Getting a beagle

Velocitee

Hi there,

We have adopted a lovely beagle and expect to get her in the next couple of weeks.

Our garden is fully enclosed so I plan to teach her some tricks, fetch etc.

From people's experience, are they good to learn to fetch etc or is it a waste of time?

I will train her to come back etc in the garden before I even attempt to let her loose in fields as I hear they can have bad recall.

She was very interested in my shoes when we went to visit her there (had been walking in the country.) and loves to smell random things so plan to get her to find objects I've hidden etc by smell too (she may be more interested in this :P )

Any other beagle tips/ stories people want to share, fire away

Thanks

andreac

Its not really advisable to let Beagles off the lead, esp in an open field, because if they get a scent the chances of them coming back are very small as if they get a scent they just take off and can be very hard to get them back so i would be very reluctant to let them off unless you are in an enclosed space.

Cherry Blossom

andreac wrote: »

Its not really advisable to let Beagles off the lead, esp in an open field, because if they get a scent the chances of them coming back are very small as if they get a scent they just take off and can be very hard to get them back so i would be very reluctant to let them off unless you are in an enclosed space.

+1 I have seen people who work these dogs loose them never to be seen again, will follow a scent to the end of the world and will be deaf, blind and oblivious to everything till they get there including the sound of your voice, treats, oncomming traffic . When they find what they've been after they will suddenly snap out of it with no clue where they are or how they got there. No amount of training can combat this, it's what they have been bred to do.

Cat Melodeon

I had a beagle years back, he was nuts. I found him to be very playful and trained him to fetch and seek no bother, but he would only work when he knew he was in an enclosed space or on the lead. If he thought there was the slightest chance of getting out, his focus switched to finding out how to escape and then following his nose until I managed to catch up with him. I would have considered myself a fairly experienced dog-owner at the time, but he was a completely different animal to the setters and collies we'd had before. I wouldn't say all beagles are untrainable, but the task with this lad was definitely beyond me.

My advice? See how it goes, you might have a less stubborn one to me, but if it's not going well, shell out and go to an obedience class, for the dog's own safety if nothing else. Never trust her off the lead anywhere near or within loping distance of traffic. Ever.

dub0605

We have a 5yr old beagle that we adopted from the Dogs Trust.

She is the sweetest thing ever and wouldnt hurt a fly. She isnt all that interested in playing, we have gotten her loads of toys etc but she just looks at them. The only thing she does love is her kong when its filled with her little treats and peanut butter. We dont let her off the lead at all, she has an extendable lead and thats enough for her. We also have done crate training with her which she took to straight away and loves to go in it at night, will sometimes take herself off to bed early!!!

Beagles are known for sniffing, thats the breed they are. Ours sniffs everything!!!!! A quick walk can take ages because she sniffs so much but thats their nature so you have to just let them do it. Also our lovely back garden is now filled with holes, she LOVES to dig!!!!!

Ive no major advice to give because every dog is different. They can be stubborn dogs, I know ours is anyway!!!! But they really are gorgeous dogs and anyone we meet on our walks comments on her and how gorgeous she is

theparish

I have a beagle,lovely dog daft as a brush.He has no interest in anything except
food and sniffing everything for at least 10 minutes and is hard to train.I leave him off the lead but I walk the same route on most occasions and he has disappeared from time to time.

sionnaic

dub0605 wrote: »

We have a 5yr old beagle that we adopted from the Dogs Trust.

She is the sweetest thing ever and wouldnt hurt a fly. She isnt all that interested in playing, we have gotten her loads of toys etc but she just looks at them. The only thing she does love is her kong when its filled with her little treats and peanut butter. We dont let her off the lead at all, she has an extendable lead and thats enough for her. We also have done crate training with her which she took to straight away and loves to go in it at night, will sometimes take herself off to bed early!!!

Beagles are known for sniffing, thats the breed they are. Ours sniffs everything!!!!! A quick walk can take ages because she sniffs so much but thats their nature so you have to just let them do it. Also our lovely back garden is now filled with holes, she LOVES to dig!!!!!

Ive no major advice to give because every dog is different. They can be stubborn dogs, I know ours is anyway!!!! But they really are gorgeous dogs and anyone we meet on our walks comments on her and how gorgeous she is

Sounds very like my Basset Hound! The breeds are related I suppose...

suziwalsh

I have always had beagles....they (for the majority) are big foodies so you can teach them a good recall response also I would highly recommend clicker training for anyone who does have a beagle....they are very responsive!

