with the chase of the hounds. Men following hounds is an old tradition that has been a source of entertainment and pageantry for centuries. History records the beagle as its own breed at least back to the time of the crusades. In those days most estates had a pack of beagles for following on foot. The quarry was the European hare.
After many decades of decline, today rabbit hunting with beagles has enjoyed a resurgence of interest. No where is this more true than along the east coast of the United States. In today’s hectic world it seems more and more folks are seeking a simpler time. A time where Saturday mornings brought boys, men and beagles together for the dance we call rabbit hunting.
To enjoy a day in the field rabbit hunting the first thing you will need is place that holds rabbits. This may sound simple at first but when you consider the place must be safe from fast moving road traffic as well as secluded enough not to be a nuisance to neighbors, it becomes more difficult to locate rabbit hunting opportunities. Don’t be discouraged, the emergence of the forestry industry has ushered in an era of quality hunting cover and an abundance game.
The number one factor affecting rabbit population is cover. Where thick briars and heavy brush prevail, so too will the eastern cottontail rabbit. As you ride along, look for places with wide fence rows, possibly overgrown with honeysuckle. Those same fields you picked black berries in mid June will likely be scattered with cottontails come Thanksgiving morning.
After you have acquired permission for a suitable place to rabbit hunt, you need to set out to locate the rabbits. Early in the day the rabbits may come easily as the little hounds will pick up on the scent the rabbits left while feeding during the night. As the sun gets up higher in the sky locating game may become more difficult. The thing to remember is to move slowly. I recommend taking a couple slow steps at a time then pausing for several seconds. This also gives the dogs time to work the cover. I can’t count how many times a rabbit has jumped from its bed right at my feet as I started to walk off. It’s the natural defense mechanism of the rabbit to stay still and quite as predators are around. He will lay low in hopes you will simply pass right on by. He can do this for a while but will get nervous if you stay close for too long. This causes him to ‘jump" or bolt from his hiding place in an attempt to escape.
This is a good time to discuss proper etiquette and gun safety. Shooting a rabbit as it jumps is a kin to shooting doves from power lines. It’s just not a sporting thing to do. It’s frowned upon by all sportsmen and something you just shouldn't do. Since you’re not going to be "jump shooting" there is no reason to have a shell in the chamber of your gun. While you’re wading around in the field looking for a rabbit several things can happen if your gun goes off. None of those things are good. Play it safe, leave the shells in your pocket or magazine until the rabbit is up and the hounds are in hot pursuit.
Now that the dogs are after the rabbit you can begin to look for a place to "set up" or get ready for a shot. If a large stump is close by, it could be a very handy spot to get a good view of the bunny as he come back around trying to escape the bay of the little hounds. A vein of briars or a hedge may also me a good spot for the ambush. The thing to look for is how you think the rabbit will move across this terrain. A rabbit will slip through thick cover rather than running across open space if he has his way. This makes for an easier and more predicable shot when used to your advantage.
Last but not least make sure you the leave the field as clean and litter free as you found it. If you walk by a piece of litter, pick it up and put it in your game bag. If you take great care of the property you’ve been allowed to hunt, chances are good you will be able to enjoy it for many years. Stop by the land owner’s home and offer him a cleaned rabbit or two. Thank him again for his generosity and build a long lasting relationship.
If you would like more information about beagles and rabbit hunting visit my web site www.RabbitHuntingBeagles.com
Scott Wilson

Here's what I had my mind on tonight. Have you ever seen two dogs run just a like? I haven't. I got to thinking about that and just realized I never saw it. Sure there's many that are similar but just a like? I don't know how many different beagles I've seen run, I'm not even sure how I could figure it out but it would certainly have to be upwards of 10,000. I can't ever recall two that ran exactly the same. Much like you'll never see two people who are identical (except for the occasional identical twins,) you'll never see two dogs who run exactly the same. Hmmm.

