I just got a 3 1/2 month old bluetick beagle, and I heard that the best way to start them off is to expose them to live rabbits. well today Im going pick up a rabbit..I just need some pointers as how to go about training them this way. Please share your methods with me. Thank you

i am currently looking for a beagle and ran across this. I have never owned a beagle or trained one, but this site seems like it knows it stuff.

http://www.beaglesunlimited.net/

I started all my beagles in a training pen my friend had with tame rabbits.If you have the room id fence it in with chicken wire and then go from there.Good luck with your pup.

I actually start my deer dogs out in a small 2 acre rabbit pen. it has wild rabbits in it and they learn how to trail and run the rabbits and hunt with other dogs. this is the best training tool i have seen to start puppies, but most coon hunters start their dogs off on a caged coon. It works for them, so i guess it would work for rabbit dogs. good luck!

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

Using a tame rabbit is a great way to expose a young pup to bunnies. I start mine around 3 months old and they're usually running by 6 months. Just let it chase that bunny around the yard every other day or so for 15 min. and praise it and give it a treat when it catches the rabbit.

Gene started this pup on the first rabbit out of the box.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2491662868652359959