Are there any genetic traits a pup would show before they are started that would give any indication of how they will run?
By Larry Lee, BraceBeagling Editor
May 14, 2003

Editor's Note-The following article was written by bracebeagling.com columnist, Ralph Gillum and not by editor, Larry Lee as the by-line implys.

In other words, is there any way to pick out the best pup from a litter by their looks or actions? This is something most everyone tries to do and very few seem to have any real success. I am reminded of an old friend who taught me the fine points of brace beagling when I was just getting started in the sport. His thinking was that it wasn’t possible to pick out the best pup. His advice was to pick out a healthy, friendly pup with good confirmation. That way if it did turn out to be a good one, I would have a nice total package. Maybe that is not the whole story but it is still advice I keep in mind today.

In order for there to be a basis for this type of selection to be successful, there must be some physical or behavioral trait or traits that would be inherited in tandem with the desirable running traits. This would have to be some observable behavior or appearance that shows up in the young pups.

Mendel’s second law of genetics states that genes are dealt out independently during reproduction, instead of being handed out in groups. This results in the offspring inheriting their parents’ genes, but because of this system of independent assortment, there is a new and unique combination in each of the offspring. Subsequent genetic study found that Mendel’s second law is only partially true. Actually, there is a phenomenon in genetics called linkage where genes situated close together on chromosomes are often passed on together. If it so happened that genes for certain physical or behavorial characteristics happened to be situated close together on a chromosome with genes for good running traits, they could be linked together when passed on to the pups. If this same combination happened from generation to generation, an astute breeder may be able to observe this connection and indeed be able to pick out the good pup!

It seems everyone has their own way to try to pick out the best pup from the litter. Some beaglers select the pup that either looks or acts similar to one of the parents or other ancestor. Perhaps they are hoping for some linkage between these traits and the good running traits of the ancestor they resemble. Some pick the “laid back” or less active, less aggressive pup in the hope that this will carry over to their running. One prominent beagler observes the pups as they go to the feed pan. He selects the pup that calmly walks up to the feed pan, plants its legs and doesn’t move until finished eating. Some like the pup that calmly stands as it is posed while others prefer the pup that is afraid of heights. All of these are probably variations of an attempt to select the pup that is most likely to be calm and careful in the field. Certain beaglers do seem to have more success in selecting pups than would be expected by random chance. Perhaps they have discovered some clues that are predictive of good running traits in their strain of dogs. However, a number of beaglers have given up on early selection for running traits and select primarily for physical traits such as size, conformation and color and for personality.

While it is possible for genetic linkage to be a factor that could assist in our selecting the best pup from a litter, I doubt that it happens often enough or consistently enough for us to be able to count on it. This is especially true since we know that complex performance behavior that results in a good running beagle has got to be controlled by a number of genes working together. My recommendation would be to keep and start the entire litter before selecting your keeper. If this is not possible, keep and start as many as you can. If you do decide to sell some pups and want to try to keep the best ones, some of the ways to select pups listed above may be worth keeping in mind. The beaglers who use these methods apparently feel they work for them.