These dogs have been trained to leave the deer alone, using the e-mail method. If they chase a deer, the handler gives them a little e-mail via the e-collar. As far as I know, this is the only way to stop a scent hound from chasing deer.
In the old days, when foxhound trials were held, 50 or 60 hounds would be released. These hounds were trained to go after foxes and were judged on their voice and endurance in pursuit of the fox. However, in those days, training methods weren’t foolproof, and if one foxhound took off after a deer, those wolfish instincts would take over the whole lot. Very often, 50 or 60 hounds would split into packs containing 10 or 12 dogs. Each pack would chase its own deer herd, and many of these old deer runners were very good at heading off the deer and killing it. So in those days, a foxhound trial could be totally devastating to the deer herds. And in those days, the conservation officers had no authority over the hounds. If a hunt club had a permit for the trial, the dogs could kill deer and wildlife at will. (If they killed sheep or cattle, though, they could be shot.)
These beagles live in West Virginia. In fact, they are in my general area of West Virginia, which is rugged, steep, and very brushy terrain.
Check out this channel for more videos of these dogs and to give you an idea what sort of terrain a gun dog of mine would have to traverse.
Yes, that’s what it looks like!
It’s not all this. (That’s a documentary on West Virginia “folk hero,” Jesco White, the Dancing Outlaw. )
I’m not a beagle person, but virtually everyone I knew growing up either had coonhounds or “rabbit biggles.” The nonconformists had Norwegian elkhounds or curs for “combination dogs,” dogs that could be used on all manner of game. They are called “combination dogs,” because they can run rabbits in the morning and then go grouse and squirrel hunting in the afternoon.
I am not much of a scenthound person. I like Norwegian elkhounds, but they are not really scenthounds. My first babysitter, though, was a very nice beagle named “Willy.” Willy was a working beagle, belonging first to my uncle and then my grandfather. He was a very good natured dog, so much so, that my parents put him in my playpen.
Because of Willy, I always liked beagles, but they really aren’t the easiest dogs to train. That nose just takes away all the ability of these dogs to focus upon humans. And what good would a super-biddable beagle be? These dogs have to drive the rabbits to the gun, and it’s better if they’re thinking on their own, rather than following direction. (The best beagles trail rabbits at a walking pace, in case you didn’t know).
