Our bird dogs would point rabbits but would never chase them at all. Even if you killed one in front of them. They seemed indifferent to them, and we did not kill that many. But my uncles each had a setter, two from the same litter, and cats were a different story. One would chase the cat while the other lay in wait for the kill.

I grew up learning to hunt and be responsible by hunting rabbits. The man wore a faded red leather cap and a red tie afield. He kept a pack of beagles chained to dog boxes in the back yard they ate Purina dog chow and table scraps from a bucket that was kept right in the kitchen. You didn't start till 9:00am exactly on opening day typically the last Saturday in October. The man would put me on post between two briar thickets and make sure you had 5 .410 shells. It was made clear you were to stay there until you were called. And not shoot anywhere near the dogs. And away would walk the man in the red hat never a single look back. Jumping Dog was often first strike and Blackie would lay them out and keep them moving. Many days a limit was the reward for staying put. When we walked a field the man in the red cap taught me to walk a zig zag, because you miss a lot of them walking a straight line.
Today 50 plus years latter, I still walk a zig zag across the man in the red cap's ground, though now mostly when teaching a birddog pup to quarter or remind an older dog we don't want to miss anything.

Speaking with experience on the subject of not "spoiling" a good bird dog, my 3 year old Griffon (Werden) will transition from pointing a bird one moment to pointing a cottontail 25' away the next. My 1 year old Griffon (Parker) has been hunting with us the tail end of this season and is following suit. They will both hold a staunch point even once I spook the rabbit and shoot. I must say I did not intentionally try to train them on this. Our bird cover in CT often has many more rabbits than birds.

yes...beagle and rabbits go to gether like mustard on a hot dog...lots of memorys chasing rabbits through cotton patches....thanks jerry.....charlie

We went Friday 1-29 in a twenty mph north wind and well below freezing chill factor. Dogs had a tough time running. I took the first double I ever had, a Davidson import from Spain. I never could kill anything with it, especially doves. It was a 20 and supposed to be IC & Mod. Well the reason was for a kid who was slow on the trigger cylinder and light mod meant the game was out of range most of the time. But once I found out the chokes fifty-five years later, it is ideal for rabbits, so I take it once or more a year now. It was my prized possession at Christmas 1966, so I still cherish it even though it is not worth much. Also a picture of Patrick, my cousin's grandson with the Parker I gave him. I convinced him he did not need an 12 ga 3.5" auto to kill game, and the IC choke made him a much better shot. We only got three, one apiece, in five and a half hours of continuous walking while freezing. Isn't hunting fun?

way to go jerry a man cannot kill a bunny staying in the house...I need to take my own advice...charlie

I grew up with setters and beagles and we hunted them separately. If we were out with the setters, no rabbits were ever shot or shot at. Squirrels either. Only grouse, woodcock or pheasants.

When we were out with a beagle, we would shoot at the rabbits that were chased by us and any other small game that we encountered. Back in those days there were pheasants that were released by the State and our beagles would run them just like rabbits. Once we knew the dog was on a pheasant, someone would have to run ahead along the hedgerow or wherever the bird was running to try and get ahead of it. Lots of fun. Many times I saw the beagle rush into a likely grouse or woodcock thicket and flush a bird. We always shot at them in that scenario.

I no longer have beagles but I encounter rabbits these days with my setter. If I suspect he is scenting one, or a squirrel, I give the command "Nevermind!" and he seems to understand.