Boys, Beagles and Belly Acres Farm: Beagles, but not average beagles....Chocolate Covered

Part of the title of my Blog is Beagles so I reckon I need to tell those who don't already know why I have a passion for my "Copper Nose Chocolate Beagles"

In 1974 my daddy somehow acquired two chocolate beagles as we called them, I didn't learn till the past few years that they are known as copper nose in the Internet world. I was 14 when Dad got the first pair named Chocolate and Ginger and I loved dogs anyways but since I was all about chocolate anything, these beagles stole my heart. From then forward different litters and different owners and this line kept growing all over this part of Arkansas. We have been able to trace back our dogs to Dad's original two more than 40 years ago. Pretty cool huh?

Over 3 years ago and I had landed at Belly Acres Farm I ask Dad to have me my own liter of pups to train. He sent not one but two pregnant beagles and my addiction began. We raised 9 pups out of these two liters and they were gorgeous. I began to learn to train them as deer dogs as soon as they could walk good. My Superman and I would get on each side of grown up fence rows and call them through the brush to teach them how to maneuver in the woods. I would walk them in the hay field and they all fell in love with eating "Deer Poop" hahahahah, gross but hey, whatever works, right? Plus it was all natural so it had to be good for them, no preservatives added.

It wasn't long till the walking them didn't work, they could run off and leave me so training from a golf cart began. I would put their feed bucket on there and they would chase me all over the hay fields and this built up their endurance and some great leg muscles. At a little over 4 months, the first two pups jumped a deer and I went into panic mode. My babies were long gone, I could hear them getting farther and farther away. I call my hubby in panic, he assured me they would come back. I still proceeded to drive every direction calling them but they were too busy barking to hear me. After nearly having a heat stroke I gave up. 5 hours later they were at the front gate. I was hooked then.

Joey, who we thought had some health problems went to my niece as a pet. (he is fine, it was a puppy thing) Two more were going to my daddy after I trained them. Oh that didn't go well, after 5 months of getting to know 8 pups with their own individual personalities I had became attached to one name Hoss, his other one that I named Lulu, not so much. She was in her own little world and me and her argued quite often but Hoss, my Hoss was burning up the woods chasing deer, he loved it. Dad came and listened to them run at 5 months and decided to take his two home. Oh for the love of deer poop, you should have seen me saying my goodbyes. You know the Barbara Streisand song "Memories light the corner of my mind", this song was playing in my head. And I was hugging them and remembering from birth, how they almost drown, how I had to give mouth to mouth to one, the training, the puppy smells. So sure enough, the tears started, snot dripping till it turned to sobbing. Hubby said "What is wrong", I guess that is the difference in some people. I had to walk away as they drove off. Learned a lesson that day, do not get too attached.

So my first time raising and training was a success, how you can have 6 and find the right name for their personality was so much fun. We had Bob, if you look at dog on left, that is him, Bob with the spot, he was the only one with that spot so we could identify him. Ginger here next to him, the dark chocolate, The Queen of them all, she was the boss and still is. We named her after Dad's first dog in 1974. Ringo also pictures, he had a white ring all the way around his neck, another identifier. We also had Speckles because she has freckles on her front legs, we have Dolly just because I like Dolly Parton. We also have Ben, best dog of the bunch, depending on who you asked. Named after a dear bluegrass friend of ours. Since then we have kept 2 out of another litter, Spice who looks like her mom Ginger and Pearl, one of our first unique blue beagles. And we adopted a copper nose named Lucy. It's not all giggles and beagles around here, I am also blessed with my guard dogs Possum the Aussie, RamZ the CataLab, Buddy the Shih-tzu and Princess the Yorkie.....so I am up to 13 and counting. Love my fur babies.

So there you go, this is my stress relief and I feel like I am doing something worthwhile. I make beautiful beagles for hunters or for those looking for one of a kind colored beagles for pets. Oh how they make good kid dogs.

Leaving here with a few more pics of some of our pups from the past. Hug a beagle today.