Best of Luck!!!

ppink

Beagles are the cutest dogs. I would love one but right now i have enough:)
Found this interesting about them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAf7lcYEXag

rafared

My Beagle will do anything for food, he will sit, stay, beg, lie down aslong as theres food in it for him. I have let him off lead but wouldnt recommend it because as previous posters have said they will just lock onto a scent and nothing else matters. He is mad for play with the kids, will fetch and run after a ball but is very eaily distracted. The local vet says beagles are high maintenance dogs and I'd tend to agree. Having said that he is a loveable dog and great fun.
My biggest problem with him is that he will eat anything he finds, food or otherwise, so on walks we have to watch him constantly in order to prevent him wolfing down whatever he finds.

Velocitee

Thanks for all the advice so far

Right off the lead is a no then (at least outside the realm of the garden)

I'm going to use a regular lead for regular walks and an extending lead for field/country/beach walks, that should let her sniff awayfor rabbits/cows/sheep etc to chase (in her head lol).

Plan on getting a dog bed for inside and kennel for outside - was thinking though that crate training might be worth a look if it would help her feel more at home/secure?

Maybe I'd just put the dog bed in the crate inside, and leave a similar dog bed in the kennel.

Keep the beagle stories coming - makes good reading

suziwalsh

This is my favourite beagle clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcNeJ1Z7qeg

Velocitee

ppink wrote: »

Beagles are the cutest dogs. I would love one but right now i have enough:)
Found this interesting about them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAf7lcYEXag

REALLY informative - thanks!

Velocitee

suziwalsh wrote: »

This is my favourite beagle clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcNeJ1Z7qeg

ha ha ha - scary though! :O ingenious little guy. And there's more vids as well!

bunker as a dog run it is

fred funk }{

I have a Beagle he's 18mths old. They're very high energy dogs and if my fella doesnt get out he goes nuts in the house until he does. I let my lad off the lead all the time and he has never wondered off far enough that he wouldnt come running after a whistle or two

The big problem I have with my beagle is that he loves to be around other dogs and if he's off the lead and sees one he's gone like a light!

I have thought mine all the usual tricks and have found I got the best results when he was hungry as he wanted the treats even more. He has caused some damage around the house but no more than any other pup. He also loves to dig up the garden and bury his treats/bones which can be funny to watch some times

Getwellsoon

andreac wrote: »

Its not really advisable to let Beagles off the lead, esp in an open field, because if they get a scent the chances of them coming back are very small as if they get a scent they just take off and can be very hard to get them back so i would be very reluctant to let them off unless you are in an enclosed space.

I was advised not to let my 6 month old lurcher off the lead for 3 months, until he had got used to me! I found this was a load of rubbish because I gave him so much attention over 2 weeks that he was excellent when I decided to let him off the lead and his recall is excellent even if he gets scent of something like most hunting dogs do, and even if he's playing with other dogs. I really couldn't imagine still having him on the lead and not letting him have his runs! Let him loose in an enclosed space first like your garden, then find a park which only has one exit and is fairly small and enclosed. Always carry treats!

Whether dogs fetch or not probably has something to do with the individual dog, not the breed necessarily. Hounds love to chase and catch things, so I'd say he'd be pretty good. My lurcher will chase anything I throw and will eventually bring it back after zooming around the whole park with it and throwing it up in the air for himself and tackling it for a while!!

Get a dog clicker and every time your puppy does something that deserves a treat click it at that EXACT instant (i.e. for "sit" when his bum touches the floor, for "lie down" the moment his elbows hit the ground, for "shake paws" the moment his paw touches your hand) and then give him a treat. Treat him lots and do this for a short amount of time a couple times a day. He will soon learn what you mean and in the end will do it without the use of the clicker or treats.

I was told my dog may be really hard to train and would have a bad recall. This could not be further from the truth! He's excellent and after less than a month of having him I've spent loads of time with him and he can sit, lie down, shake paws, hi-5, bark, twirl around and jump on command!! He always comes back to the word "come" or a familiar whistle... and if he doesn't come I walk in the opposite direction and he runs after me in case he loses me!!

Good luck, you'll be FINE!

andreac

Beagles are very, very different than lurchers. Lurchers are sighthounds whereas Beagles are scent hounds. Beagles are hunters and if they get a scent they are gone and you find it very hard to get them to come back.

So please be very careful before you let your dog off the lead.

Other beagle owner have given you great advice so please listen to them:).

Getwellsoon

andreac wrote: »

Beagles are very, very different than lurchers. Lurchers are sighthounds whereas Beagles are scent hounds. Beagles are hunters and if they get a scent they are gone and you find it very hard to get them to come back.

So please be very careful before you let your dog off the lead.

Other beagle owner have given you great advice so please listen to them:).

Sorry if I gave incorrect information! Definitely take it slowly and see how it goes step by step. I do think, however, that it depends on how you train your dog. Just as lurchers and greyhounds have a rep for running off after everything they see, and 'dangerous' dog breeds have a rep for being vicious it is often NOT the case! It all depends on how you train them and bring them up. If you spend time teaching good recall methods I think almost any dog (whether sight or scent hound) will come back to you without much bother. Hounds are very intellingent dogs, which is why they are used as working dogs. If they didn't come back when they were called then there would be no point in using them for work!

