Beagle Questions and Answers
Question - All four dogs are struck in and are running the rabbit. Before completion of any circles, the dogs break down and go into a check. Shortly after, one dog jumps the rabbit and it crosses the path in front of us. The rabbit then goes down over the hill into a hole (we all saw the rabbit).
However, the dog that re-jumped the rabbit was the only dog that opened on track. The other three caught up with the dog by the time it got to the hole, but they didn’t bark at all. What are you thoughts on recovery? Should the dog get the recovery?
Answer – This is a tricky one. It is a situation where a dog does everything right within the current rules, but doesn’t get rewarded for it because of a bad break. Rule 15c states the following:
Losses and Recoveries: At point where dogs lose trail and become quiet, Judge to start clock on dogs. After one minute has elapsed without any dog opening, all struck dogs to be considered at a loss (check) and minused 20 points. In case of split tracks, times to be kept separately for checks on each track. First dog to open honestly, resulting in reasonable forward progress to be awarded 20 points for recovering the loss. Additional dogs opening after first dog, to receive no “recovery” points. If no dog opens within three minutes, track to be considered finished and that particular track must be minused. In case of running rabbit in hole or place of refuge, see rule 3 (e) or rule 5 (a).
Rule 4 further defines reasonable forward progress as “a track that is runable by the majority of the pack.” So, the pack is all four dogs in this case because all four dogs were struck in on the same track. There is definitely not a split track, so we have to get the majority of the pack in on the track in order to reward a recovery. This was not accomplished. We had one dog do a good job; he jumped the rabbit in the check and drove it to a hole. He did everything he could do and does not get rewarded for that under the current rules. Of course, all four dogs get their strike points plussed as the majority saw the rabbit and it went to a place of refuge.
As we all know, no registries rules are perfect. All registries work toward perfecting their rules through rules changes. UKC is no exception. As you might know, 2005 is a rules committee year for our Beagle program. Is there a way to fix this rule? Can we redefine reasonable forward progress? Is this situation just a fluke and it is not worth changing the rules for something that happens once in a blue moon?
What about rewording the rules for reasonable forward progress to something to the effect of “Reasonable forward progress is defined as a track that is runable by the majority of the pack or when a rabbit is seen after the dogs go into a check by the majority of the cast and it is visually obvious that a dog is making forward progress on that rabbit they will be rewarded a recovery?”
Question – Three dogs cast, all dogs are struck in, and we see a rabbit and all score in sequence. The rabbit runs deep and comes right back to us. We see the rabbit and only two dogs come through the line. You can barely hear the other dog coming from the same direction the other dogs just came from. There is only two minutes left in the hunt. The handler of the third dog calls a split track. Time runs out and the third dog never produces a rabbit. Here are my questions. Does the third dog get minused for leaving the original track? I honestly think the dog was tired and just moving much slower on the same track. However the handler/judge thought he saw an opportunity and did call a split track. This handler also tried to award himself an additional 100 strike points on this track. We voted and circled his points.
Answer – If I read this correctly, the cast didn’t do anything right. The first thing I noticed here is you stated that you circled the dog’s strike points. When all three of the dogs scored the first line all three of their strike points were plus. Once you plus your strike points, they are plus forever and you can never touch them again.
The second thing I see is that the handler of the dog declared his dog split. First of all, a handler does not make calls in a cast, a judge does. The handler can point out that he thinks their dog is split, but what is the point in this cast? If the dog is split, then it is still struck in at its original position as it was not visually obvious that the dog quit its track. If it were visually obvious that the dog quit its track then it would be minused 50 points and would have to be struck back in. This was not the case.
Here is how the situation should have been handled. Once dogs all scored the first Speed and Drive, all of their strike points and speed and drive points would be plus. The cast then attempts to score a second Speed and Drive, as they did. The cast spotted the rabbit again and marked another line. Two dogs came through on the line and were scored a second Speed and Drive. At that point the judge is to start the one minute clock on the dog that has not scored. Once the one minute elapses, the judge must make a determination on whether the dogs are running split tracks or not. If the judge determines that the dogs are split, then the handlers of the dogs that scored Speed and Drive must catch their dogs and turn them into the dog that did not score. If the judge determines that they are on the same track, then the dogs remain running.
Even if the dog was determined to be on a split track, there is no scenario within the UKC rules that would allow this dog to be struck back in for 100 points. Furthermore, there is no way to possibly plus those strike points. In the split track scenario, the dog who did not score would continue running, holding its original strike points, and the other two would be turned into the dog and struck for next available position.
Rules Committee is August 6, 2005. If you have a rule proposal, it needs to be to the UKC office by July 20, 2005. Only written proposals will be accepted. Please send your proposals to:
United Kennel Club, Inc.
Beagle Rules Committee
100 East Kilgore Road
Kalamazoo MI 49002
Or email them to tmorgan@ukcdogs.com
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 Recent News At UKC
08/26/2008: Don McVay Sr. Memorial Event Beaglers from all parts of the country were in attendance in support of the McVay Family and the Annual Don McVay Sr. Memorial Hunt and Show held last weekend at Shumacker Farms in Coshocton, Ohio . The area had not seen rain in quite some time which made for... Read more here. 
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This Weekend At UKC
Looking to give UKC's newest Beagle field format a try? There is one Performance Pack event this weekend, May 17th, hosted by the Central Indiana CHA Beaglers in Danville, Indiana, at the Hendrick County Fairgrounds. Check the Upcoming Events listing on this website for all the details. Good luck to all at the Danville Performance Pack event !
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