# new here and looking for some advice



## beagler92 (Aug 31, 2009)

Hi there,

Im new to this site, i have mainly been looking at old posts for reference. anyways my name is Eric and im 17, I have a beagle named Charlie that ive just started to pheasant hunt with. we got him from our local shelter and id like to get him hunting more but heres my problem, when we took him pheasant hunting we didnt see any birds so he never got to hear the gun, now keep in mind that hes never been hunted with before the prevouis owner got rid of him because he had to move and couldnt take him with him and he didnt even have a name when he got to the shelter, so theres no history of hunting that i know of. so my question is what is the best way to introduce him to gunfire, i was thinking about taking him to the local skeet club and have him just hear the gunshots but not have him to close that he gets scared. also he loves rabbits and always wants to chase them when i take him on walks but im afraid that if i do take him rabbit hunting that he wont want to come back when i call him or have him run off to far with the rabbit? any help would be much appreciated.


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## neil duffey (Feb 22, 2004)

i could be wrong, but i dont know many phesant hunting beagles... i understood them to be more of a small game critter dog... bushy tails, rabbits, that likeing. you say he likes rabbits, why not exploit that? your more than welcome to come squerril hunting w/ me to expose him to .22 fire... always always start small when trying to gun break a dog... dont just take him out and blast away w/ a 12 gauge. take him to a field, tie him off, walk 50 ft away and fire a clip of .22 rounds... walk 1 ft closer, repeat until your next to the pup... if he doesnt flinch, up grade to a 20 gauge and repeat... if hes fine then, go to the 12... and repeat... the other thing you want to do, is reward the dog... if he doesnt flinch and hes compleatly relaxed, give him a treat and praise the hell out of him.

good luck to you, and welcome to the site. if ya need anything just pm me.


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## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

absolutly not...do not expose him at a gun club.
he will have no idea what is going on and it will frighten him.

of that im sure.
im not a bird dogger so others will give you good advice here,,,god knows were full of it.
advice i mean....
for my dogs i start them as soon as i get them as puppies.
i make noises when playinmg with them,, clapping my hands ,,banging toys,, anything thats fun for them.
i bang the dinner dish when i feed them,, anything to get them thinking noise can be good. gradualy getting louder as long as they show no fear.
only thing i do around gun ranges is start from a long distance, where they can barely hear the shot. i take them to a woods or park and we just poke around and play. makiing it lots of fun.
over the course of weeks i will move closer so the sound gets slowly louder and we continue to play. you should notice they pretty much completly ignore the sound.as long as they are having fun.
i never get them too close.
also i take them to the field alot dring these times and let them "hunt"
so they get used to smells and sounds out there.
my dogs never hear a shot till they are on game and very excited. of course i have hunted squirrel dogs and rabbit dogs so the excitement of the chase is a little different then bird dogs.
ther are good bird ranches with very experianced trainers. i would guess spending some omney with one of them to help train not only the dog, but you too,, would be a wis investment.


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## Big City (Aug 31, 2009)

You want him to hunt rabbits, beagles are rabbit dogs first. My advice would be to take him to someone with a rabbit pen for starting dogs on rabbit. when your dog learns to run a rabbit take him out ad shoot over him when he is running a rabbit. Alot of beagles can become gunshy if not introduced to gunfire thge wrong way. Rabbits run in circles, so your dog should never get lost while running rabbits. Its DEER i would be worried about.

The only good places for pheasant are farms that you pay to plant them for you, not my idea of fun, or real hunting. Thats why i dont have bird dogs.


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## Spartan88 (Nov 14, 2008)

Gun training will make or break any potential gun dog. Start him out with a friend shooting and you and the dog 15 or 20 yards away, after the first shot reassure him and limit this to three or four shots with a 410 or 20 ga, NO MAGNUM LOADS!!! Let him go up and check the gun out, and keep this in mind, dont stress the dog and keep the sessions short. 

Beagles will run pheasants and they work great in standing corn where the birds run like crazy. 

Good luck and have fun, just keep in mind your dog is a work in progress so dont expect too much out of him. And most of all keep it fun for both of you.


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## riverroadbeagles (Oct 14, 2007)

You can use beagles for pheasants as long as they hunt close. I had a old beagle that was excellent on pheasants as he didnt hunt to wide and ran them slow. Just be sure to stay up with them when they are running one so when they flush you can get a shot. Problem is its hard to find good amount of birds anymore. I now break my dogs off pheasants because I attend some trials and dont want to get scratched for off game. Beagles will run any game but have the most desire to run rabbits.


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## glongworth3232 (Oct 18, 2006)

MY 4 year old female will do a cold trailing bark when she is on a bird.She did it with a Phesant and a grouse the other day.Cool little dog.Good luck.And welcome to the site.


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