Registered: Aug 2010
Location: ashland, mo
Posts: 63

What is a gun dog? What is a jump dog? What other kinds r there?

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Justin Hudson
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Hootowl holler kennel

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Registered: Nov 2004
Location: Fresno Ohio
Posts: 2212

I will give you my opinion of the two
GUN DOG- This usually is the first dog you load up when going rabbit hunting. He/she usually is the most trustworthy, dependable, experienced hound that you have. With that said he/she may not the best competition hound for many reasons such as, to slow (constantly gets 3rd and 4th lines or runs in the back of the pack), barks before track is runable (needs 5 minutes to get track going). These traits are often ignored by the "Gun Hunter" they could care less if it takes an extra minute or 2 to get the track going and as long as it doesnt take all day to circle a rabbit they often could care less that the rabbit circled in 20 minutes compared to 18.
JUMP DOG - A jump dog is just that. A hound that gets in the brush without help and actively is in persuit of jumping a rabbit. There are different styles of how a beagle will hunt. Some hunters perfer a hound that is always on the go, covering alot of ground (often referred to as Bird Dog style). Some prefer a hound that hunts close and covers every inch of the brush. Some prefer a hound that goes out and hunts back to you. Regardless of style a good jump dog is first and foremost amongst beaglers of all kind.
With that said their are multiple hounds that excell in being both a great Gun Dog and a Competition Hound. These are usually the hounds you read about on a constant bases. I have said many times that a hound that can win in multiple formats is usually a VERY GOOD Gun Dog.
Hope that helps and welcome aboard!!!!

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Registered: Jan 2009
Location:
Posts: 72

Dave, I think you are describing Hunt and not necessarily Jump. In most packs the dog with the most Hunt is usually the pack's Jump dog, but I wouldn't necessarily call that dog a "Jump Dog". This is exactly what Boomer (Ranger Dan & Sonic) was. He jumped a lot of rabbits by being in the right place and bumping them. I called him a Blue Collared Jump dog, he worked hard for the rabbits. A true Jump Dog is something special. Drop 10 good dogs on the ground and hunt all day, at the end of the day the pack has jumped 25 rabbits, the Jump Dog has jumped 15 of them and made it look easy. A true Jump Dog may not spend all of its time in the briers like the dog with hunt. It may only enter the briers to jump the rabbit. Often the true Jump dog will open before entering the briers. The Jump dog knows the rabbit is there before going into the cover. The true Jump dog winds the rabbit much like a bird dog winds a Quail. It is a true pleasure to watch and many have never seen it. My first hounds were 3 female pups, I was fortunate enough to receive an all round Gun dog in one and a superior Jump dog in the other. The third was nice also, but got hit by a car at a year old. In several hundred dogs since, I have come close to finding another true Jump dog. Jump dogs are never sold! You either raise them or inherit them.

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