[Saltcoatde]

Have an 18 month male that started at about 4.5 months. Runs mostly solo during the week and runs with several other dogs about once a week. Likes to cut to the front or run on the side.

 

[Grizzly creek beagles]

I call that racing, don’t know the technical term but from what I’ve seen it only leads to train wrecks and doesn’t get betterJMO

 

[lp51]

I’ve always heard it called hooking. When describing my pack I always say I have more hookers than Las Vegas.

 

[Foxxy]

Solo him and run with dogs he’s not going to race with. Is he running dogs to get to the front and can’t hold the front when he gets it. Solo him for a quick attitude adjustment, he has to do it himself and not steal the line. It reinforces what he is doing when you run with other dogs.

 

[Hubcap]

Gets worse with age usually

 

[Jared Levi]

Go run PKC

 

[Jimlerminez]

Can he keep the front? Cutting, hooking, cheating, slashing, whatever you want to call it, is only bad if the dog causes train wrecks. Just my opinion

 

[5 Solas]

Might consider changing feeds. I know it sounds crazy but I switched to Pro Plan 30/20, and while it was very noticeable that my dogs could last all day, it put a little too much fire in them. What I mean is, I got some extra mouth and one of my dogs really stretched out further in a check. I talked to one of my buddies in our club and he said he saw the same thing. He switched to a lower energy feed (23/16 or something) and it tightened his dog up. Worth a shot.

 

[5 Solas]

Can he keep the front? Cutting, hooking, cheating, slashing, whatever you want to call it, is only bad if the dog causes train wrecks. Just my opinion

Funny you point this out... I was judging a Gundog Brace trial earlier this year. We had something like 40 big females. The dog that came back high would cut a little. What I mean by that was that she was working real hard but if another dog picked it up, she would move over there, hit it, and blow that dog away. She didn't skirt, but she was a little loose on the line and in the check. (I'm not describing it the best. She wasn't a bad dog, but looked a little rough.) She didn't have a terribly high score, but none of the dogs in the first series stood out enough to get a high score. She pushed the rabbit real hard. I didn't love the hound, but she clearly beat her trio mates. Accomplishment over style. Second series, she was braced with a hound that pushed just as hard as her, but powered out of the check, so she could never burn her. She got flipped. Ran her against the new third place dog... Almost flipped again! They were neck and neck, no clear winner, but she was sitting higher so couldn't flip as a tiebreak based on style. At the end of the day, I didn't love that dog but still put a 2nd on her due to accomplishment. I suppose if they can get it done, a little bit of that can help the hound and the pack and the race. Too much of it goes a long way though!!!

 

[Gpen08]

Define you idea of success. If its harvesting rabbits then you absolutely can be successful with a dog that cuts or swings. If its winning ribbons then you probably won't be successful. He is just over competitive. The question is can you live with it? I dont have an issue with running on the side as long as he is smelling rabbit and not just running along. My dogs don't know the meaning of slot up so they are normally 2 wide anyways. Lol

 

[Saltcoatde]

Solo him and run with dogs he’s not going to race with. Is he running dogs to get to the front and can’t hold the front when he gets it. Solo him for a quick attitude adjustment, he has to do it himself and not steal the line. It reinforces what he is doing when you run with other dogs.

Thanks, he runs mostly solo. When run with kennel mates he mostly behaves himself. At a trial he did exactly what you said - running dogs to get to the front and can’t hold it.

 

[Foxxy]

Tracks and the dog aging with maturity might get him to settle in and not be as rough. Keep running with his kennel mates as he behaves better. The more you reinforce that the better the dog will be.

 

[Saltcoatde]

Might consider changing feeds. I know it sounds crazy but I switched to Pro Plan 30/20, and while it was very noticeable that my dogs could last all day, it put a little too much fire in them. What I mean is, I got some extra mouth and one of my dogs really stretched out further in a check. I talked to one of my buddies in our club and he said he saw the same thing. He switched to a lower energy feed (23/16 or something) and it tightened his dog up. Worth a shot.

Thanks, I feed pro plan 30/20. I read in the pro club that Moe D is fed 26/16. Worth a try.

