Beagle question-are they bred to kill the prey?

[Diane_Windsor]

I have a young Beagle named Copper. He found a bunny's nest in our backyard last night. He ended up killing one larger rabbit, but me and my mom found two other bunnies in the backyard. Copper actually had the smaller bunny in his mouth when I found him this morning. :o

I am curious if the breed was bred to actually kill the prey. Or if the breed was bred to just track the prey and wait for the hunter to kill the prey himself. Does anybody know the answer?

Yes, I told Copper to drop the bunny, and get in the house (which he did). Me and my mom took the two bunnies to animal control.

DIANE

 

[bellantara]

From what I read here: http://www.beaglesunlimited.net/, they aren't intended to kill the rabbits, just to track them!

 

[Sabina41]

But at the same time, there's a lot of training that goes into it. They may have been bred to track, but they are still dogs and will likely kill things. Just about any breed of dog would be likely to do that.

-Ashley

 

[Redneck Crow]

Every beagle, foxhound (larger version that chases fox) and coonhound I ever had or my family ever had would kill their prey if they caught it. They usually don't catch it, but when they do---well, that's the nature of the beastie.

Hunting dogs are wolves that mankind has altered somewhat through years of selective breeding to intensify and take advantage of certain of their prey pursuit instincts.

A few kinds, bird dogs notably, have been selectively bred to corrupt the natural urge to kill their prey, but the sight hounds and scent hounds (beagles) instincts are still fairly clean. They still "know" what the hunt is all about. Toss a rat in front of a Yorkshire terrier. He knows as well.

 

[Sabina41]

Toss a rat in front of a Yorkshire terrier. He knows as well.

Hehe, that's funny.....not for the rat I mean.

 

[Singin4Him]

Every beagle I've had has had great hunting instincts and yes they will kill if they get ahold of the prey. It's not an aggressive thing, it's just a natural instinct. When I was little I made the mistake of letting my pet bunny jump around in the livingroom and my beagle went right for it. My dad had to actually get the dog's mouth off the bunny, luckily my poor bunny wasn't hurt.

 

[Larry_Fout]

Beagles that are from hunting stock will definitley kill the prey. It's not unusual at all.

 

[Psychobug]

One of the original purposes of the beagle was to dig out rabbit and badger homes to get rid of pests. Our beagle would definitely kill any small furry thing she came across