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Extreme Test
          The weatherman is calling for blizzard warnings. The temperature never made it out of the single digits with wind gusts of 35 mph. The lake effect snow from lake Michigan was blowing out of the control making wind chill temperatures -20. This makes the snow squeak as you walk. Except for the extreme high winds these are the kind of conditions I test all of my young hounds on. I feel that fresh snow with temperatures in single digits are the best way to test a dogs nose and brains to see if they have nose enough to run a rabbit and the brains to run if the right direction.
          I knew the wind was blowing but I had an idea how hard until after I pulled a pair of 11/2 year old dogs out to run by themselves. This lets me test the quality of my breeding program. The two young dogs I pulled out to test were deer checked two weeks earlier and both can solo a rabbit. Snowman’s Demon sired both dogs . The female Dancer is Demon X Rage and Yukon is out of Demon and my Misty bitch.
          I dropped the two hounds out in a pine planting on the edge of a big cattail swamp. Yukon and Dancer worked nicely, casting back and forth in front of me as I slowly walked through the pines.
          It took quite awhile to jump a rabbit but when they finally did boy did it ever run. The rabbit ran five circles through the pines wing every trick in the book trying to shake the ever pressing force behind it. Eventually the rabbit ran to a hedge row that grows along an old set of railroad tracks. I positioned myself to get shot if it tried to make a break for it. I watched as the two young hounds worked the scent trail down the hedge. As they got closer the rabbit broke from its cover running full speed toward the pines about thirty yards away from where I was waiting. I raised my Remington 410 pump and drew a head on the flash of fur as it bolted across an opening and shot. The rabbit kept running as if I miss it. I quickly went over to the area where the rabbit was to look for blood. In the time it took me to walk over to the tracks nearly a half inch of snow had blown into them. As I stood liking for any sign of blood the two hounds came through on track and as they continued on, both dogs started running harder and faster on the track. I must have winged the rabbit because he ran straight for the first time in the entire race. As it went right through the pines and into the cattail swamp where the two dogs kept driving and caught the rabbit ending an hour and a half chase. I was very impressed with both dogs desire and discipline to keep a track moving and nose enough to work it in such extreme weather conditions.
          I always use bad weather conditions to test all of my beagles. If they can’t run on snow in five degree temperature they are no good to me or my breeding program. Also if it doesn’t have brains enough to run it right or use its mouth right, same thing no good.
          Its my opinion that most hounds will be very capable of running a rabbit on grass or when temperatures are above twenty-five degrees but here in Michigan I need a better hound than that. If a beagle can’t run in snow on colder days then if doesn’t meet my beagle standard no matter if it’s a registered hound or a grade hound.
          A lot of people might argue that you can have to much nose. That having a powerful nose will lead to other problems such has improper use of mouth or cold trailing. I feel that those problems have to do with brains not nose. If you don’t have nose enough to run a rabbit in the snow on cold days what good is the rest of the dog to me. I’m just a hardcore rabbit hunter that doesn’t let weather conditions stop me from doing what I like best “Running Dogs”.

Rain or Snow Keep’em Hunting
“Snowman”
Rick Snow