Some pups that are independent when they start, later develop bracemate problems. This seems to happen when they are soloed a lot, allowed to run the front a lot or after they have been laid up for awhile. Is this a result of their genetics or their training?
By Ralph Gillum, BraceBeagling Columnist
February 15, 2003

I believe that independence/competitiveness is a result of multiple genes rather than just one pair. This results in a range of severity or different degrees of this behavior. I am convinced that some dogs have multiple genes for total independence and that others go right down the scale to multiple genes for lack of independence and competitiveness. If the dog doesn't have any genes predisposing it toward having bracemate problems, neither soloing it, having it run the front a lot, nor any other reasonable training situation will cause it to lose its independence. The problem is that beaglers sometimes chose to keep some individuals that have a genetic predisposition toward this problem. This is usually done because they are short on pups or because these pups are outstanding in other traits they value. In some cases, it may be a good decision for a breeder to keep an individual with a serious fault if it possesses some other trait or traits that can move the breeding program forward. The breeder will need to be very diligent when breeding these individuals to be sure to cover this predisposition so it can be eleminated in future generations. Of course, this is especially true if the breeder is inbreeding since inbreeding tends to intensify all traits.