How to Start Beagle Puppies on Rabbit Running

With preparation and patience, you can train beagle puppies to follow the scent of a rabbit, baying as they go. Beagles, as members of the hound family, have a strong sense of smell, but without guidance they will follow after any scent that captures their interest. Some beagles do not show any particular interest in chasing rabbits, but others will pursue them eagerly from the start. You can train beagles to track and occasionally retrieve rabbits.

Things You'll Need

  • Cage
  • Rabbit
  • Starting or running pen
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Instructions

    • 1

      Socialize the beagle puppy with other animals and people from the time that you get the beagle and throughout the entire training process. This will keep the beagle from getting distracted by everyday sounds and smells during the process of following rabbits.

    • 2

      Put a large, calm and tame rabbit in a wire cage. The cage must be made out of wire so the beagle puppy can see and smell the rabbit. Bring the beagle puppy to the crate and let it sniff and investigate the rabbit. Alternatively, you can keep the beagle puppy on a leash while you let the rabbit loose around your yard. Demonstrate chasing the rabbit to your beagle puppy. You should start this when the beagle puppy reaches six months of age so the puppy has enough size to chase the rabbit.

    • 3

      Let the beagle puppy bay at the rabbit. If the puppy does not bark, get it excited about the rabbit so that it will eventually bay. Having the beagle bay while chasing rabbits lets you know if the dog is on the trail or not.

    • 4

      Let the rabbit run loose through your yard or other fenced area. Allow the beagle to chase after the rabbit once the rabbit has had enough time to leave a scent trail. You can either let the rabbit stay loose or trap it in a cage at the end of the scent trail. If the beagle puppy loses the scent trail, walk along the path that the rabbit took to encourage the puppy to follow you and hopefully pick up the scent again.

    • 5

      Put the beagle puppy alone in a large enclosure or running pen that contains an area with rabbits' natural habitat. This allows it to practice chasing the faster, wild rabbits. Keep open areas down to a minimum so that the beagle puppy has to use its nose rather than its eyes to follow rabbits.

    • 6

      Let a more experienced rabbit-chasing beagle into the enclosure with the puppy. The older beagle can demonstrate techniques for picking up the scent of rabbits if the animals zig zag or backtrack over a previous part of a path. Beagles often chase rabbits in groups, so teamwork is essential.