First off..how do you guys train your dog's? Second..for training purposes for scent...can I use a pet rabbit or does its smell differ from that of a wild rabbit?

I never really trained a rabbit dog.. it seemed to just come an instinctive behavior. Bird dogs are a little different. I'm sure somebody here can help you out... if not Google it....

Every young dog i have ever started, I did it this way. This ALWAYS gets them tracking. Now, I won't say they won't run trash, but thats another whole issue. I like to start out puppies as soon as I can. I use cooked beef fat. You can go to the store, and buy a real fatty, cheap, cut on sale, and cook it up. I cut it into several strips. I also take 1/2 of it, and cut it into tiny pieces. Use those as a treat when they do good. put the pup in a kennel, or cage where he can't see you. drag the strip on the string, in a small simple circle. Leave a small piece at the end of the trail, where he can't see it, but runs right up on it tracking. Carry the pup over to where you stated the "track". He will follow it, and find the treat. I would do this just TWICE a day. Be SURE to keep the strip of fatty meat in direct contact with the ground at first. The next day make about a 20 yard circle, if he did well on day one. If he did not do well with the track on day one, make the trail shorter. You won't believe how well they pick up on this. After two full weeks, pick up the meat, and just skip it along the grass, leaving 3 to 4 foot spacing between. This will teach him to "hunt" for the next spot. In three weeks time, I usually had mine worked up to a 50 to 75 yard trail around the house. Zig zagging around bushes, and making it difficult for him to follow it in a straight line. If he can do that, he is now ready for rabbit scent. Put rabbit scent on a rag, and use a 6 foot or longer pole with a string on it to the rag. This is to hold it out away from you so he is not following YOUR foot steps. Again, start out fairly small. Leave him a treat of his liking at the end of the "rabbit" trail. Do this for another couple of weeks. He should be ready to take out and turn him loose. When you do, take him somewhere fairly open, so he can SEE the rabbit get up and run from him.

I wish I had the time and patience to start ONE more set of beagles.

thanks alot yaz. we recently picked this beagle up i have never seen a beagle so obedient. he listens real well and knows all basic commands he has just never been hunted. this should help us get a start. we did use a deer tail and did as you stated and he found it everytime we tried.

Ive trained rabbit dogs for 35 years and there is nothing to it.

Find a roadkill rabbit or save a hide from hunting. Get a long fishing pole and tie hide on the end of the line.

Dangle and hop the hide in front of your pup or dog. Get the dog interested and keep the hide out in front.


Spin it around as the dog chases it. Every once in a while let the dog catch the hide. Set the drag on your reel and its a better fight than a big striper! LOL.

Do this game for a week or so and then take you dog to the thicket and kick up a rabbit. Try and see where it goes and then put your dog on the track and he will do the rest.

Sometimes it takes a few rabbits to get them going and sometimes it dont.

Best advice I can give you is feed them all the rabbit tracks you can. h.h.

We took him out without any training and let him run about the woods..he cut loose a couple times and let out some barks and could tell he was following a trail..now what the trail was is unknown bbut he likes to stay in about a 75 yard radius of us..he got into the thick stuff and he is lightning quick nose on the ground the entire time..so he runs good and follows trails..now just have to get the rabbit scent in him and I think he'll be one heck of a dog

My Dad's method was to take the dog in the field, jump a rabbit, stick the dog's snoot where the rabbit had been sitting and nature would take over. He liked dogs that worked slow and sure and didn't care much for dogs that sight trailed.

Rabbit trakes and more Rabbit trakes takes allot all pups are different

Beagles train themselves, find a weedpatch with alot of rabbits and take your pup there every day you have spare time, had beagles for 40 yrs and never used beef fat, hot dogs or whatever if the dog has hunt in him when he jumps a rabbit or 3 he will get excited and chase by sight, after he loses sight then instinct takes over and the rest is history... dogs are like people the more they do something the better they get at it, if the owner sits at home on the couch and watches tv during free time then its not the dogs fault when the season rolls around and the owner is disappointed in his performance... male dogs usually take a bit longer to come into their own and females can get their feelings hurt alot easier if you yell at them too much.
Bar none Beagles are one of the most loyal hunting companions there is but their nose dictates their life and gets them into alot of trouble if left to run free with no supervision.