Can you explain why some dogs are so hyperactive in the kennel and on the leash in the field, but are able to settle into a real soft, careful way of running when placed on a line?
By Ralph Gillum, BraceBeagling Columnist
June 24, 2003


To begin with, these dogs are usually young and healthy and are feeling good to be out of the kennel. I would also assume they have normally active thyroid glands which gives them a lot of energy. The lower the thyroid gland function, the more sedentary and calmer the dog. Many brace beaglers have selected their breeding stock for a long time for calmness. This could well have resulted in the majority of our beagles having thyroid glands which function toward the lower end of the normal range. Dogs whose thyroid function is in the mid normal or above range are going to be more constrained when confined in a small kennel and want to really release some pent up energy when given an opportunity to get out of the kennel. Those throwbacks with higher thyroid function would stand out as hyperactive in the field when compared to the average brace beagle which usually settles down after a couple of minutes and is content to plod along calmly inspecting the ground.

The more active thyroid function would explain the hyperactive behavior. There are several possible explanations for the dramatic difference in behavior when they settle on the line. One possibility is that they have inherited a double dose of genes for a calm, careful, running style. They also may have a genetic predisposition for scent to settle rather than to excite them. Wayne Irland of Greenway Beagles has another possible explanation. Wayne has extensive experience with bird dogs. He feels some of our brace beagles may well possess some of the same pointing genes that bird dogs have. I think this could be a possibility. I have seen a number of pups when first getting interested in rabbits in the starting pen, lock up on point and then creep after the rabbits rather than chasing them. This could well be one factor in these beagles locking onto a line in a very controlled fashion.

So, perhaps possessing double genes for calm tracking, having a genetic tendency for scent to settle rather than to excite them, and having a genetic predisposition to become almost motionless in a pointing type of reaction could all work together to account for the hyperactive leash dog settling down so dramatically on the line.