Sorry again if I supplied false information, I just wanted to say that if you train your puppy well then I don't think you need to be too worried. There must be a Beagle forum you could join and post on, where you can get some expert advice. Puppy training classes could also be a good idea if you are worried - the DSPCA offer this service

JacksonHeightsOwn

Velocitee wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice so far

Right off the lead is a no then (at least outside the realm of the garden)

I'm going to use a regular lead for regular walks and an extending lead for field/country/beach walks, that should let her sniff awayfor rabbits/cows/sheep etc to chase (in her head lol).

Plan on getting a dog bed for inside and kennel for outside - was thinking though that crate training might be worth a look if it would help her feel more at home/secure?

Maybe I'd just put the dog bed in the crate inside, and leave a similar dog bed in the kennel.

Keep the beagle stories coming - makes good reading

you can let them off the lead, thats a myth (well, with mine and a few others ive met)

we got Millie from a young pup, and i have a fairly big garden, straight away, i was like yourself; "ah, beagles will run after their nose, you cant let them off the lead"

but since the day we got her, once we said her name, we gave her a treat, and belive me you, they will do ANYTHING FOR FOOD!

toilet training was a doddle, just be patient, as even though they may want to go outside to go to the loo, their little bladders arent developed yet, so just have patience

bring your beagle to the dog park as early as you can, getting them intergrated with other dogs is brilliant for them, and funnily enough, puts manors on them, theres nothing like a growl from an older dog to shut your dog up!

oh, another thing with the dog park, dont tend to her every need, if other dogs are run over to him, let him figure it out, dont just mother him and pick him up, he has to learn itself, its tough love, but again, within a few visits he'll be grand

when in the dog park pratcise the recall alot, and again, once she comes back, give her a treat

millie is now 10 months old, i walk her in my estate on the lead, buty once we're in a field, she's allowed off to do her own thing, i started letting her off the lead in a normal park when she was about 6/8 months old, and i put all that down to practising the recall, and bringing her to the dog park as much as i could

im no expert or anything, but if you need any tips, just holler, or in the beagles case, HOWL!!!

Velocitee

chrisbonnie wrote: »

you can let them off the lead, thats a myth (well, with mine and a few others ive met)

we got Millie from a young pup, and i have a fairly big garden, straight away, i was like yourself; "ah, beagles will run after their nose, you cant let them off the lead"

but since the day we got her, once we said her name, we gave her a treat, and belive me you, they will do ANYTHING FOR FOOD!

toilet training was a doddle, just be patient, as even though they may want to go outside to go to the loo, their little bladders arent developed yet, so just have patience

bring your beagle to the dog park as early as you can, getting them intergrated with other dogs is brilliant for them, and funnily enough, puts manors on them, theres nothing like a growl from an older dog to shut your dog up!

oh, another thing with the dog park, dont tend to her every need, if other dogs are run over to him, let him figure it out, dont just mother him and pick him up, he has to learn itself, its tough love, but again, within a few visits he'll be grand

when in the dog park pratcise the recall alot, and again, once she comes back, give her a treat

millie is now 10 months old, i walk her in my estate on the lead, buty once we're in a field, she's allowed off to do her own thing, i started letting her off the lead in a normal park when she was about 6/8 months old, and i put all that down to practising the recall, and bringing her to the dog park as much as i could

im no expert or anything, but if you need any tips, just holler, or in the beagles case, HOWL!!!

thanks - she's around a year old - we're getting her from a shelter so we're not sure exactly how old but she's still puppyish so I'm hoping more trainable. Anyway she'll be tested in the back garden first regardless and the food is a good motivator!

I'll have to read up on the benefits of crate training and crate vs kennel for outside as I'm still undecided what to do here.

JacksonHeightsOwn

Velocitee wrote: »

thanks - she's around a year old - we're getting her from a shelter so we're not sure exactly how old but she's still puppyish so I'm hoping more trainable. Anyway she'll be tested in the back garden first regardless and the food is a good motivator!

I'll have to read up on the benefits of crate training and crate vs kennel for outside as I'm still undecided what to do here.

Millie has a crate in the kitchen where she sleeps, but a kennel in the back garden to, I can leave her in the house, but I found if she's left in the house on her own, she just sleeps all day, and with that, has just way too much energy in the evenings

I think the must is walking, 3 a day is great

First thing in the morning, for only 15 minutes, but that way they go to the toilet outside

Then a decent walk in the evening, and if you can, another 10 minute one at night, again, just to let her go to the toilet outside

Oh, a good lead is a control harness from Maxi Zoo. I found it hard to keep Millie by my side with a standard lead, butthis harness acts like a choker, but for their legs, not neck, it works a treat