Yes, you can help start your pup with tame rabbits. They are slower and don't have any stamina and will quit running in a short period of time. You need to be able to get to the rabbits so the dog doesn't kill them. That being said, once your pup gets a couple of sight chases in, you need to start thinking about making them track the rabbit instead of using their eyes.

Here is another website that is just full of people that are beaglers/rabbit hunters/field trialers. If it concerns beagles, you will find an answer here. http://americanbeagler.huntingboards.com