 

[Saltcoatde]

Funny you point this out... I was judging a Gundog Brace trial earlier this year. We had something like 40 big females. The dog that came back high would cut a little. What I mean by that was that she was working real hard but if another dog picked it up, she would move over there, hit it, and blow that dog away. She didn't skirt, but she was a little loose on the line and in the check. (I'm not describing it the best. She wasn't a bad dog, but looked a little rough.) She didn't have a terribly high score, but none of the dogs in the first series stood out enough to get a high score. She pushed the rabbit real hard. I didn't love the hound, but she clearly beat her trio mates. Accomplishment over style. Second series, she was braced with a hound that pushed just as hard as her, but powered out of the check, so she could never burn her. She got flipped. Ran her against the new third place dog... Almost flipped again! They were neck and neck, no clear winner, but she was sitting higher so couldn't flip as a tiebreak based on style. At the end of the day, I didn't love that dog but still put a 2nd on her due to accomplishment. I suppose if they can get it done, a little bit of that can help the hound and the pack and the race. Too much of it goes a long way though!!!

This dog is soft and I wonder if this effects his running ? He’s been in 3 trials. The first one he was reluctant to hark in and hardly opened up. The second I think he jumped the rabbit and held onto it and made a nice check when the other two dogs moved too far. The third trial is when I saw him running to get out front without being able to hold it. He was also reluctant to hark in.

 

[Foxxy]

Your dog is like a teenager trying to find himself, a lot of times dogs won’t settle in until 2 -2.5 years old. I would take some time off of trialing, solo him and run him with dogs he is use to. He needs to be able to run a rabbit on his own, once he can do that then maybe do a trial. When in the pack of trial dogs he is more concerned of the other dogs then the rabbit. Once he can consistently forget about the other dogs then he’s ready for a trial, but he can be rough and swing to get the line I wouldn’t trial him. Some dogs can run a rabbit, you need to have a dog that knows how to run a rabbit and is oblivious of the others.JMO

 

[Saltcoatde]

Thanks good advice.

 

[zcook]

I would continue with the solo time although it’s not a “fix all” like some make it out. I would personally put him down with some harder hitting dogs that he can’t handle the front on and it’s either gonna teach him to slot or he’s gonna get worst. If they take a turn for the worst then, well they make more 🤷‍♂️. Running him with softer dogs is only going to gain confidence to take the line which is essentially the same as what the solo will do my opinion, then you show up to a trial against a dog that hits harder and they are out on the sides again.

 

[Foxxy]

That’s why I would not trial him. If he’s with hard hitting dogs then he’s not learning how to run a rabbit he’s back to where he was. Wide and rough! Soloing maybe the ”fix all” because he’s doing it by himself. A lot of the trial dogs can not do it by themselves and if they can it’s because they been soloed.
if they gain the confidence of running by themselves and run with faster dogs he has the smarts and know all, if the others mess up he will run through their mistakes and do it right.
Soloing helps fix many issues that a dog may have, that’s why it is highly recommended by many.JMO

 

[Marshall Rowley]

Sooo....

Competition dog wise ...you want your dog looking like a slot car no cutting or swinging...swinging is frowned upon from what I hear.. cheating

Gun dog wise...I would think a dog that can shortin the distance between the game and itself could be a good thing...it could more than likely get the rabbit to circle faster..you would almost think that the hound has a little bit of an edge ... is that dog smarter then the others to cut the distance??? That dog just cut 20 yards out of the track and is on the rabbit.. some people wouldn't pay a dime for this dog!??

In racoon hunting they would call it drifting a track and it is definitely a good thing if done right..anything that gets your dog hooked and treed before the others is good...more tree points!

My female swings quite often.. and it seems to be a good thing for my pack...

She cuts the distance and the rest packs to her... they know she has the rabbit soo they pack back up to her..

But that's just my pack and it may cause issues (train wrecks)in other packs.
I dont trial...
Soo swinging is quite alright to me...

 

[Saltcoatde]

Sooo....

Competition dog wise ...you want your dog looking like a slot car no cutting or swinging...swinging is frowned upon from what I hear.. cheating

Gun dog wise...I would think a dog that can shortin the distance between the game and itself could be a good thing...it could more than likely get the rabbit to circle faster..you would almost think that the hound has a little bit of an edge ... is that dog smarter then the others to cut the distance??? That dog just cut 20 yards out of the track and is on the rabbit.. some people wouldn't pay a dime for this dog!??

In racoon hunting they would call it drifting a track and it is definitely a good thing if done right..anything that gets your dog hooked and treed before the others is good...more tree points!

My female swings quite often.. and it seems to be a good thing for my pack...

She cuts the distance and the rest packs to her... they know she has the rabbit soo they pack back up to her..

But that's just my pack and it may cause issues (train wrecks)in other packs.
I dont trial...
Soo swinging is quite alright to me...

Thanks, lots of different styles to like.