Hey me and my Dad just got two beagles and we were wondering what the best way to train them for rabbits. and being beagle they are very stubborn so any info will help ty

Well, when theyre real young, go out and kill a rabbit and cut off the feet. Play with the dog by wrestling with it, and playing tug-of-war with the feet (make sure theyre having fun.) Once theyre older and they are very good at sit and stay and come and all that good junk, turn them loose in a rabbit hot spot. If you know anyone else with dogs TAKE ANDVANTAGE OF THAT haha let yourdogs run with theirs. If they smell their favorite play toy and there are a bunch of other dogs (setting the example), i thnk that youd be all right. NOW there are some beagles that just dont hunt. God put them on the earth to be a lap puppy. Just warning you. Oh and dont forget to do some target practicing around them to make them not so gun shy. Thats the best i can do. Train them when you can and get some friends with beagles. Hope this helps,
Eli

I have never trained a beagle, but the way that I heard to do it is ru nthem with a few older dogs, the natural instinct will come out.

Dogs that you want to range, you don't want to put too much obedience on them.

David

Running them with older dogs is the way everybody around here does it. Trash breaking collars are a good idea if u have a good deer population around.

we have trained quite a few and the best way that we have done it was start when they are real young. take you a dead rabbit and let them get used to the smell and then when they get a little older start taking them with some older dogs one at a time so they wont play with each other and they will eventually catch on

Ya my beagles are older one is 4 and one is 5 and they arnt trained at all is it still posible to train them or at least see if they have it in them to chase rabbits.

Probably worth a try.
Let them run with a pack, maybe instinct will slip out of them.
GOOD LUCK!

Will-

OK thanks for all the info I hope that they turn out to be hunters i know the one was started out on snowshow heir up in the upper peninsula of michigan but that is a different speicies and i dont know if it would pick up on a cottontail or not.

How has everything turned out so far?

Well, some of this stuff i read is new to me. But from what i know about my beagle i love him to death lol, of course. But first off start of young, get to be soul mates. Make it simple, being that they are bull headed, keep it simple, treats are good, but wean them off as time goes by. then just get thim in the feild, takes time and patients. Just go as if you were hunting, first problem you will have is getting them to learn smells. NO differenat than a young boy, so much to learn and do same goes for a young pup. Be patient, You jump a rabbit let smell it, try to make them follow it, takes alot of time till you get them to run one. You will not get them to be a champ dog the first year you get them. You were not a champ your first year hunting same goes for him. Learn your dog, all beagles have different personalities, mine does not hunt with others, he gets all weird when another dog is around. That is apart of his bull headedness. So you wont always get them to learn from older dogs but you just might, you never know. After they get there first rabbit, give them the liver, let them know that is what there hunting for. I love my dog < his name is TOby , he goes nuts to the pump sound of a shot gun or a shot of a gun, And another dont shoot a gun by him right when you get them to find out if there gun shy, how would you fill if your dad shot a gun by ya and didn't even get a chance to be comfortable with it. Another thing about my dog is he fetches rabits for me after i shoot them and brings them back, hard to do, just all in blood line and what you get. The main thing is patients and time spent with your dog. Just like weight training, you can't hammer the weights all the time, same goes for the dog dont run him to death either. Hope all goes well. And good rabbit hunting nothing better than the sound of a beagle on a brisk fall mourning. < verryyyyy goooooooooooood!!