I was running dogs last night and the dang ole rabbit ran right by the house. I was bracing Big Boy and Lady Bird and they both have huge mouths. My wife opened the bedroom window and gave me down the road for running so late. It was about midnight and scenting was just great. She told me the next day she put cotton in here ears. LOL I kept poor Anthony Smith on the phone till almost 1:00 AM forcing him to listen. He kept trying to hang up and go to bed but I forced him to listen to those dogs run.:) Let me see what picture or video I have on my phone. It's my son Mason just checking the oil in the Bush hog. Don't worry the tractor is off and the key is nowhere close.

Allright, another hot summer day. Actually we havnt had two many of them this year. I've been working on organizing my garage but it's been an uphill battle. The only good thing about it is it's neat to be working in the garage and hear a rabbit race going on.

Sunday evening we were having dinner and my wife and I were sitting on opposite ends of the dinning room table. There's a window in the center of the room (on the front wall that is.) As I was eating the site of a running rabbit caught me eye. It was running straight away from the angle I could see but I couldn't see the way it had come from. I told Amy, "that rabbit was running like something was after it."

"There is," she replied and pointed in the direction I couldn't see from my chair. I stood up and walked over to the window to see two young females coming out of the garden and crossing the driveway with that rabbit track. Apparently they had been on garden patrol and found that waskily wabbit up to no good.

Beagle people are kinda like a huge company. Everyone knows everyone or at least knows of them. The people who enjoy the sport come from all walks of life. I was on the phone with a friend of mine today discussing just that subject. How a person gets started in beagles, really, how should they go about working into a position to be respected by their new peers. It's a bit tricky.

This is one area where having money doesn't seem to help those who posses it. In fact people who have earned lots of money are normally used to running things their way, and doing things the way they wont too. They tend to want to throw a few dollars at the sport, maybe buy a real good dog or two and expect others to give them the respect the man that developed that dog actually has. Very seldom does it work this way. I can think of several wealthy men who have come into the sport over the last 20 years who have been little more than dinner passes for the true beaglers in our sport. In fact, they are often at the sharp point of many jest concerning their involvement in the sport. Don't get me wrong here, we need new money in the sport to insure breeders and trainers have the resources to continually improve the hounds.

I think the guy who gets started with little money and a white fever pitch burning desire to run dogs will (assuming he has the eye for dogs) quickly become recognized by his peers as a dog man. This is something the wealthy man who simply buys extra field champions can never have. The one thing he desires most, respect.

Today's picture is one of my two little girls modeling cowboy hats. The two year old think all the beagles are hers. No that she has discovered puppies, I've caught her slipping down to the kennel getting them out.

Can you believe August is here? We've had a stray storm or two come through this week so scenting has been excellent. I've took advantage of it by running some young dogs. I'm amost ready to put them away for a while and start working on a couple I want to trial. The AKC national Championship is comig up the first week in October and I need to get a couple ready for that as well.
I'm pasting up a video of 4 pups ( I suppose they are young dogs now insead of pups) I just went out and caught. I turned them loose about 9:30 last night and caught them a little after noon today. As you can see they are about done for but they are still trying. Take a look at the energy the bluetick out of Cocoa Blue and Sadie is showing. She kind puts me of mind of her grandmother, Oopsy Daisy.

Here's the video of the double mated 15" females I have listed on the for sale page of my site www.rabbithuntingbeagles.com
I know the video is crappy but at least you dont have to wait on it to load and can actually get to see (hear) it. It will give you an idea on the dogs anyway. If you want to run big females these are steals.

Well a new week has dawned and we have big news at RHB. Before I get to that I want to mention that Turkey Creek beagle club is a fun group of guys to be around. We really enjoyed our day in the mountains with those guys.
I made a video of Doug Grant talking while we were driving. I'll try to get it uploaded.
Oh ya, to clear up any misunderstanding, I was not trying to discourage anyone from getting started in breeding dogs. If you have thought it through and done your due diligence to insure all the puppies you produce will be properly cared for then by all means have at it.
Now for the news; Ken Murray is Engaged to his lovely girlfriend Andrea! I don't have a date for the wedding but will keep you posted. No word on whether Ken will be allowed to stay all day on hunting trips. Seriously, congratulations Ken and Andrea!

