Barker Brook's winning beagles

by Barry Matulaitis
     
     RUMFORD - Six years ago, Janice Mills told her brother that she was doing too much traveling to have a beagle as a pet.
     Little did she know that not only would she get one beagle, she would get two, and then more as she and her husband, Jack Rowland, fell more and more in love with them. However, the couple's dogs are far more than beloved pets, they are hunting and trial dogs and have won prizes at beagling competitions all over the Northeast.
     "It's a passion," said Mills in a recent interview. "My father had beagles when I was a kid, and I learned all the old training methods from him."
     "I like the hunting the best," said Rowland. "I enjoy going to the trials."
     "I love the whole thing; the training of the puppies and watching them progress," Mills added. Through patient and consistent training, the dogs have become expert rabbit hunters and can follow a hare's scent with the best of them during the competitions.
     "Those hares are pretty wily," said Rowland.
     "They have to be using their nose," said Mills of the dogs. "It amazes me how they can find the rabbit. These dogs can run forever."
     One night six years ago, her brother called and told her she going to get a beagle for Christmas. After talking with him for a time, Mills found out that a man had some nice hounds for sale and was actually the same man that her father had bought a wonderful beagle from in the past.
     Mills called the man, and was informed that he had old all of the dogs. However, after learning of the dogs' pedigree, she ordered two dogs and was put on the top of the list after learning several females would be bred the following spring.
     Each dog the couple owns is unique.
     "They all have different personalities. They're just like people," said Mills.
     Trisca was whelped on June 13, 2003 on a Friday. Her full name, appropriately, is Triscadecaphobia, or the fear of the number 13. She recently won a field championship in eastern Maine.
     "I'm delighted," enthused Mills. "In two years, I've had two field champions."
     Twelve Gauge Anny was the second dog the couple got, as she was whelped on Aug. 22, 2003. She is named after Janice's favorite shotgun. Last June, at the Palmer Beagle Club in Holland, Mass., she took a field championship.
     In January, Anny had seven puppies, which have since been given to people. "I screened all of the people," said Janice, noting that she was careful about whom she gave them to and wanted to see them be trained, healthy, and happy.
     The oldest male in the group is Blackdash Bogey, who just turned two. He is named after his distinctive dark color that makes him stand apart from the other dogs. He was purchased when he was eight weeks old, and received the End of the Year Hound Award from the Maine Beagle Association for a 15" derby second place for 2007.
     Waylon Willie, who is often teased by Bogey, was whelped on June 23, 2006, and is an up and coming young male in the beagling world. Last fall, at the Vermont Beagle Club Bench Show, Willie finished in first place in the 15" category.
     Then there is Stormy, the youngest of the dogs, who was born on Jan. 26. Mills mentioned that she had already chased a rabbit, and her high energy level truly sets her apart.
     All of the dogs love to play, and they are also easy to house train, noted Mills. She works them out at least twice a week in a 100-acre, fenced off training area, and noted she starts training them at a young age. The dogs stay out of the open woods beyond any training areas during the spring and early summer due to young hare being born.
     "And I have the time; I'm fortunate to have the time to put into them." Mills resigned from her job to allow herself the time to train and care for the dogs. The end result has been awards at beagling competitions all over the Northeast and the admiration of fellow beagle owners.
     In the trials they participate in, the dogs face a process of elimination. Rabbits are released into woods and fields, and the dogs must follow the rabbit's line using only their noses. Judges are stationed along the course to determine if the dogs are on or off line.
     "They have to be silent," said Mills of the dogs. "They have to open up only when the line is hot."
     The obstacles to following the rabbit's line include logs and rocks. There are 13-inch and 15-inch classes, with the inches denoting the dog's length. Mills' dogs are in the 15-inch division.
     Mills shared some of her keys to having a happy and healthy beagle. First and foremost, they need positive reinforcement.
     "You cannot use negatives," she emphasized. "You cannot scream at a dog. You cannot hit a dog. You have to use positive reinforcement."
     Diet is also important.
     "These dogs don't eat any table scraps," said Mills. She feeds them a high-protein diet consisting largely of Blue Seal dog food. This keeps them fit and ready to compete at the highest level.
     To keep their coats in top shape, shiny and free of fleas and ticks, Mills uses a powder and frequently brushes and towel dries them to remove any dirt.
     Being a beagle owner means staying alert for any sign that your dog is in trouble. At a training area in Turner a couple of weeks ago, Anny went into a stream and was unable to climb out onto the bank.
     So, Mills, who was wearing snowshoes at the time to maneuver on the deep snow, had to dive into the deep, cold water and rescue her dog. The effort resulted in a shoulder injury that hampered her for a while.
     Anny's experience notwithstanding, the beagles are at home in the cold and snow of winter.
     "They're good snow dogs," said Mills. "It's us with the snowshoes that have problems."
     The shelter where the dogs are kept is insulated to keep out the winter cold, and an open wire pen in the summer becomes a covered wire area in the winter to keep out snow and wind. There are also temperature gauges inside to alert Mills and Rowland when it's getting too cold for them. Occasionally, in the most extreme cold, the couple will bring the dogs in the house.
     For more information on the dogs, go to www.barkerbrookbeagles.com.