Hey there... Since I had off work, I decided to take my female beagle mix (3/4 beagle with some german shepherd) named Amber out hunting for the the first time, at Amelia WMA.We were always extra cautious with her, because, well, she's a beagle and she has that "nose". You know how it is sometimes... You let her off the leash and ZOOM!!! See-ya! Gone, goodbye, never to return again. [&:]
But first I decided to "test" her last weekend by taking her out to a business complex way out at the edge of the suburbs (West Creek Pkwy out in Goochland). They have a few fishing ponds and huge grass lawns bordering the woods. I brought her there and figured I had a 50/50 chance... Either she'll stay close by, or she'll be gone and I'll have to post up fliers about her running away. Guess what - she stayed close by (25 - 30 yards in front) and had a ball sniffing everything there was to sniff! When I whistled to clapped my hands, believe it or not, she came running back to me, and looked at me like,
"What? I'm right here. Come on, there's some cool stuff to check out!" 
So now that I knew she wouldn't take off into the next zip code, I wanted to take her out rabbit hunting, squirrel hunting,...whatever is still in season. Man, I don't know who had more fun, her or me! She was running all over the place 30 or so yards in front of me with her nose to the ground. I was kicking brush piles and pricker bushes. Maybe one of us will kick up a rabbit. I had my Remington 870 12GA with #6 shot, but never fired a shot, so I don't know how she would react to a shotgun going off.
Anyway, aint' she cute? She is about 1 1/2 years old and like I mentioned, she is 3/4 beagle with a little german shepherd in her. She has the short double coat of a beagle, the baying crying, "Yowwwwwwwwwwl" howling bark, the coloring of a beagle, but yet the bone structure, build, and face of a shepherd. She looks like a big overgrown beagle!
Anyway, we didn't get any rabbits or anything, but we had a lot of fun out there at AmeliaWMA. Also, since it's a weekday, the place was deserted. Deer season is over, so there were no deer hunters or bowhunters or anyone out there. We had the whole place to ourselves. I can't wait to take her out again and see what she'll do if she does see a rabbit. I know she goes nuts over squirrels in my backyard and chases them 24/7. When we go again, maybe I'll bring a little .22 rifle instead of my 12GA. A 12GA with #6 shot might be a bit much for a rabbit.
Any rabbit hunters have advice on training, or just let the dog do what it does best, as it's already bred into them.