Hey you want to hear something insane? I am going to judge a trial tomorrow. Yes, I know it's July...I think I may have flipped my lid. The only saving grace is we have had a little break in the summer weather and tomorrow is only supposed to be around 84 degrees. Hopefully I want have a heat stroke.

Also, I've decided to start adding a picture with every post. They have have nothing to do with beagles so just ignore them if you want.

Here's something that just popped into my head while I was look at the pups out of Rocky and Legacy today: Mating a male and female dog and investing a little money in dog pens and then claiming to have a breeding program is like me buying a paint brush and some canvas, renting a studio and calling my self an artist!

I think some people truly believe breeding dogs is like adding numbers. You just add 3 + 4 and it equals 7.

If you want them to look a certain way, run a certain way, bark a certain way, for gods sake wag their tale a certain way......... Ohhhh never mind if you don't get my drift then it is probably pointless to try and explain it.

Another thing while I'm on a rant, what about a dog that couldn't even be taken rabbit hunting that was advertised so much people just started believing in the hype. The promoters just kept telling their spin counting on new people to come to the light...... and they do, at least some do. It blows my mind at how gullible people are.

Does any body run dogs for fun anymore? I know one guy who I think does. I think he runs dogs and truly has a good time doing it. Here is a link to his site...he has some really good videos. http://skyviewsbeagles.com/ I need to talk him into coming down here and videoing for me.

I dont have much to say tonight. Had a great evening here at the home place. Me and the three children went down to feed dogs this evening and I decided to ride down and see how my millet patch was doing. I had two rabbits in it one on both ends about 150 yards apart. I drove the Kawasaki mule back to the dog pens in high gear and pulled out a next years derby out of Yogi and a pair of Cocoa Star females. I took them back to where I saw the rabbit and turned them loose. I intended to just play withe the kids but I couldnt pass up that rabbit. Any way they had been running about an hour and me and the kids were in the back yard playing on the swing set when a bunny come running hard straight across the back yard. He was as surprised to see us as we were to see him. As the dogs approached I caught one of them leaving the pup and two year old female for about another hour. I made a terrible video with my cell phone. Hope you can see it.

It's dark thirty and I find my self sitting on the front porch listening to little Daisy solo a rabbit. We finally got a rain shower. In fact one Monday and then again today. The grass has turned delightfully green and the dogs can smell again. I think I may have broken my record for days of running in the month of July. I think now i have only missed Monday and have had several two a day races. I may have run more early in my career but July has always been a slow month for me and dog running. It's mostly one hot dry day after another and and after all, I have to make a living sometime:(
Form the sound of this pup I have out the smelling is real good this evening. I hope she circles it back around by the house as I don't want to have to fight my way into that area she is in.
I lasted blogged on Sunday and little Daisy is and Princess were running. Well I broke a shaft on my bush hog and needed to go to town and see if I could the a replacement. I didn't want to leave them out so I went and caught them. I had my son Mason with me and he and I rode over on the mule to catch them. I got close to them and luckily saw the rabbit. I put Mason down in a grassy spot (he's only16 months old) and got on the line to catch the dogs. Just as I was putting the leash on Princess I got hit my wasp right in the eye brow! I looked up to see a swarm. I hurried for cover grabbing up Mason as I to to him. I hooked those little female sot the back of the mule and took off. THAT WAS CLOSE! I was so thank full I put Mason down before I got to the dogs. Amy may not have let him go run dogs again till he was 10 if he'd gotten stung.
I'm attaching a picture I took an hour ago of Mason and Anna picking blue berries. Check out the rabbit cover in the back ground.
Oh ya, that pup is really giving that rabbit fits right now. I imagine tonight is about the first time she's ever been run when scenting was decent. I think she may be a good one!
Oh ya more news from the front. Legacy had her pups today. Looks like their were 4 of them. They are all looking good and have plenty of strength.

