It became equally clear that many of us share the blame. Bob Baker, the publisher of Better Beagling magazine, clearly states that a beagle pup is started the first time it gives voice and attempts to follow a scent trail. That pup may go to the field many times without starting. But once its genes are awakened, it is started, and it will get better with practice. It's equally inarguable that this definition works only for running hounds.
Beagles have one major instinct that needs awakening.
That amount plus pup price might get you a started beagle. When we move to trail and tree hounds, things change dramatically. W.Va., because the hardest thing for pup owners is finding time to get their hounds started on both trail and tree. The Shaffers shorten the process with an 11-acre enclosure in which lots of close exposure to feeding raccoons quickly awakens treeing instincts. A 100-acre enclosure then forces trainees into trailing before they get to bark up a tree.