Hello All,
Sorry for the delay in updating the site and getting back to interested beagle owners. I've got a new laptop and after much haggling with internet service providers, I've taken to sitting in McDonalds parking lot using their free Wi-Fi. We've gotten a tremendous amount of interest in our dogs since the site went up, and the emails and phone calls continue to pour in. To answer a lot of the questions I figured I'd just write you all at once here on the site to clear up any confusion and to save time.
The majority of persons contacting me are in search of buying broke grown dogs, of which I'm particularly not too fond. Primarily because any beagle hunter worth his weight will tell you that if you've got a good dog that works for you then you'd have to have Uncle Sam take the house and your wife first. It just doesn't make sense for a guy/gal to sell a dog they've raised from a pup and hunted behind for years. I've seen a lot of friends end up disappointed after buying a supposed "broke" dog. I know of one such dog-mill here in VA, where the guy has over a hundred beagles on site, and he'll guarantee you the dog will run or your welcome to come back and swap out for another one. What he doesn't guarantee is that you'll be able to catch the dog, or that it isn't harboring parasites that could infect your entire kennel, or that it has other serious health problems not visible to the eye.
We started breeding dogs for the purpose of creating a better deer beagle, not to get rich, so we don't usually raise and break dogs before selling them. What we DO, is we take exceptional care of mother and pups through gestation/pregnancy providing top quality food, vitamins, and vaccinations. ALL our puppies are raised by us, we handle every one from day one. We provide supplemental feeding of vitamin enriched milk replacer to ensure that each puppy has the basic foundation of a healthy long life. We expose the puppies from a very early age to chase and reward, a main reason we don't sell pups immediately at 6 weeks of age like some breeders. Basically I would rather sell a hunter a puppy from a mother and father who both run deer exceptionally well, a puppy free of genetic health concerns, free of parasites, and ready to be trained. That's not to say I won't train or work with a puppy purchased from me. I'm willing to work out something with the guys who want a puppy from our stock, but don't have the intense amount of time required for the early stages of puppy/dog life. I do have friends with beagles they are sometimes willing to sell, mostly because of financial reasons, and I'd be happy to put anyone in contact with them should I hear of any, but I cannot guarantee anything about someone else's dogs.
Our upcoming projects are building a half-acre to acre excercise pen to give the dogs a place to work out and allow me to work with them more.
We're planning a selective breeding this year between Rose and LJ(not yet pictured on the site). LJ is the first son of Louie V and Hazel. He's one of the best examples of Redclay Beagle we've produced so far, and we have very high hopes for this limited line breeding. I'll be watching Rose and as soon as she goes into heat I'll be sure to update ya'll.
I've also got several dogs at stud this year, including the infamous BG, Louie V, Reb, and our newest addition to our family Cole. Cole's pictures will be up soon, along with Reb's. Reb is the son of Dixie-Dot and Lucky(RIP). He's been a beast in the woods since last year and has really impressed me so far this year. He'll add a lot of speed, mouth, and endurance. Cole may be the next up and coming hound of a lifetime. At only 11 months he's our youngest male, and by far one of the best hounds I've ever owned. Cole was originally intended to be my housepet. He was the runt of the litter and almost solid black when born, hence the name Cole/Coal. I picked him out of the litter because even before he could open his eyes he would crawl out of the baby-pool we raise the pups/mother in, and he would sleep in the corner by himself. I immediately admired his individuality and he's never stopped impressing me. He's house-broken, knows the sit and stay commands, and he rides with me to work everyday in my truck, riding shotgun. At 4-5 months of age he was picking up tracks and jumping his own deer. By 8-9 months he was disappearing for hours, traveling miles running deer. I've also worked with him in following blood trails and baying wounded deer. So far he's 3 for 3 in recovering dead deer by following blood trails, and if he keeps up this success we'll be advertising him for deer recovery services in the VA area next year, due to our new law changes that allow for the use of dogs on leads/leashes to trail wounded deer/bear. Cole not only has the drive to hunt that most beaglers dream about, but he's also got the personality of the most loyal lap-dog. He's great with children, other dogs, and other animals (pigs,chickens,cats,etc). He's at stud to anyone looking to really add some great blood to their stock. He's a 17" tri-color beagle, born to Cookie and BG.
If interested in any of our studs, just drop me an email and we can discuss terms.
I upgraded to the new Garmin Astro 320 Tracking System this year, and I couldn't be happier. I've used much less fuel running the roads, have been in front of more chases, and have recovered dogs/deer much faster. I bought my system from Buzzards-Roost http://www.thebuzzzardsroost.com/ and he provided me with super friendly service, great price, and fast shipping. I highly recommend him, and if you talk to him tell him Matt from Perfect Ten sent you.
Well that's all for now, but stop by again soon as I'll be updating the site regularly, and if there's something you want posted or want to see on the site don't hesitate to email me.
Thanks & Happy Hunting!
Matt Craig
Perfect Ten Kennels
Louisa, VA 23093
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