This morning is a first for my blog. I'm typing this as I sit on my front porch. The Lord has blessed us with an unusual July 5th morning. It's 10 AM and the temp is only 74 degrees. There's plenty of cloud cover and every now and then a few rain drop bounce around. My kids are playing on the steps and sidewalk (who ever thought of sidewalk chalk anyway?) I slept kinda late this morning so I didn't get up until about 8:30. First thing this morning I saw a half grown rabbit in the front yard. I slipped out and released two beagles in the area I saw the rabbit. I've had my breakfast and am just sitting out here listening to Princess and little Daisy hammering a rabbit. It's been over an hour now and they are sure enjoying this break in the weather. After the last week of dry hot weather it's great to hear a solid race. It's been a big commitment to purchase and payfor a piece of property like this but I expect it to really make a difference in bringing young dogs along.
Ladt Birds pups are doing great. Looks like wer gonna end up with nine of them!

Cheer up folks; we have rounded the corner. Even as I type this note the days are getting shorter and as sure as the dog days of summer still lie ahead, Autumn will be soon following.

It's been busy around Five Forks the last several days. I've ran dogs 5 of the last 7 days, (even had a couple two-a-days mixed in) and the puppies are starting to be born.

Amy and i were driving home last week and as we approached the house we counted five rabbits along the edge of the road from the start of our farm to the house. My place is set up near perfect for rabbits but my neighbors is too. Our place was part of a several hundred acre farm that belonged to one family. We have just 23 acres of it but the rest of the farm is still owned by the family and is in overgrown fields as well. It's just a great place for rabbits.

Lady Bird had her puppies. You can imagine how excited we were to see that she had whelped eleven! two of them didn't survive the night but she has nine the look great. They have made it forty eight hours now and in my experience any that live that long will do just fine. I don't believe in babying bitches in whelp (other than proper nutrition and housing.) If you get a bitch that you have to coddle to take car of puppies you have yourself a problem that Will be with you for a long time. C-sections are another thing. If a bitch requires one, she needs to be culled from breeding. Bitches that require a section produce puppies that have a high probability of requiring C-sections. In fact, it's my opinion, good solid bitches are the most important thing to strive for when endeavoring to improve any breed. Let's face it, you can choose from literally a hundred different males for a nominal cost. The bitch however, is something you must work for years to get! You may be able to save your self some time and trouble by purchasing a high quality bitch from someone, but you will be on your own to develop several like this.

Oh well, i suppose that enough rambling for the morning. I hope everyone has a great Independence Day. Take a minute sometime today 9or any day) to think about what Independence Day is all about. Let's pay attention not to allow our country and in fact our freedom to to be encroached upon so much as to be no better off than when the British ruled these colonies. Our for fathers created a wonderful thing for us, lets keep it.

My goodness it has been a long time since I update this blog. I had intended to start back next week.....July 1st...... but Ken's been on me to get back started so here i am.

The house is finally finished (at least mostly) and we are all moved in. I cant find anything and thier was a few times the first couple of days Amy panicked when she lost the kids. Sorry I dont have the final pictures on this pc but I'll get them up.

Rabbit season ended on a high note with a great late February hunt in Georgia. I've been trying to work on rabbit farming some. The fields on our farm have been laying fallow for several years and saplings are almost trees. I've got a bush hog that is rated for material up to 4" so It's working out pretty good. I hope in a few years I'll have it all beat back to stuff under waste high. I'd like to biuld a new barn/kennel later in the summer. Money's pretty tight now with work coming slow so I'll have to play it by ear.

I've really been enjoying some of the younger pups. Their young dogs now and I"m real happy with how they do.

Any way, we got lots of squash and tomatos coming in now. I've planted the pumkin patch with hopes of jac-o-lanterns come October. I also sowed a clearing in Brown Top Millet the first of the month. It's really jumped with al lthe water. I'll try to get some pictures of that up too.

Oh ya, I found a little fawn last week bush hogging. Hopefully it reunited with it's mother pretty quick. If I can figure out how to upload the short video I made I'll add it. Until next time.......