dougdelite: Can a beagle flush pheasants and retrieve swimming birds?

[DouglasR]

I'm torn between the fantasy of a female Brittany named Eowyn or a male beagle named Elbert.
Can a beagle be trained to flush pheasants?
Can a Brittany jump rabbits?
Can either of these retrieve swimming birds like ducks and geese?
I think we have more rabbits around here than pheasants and a little beagle just seems like a good pard.
Do they have a barking problem though?
If I have no idea how to train a hunting dog does it really matter?

Thoughts and opinions appreciated.
Thanks ht.

 

[DouglasR]

Looks like a good pard, pards.

 

[brymoore]

I’ve shot pheasants in front of beagles running them like rabbits.

It sounds like you need two dogs. Beagle for rabbits and a versatile bird dog. My gsp hunts upland birds (Chukar, pheasants and quail) and retrieves waterfowl. She did bounce a rabbit or two last year. However beagles are great fun for rabbits.

 

[DouglasR]

Hmm must not be many small gamesmen on here.

 

[DouglasR]

I guess everybody wants to talk about Trump and oil money instead of hunting dogs.
This place isn’t what it used to be.

 

[brymoore]

Go research versatile breeds. I think you want something a little more prone to swim than a Brittany.

 

[2rocky]

Some will, but a dedicated bird breed will be more likely to do it in a manner you want them to.

The Hound part of the beagle seems to make them hunt for themselves, rather than you. But there are certainly exceptions.

I grew up with English pointers who would tree coons, and do deer drives. Nothing like watching a dog point a crippled buck!

 

[Deleted member 18333]

My grandfather and father in New Jersey hunted pheasants with a beagle. Always told me it worked just fine. That being said if I was to pick a dog to brig hunt with it would not be a beagle.

 

[Pahoundsman]

I had beagles as a boy and shot lots of pheasants in front of them. They didn’t generally flush them but trailed them like a rabbit. I shot plenty of roosters running in front of them.

 

[cedahm]

I grew up hunting over Brits and have had three of my own in adulthood. I am partial to a fault to the breed and am unlikely to own another breed of dog the rest of my life.

But rabbits and water retrieves are not their forte (generally speaking, of course. I've seen Brit's retrieve honkers bigger than they are, but it's the exception). If I was looking for something that was innately good at those two things, I would look at other breeds.

A well trained pointing dog isn't going to (and shouldn't) chase rabbits in the field.

 

[Jwill]

No squirrel dog on the list?

 

[crock239]

My kids are after me a bit to add a beagle to the family, so I'll be interested to see if you go that route.

My $0.02 as 1) a person who knows only a little about dogs and 2) knows even less about hunting dogs...YMMV

Two years ago I purchased a lab pup with a strong bird hunting pedigree, and have thoroughly enjoyed the training experience, time, reward and bonding that comes with it. That said, it's obvious to see the instincts from her breeding (she's crazy about birds, loves to hunt and retrieve) and I'm so glad I'm just training her to refine techniques in activities she naturally and genuinely loves to do.

Because I also knew she'd actually be 80% house dog that hunts w me sometimes, I selected a pup from a breeding that described her mother as being driven in the field with a huge "off switch " and very calm in the house...fortunately that's pretty much exactly what we got.

I'd say think about how you envision spending the majority of your time w your dog, and select a breed and breeder/breeding that fits that the best you can.

That beagle might not be a great pheasant hunter (but certainly could turn out to be good?) but probably a very natural rabbit dog, and finding places to hunt rabbits probably much easier than finding pheasants in IL. Beagle probably also a fairly natural shed hunter which might be a fun way to get out in the field and hike around together in the offseason.

 

[Bhill552]

I have 2 beagles both of which will trail pheasants. Problem is they dont work close so when they flush it almost always out of range. I wouldn't ever get a beagle with the idea of it being a bird dog. It's not what they were breed to do.

 

[Ben Lamb]

It's easier to train a bird dog to be a squirrel or rabbit dog than it is to train a beagle to be anything other than beagle.

Beagles are disloyal, shifty-eyed buggers. I don't trust them.

 

[kansasdad]

Beagles are disloyal, shifty-eyed buggers. I don't trust them.

And I might add, stinky too

 

[TheJason]

I'm torn between the fantasy of a female Brittany named Eowyn or a male beagle named Elbert.
Can a beagle be trained to flush pheasants?

I’m sure a beagle will flush pheasants

Can a Brittany jump rabbits?

They will. Some might want to point them.

Can either of these retrieve swimming birds like ducks and geese?

I’m sure you could train either to retrieve in water, but they won’t necessarily have the strong instinct for it.

I think we have more rabbits around here than pheasants and a little beagle just seems like a good pard.
Do they have a barking problem though?

Don’t know on as a general rule, but our neighbor has a beagle that’s a noisy little bastard. Cool bark though.

If I have no idea how to train a hunting dog does it really matter?

It’s not rocket science, and there are plenty of book resources. Most important is obedience.

Thoughts and opinions appreciated.
Thanks ht.

Now, back to my 24 hour campfire manifesto…

 

[huntnpack]

Which do you aspire to more? Master small game huntsman or master dog trainer?

 

[Ben Lamb]

And I might add, stinky too

I knew a beagle that ate a whole loaf of bread, bag and all.

My FIL ran beagles for small game and tells stories of their disloyalty and unruliness.

Beagles are the biggest jerks of the dog world. And that's a scientific fact.

 

[DouglasR]

I knew a beagle that ate a whole loaf of bread, bag and all.

My FIL ran beagles for small game and tells stories of their disloyalty and unruliness.

Beagles are the biggest jerks of the dog world. And that's a scientific fact.

This is breaking my heart to hear.
I want it to be a little cantankerous and mischievous though.
Like myself.
Labs seem very versatile and I love them, but they’re just so played.
I really like brittanys, but they’re played in a Australian Shepard kinda way where it’s like they no they’re just too cute.
I don’t know anything about waterfowl hunting and honestly if it involves a lot of sitting around in a blind idk if it would be my jam.
I definitely want to go try it though (cough) @Nick87 (cough).
I also don’t know if there’s enough public land that holds pheasants around me to justify a bird dog, whereas there’s definitely some rabbits out there.
It also seems like you kinda need to train a bird dog whereas a you just set a beagle loose and chase after it when hunting rabbits
I need to be able to lift this thing in and out of a cabover semi so the size of the beagle is appealing as opposed to a lab as well.

 

[DouglasR]

No squirrel dog on the list?

I enjoy a good spot and stalk squirrel hunt so much that idk if I’d really like hunting them with dogs