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Getting a beagle
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26-10-2010 1:34pm#1Hi 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
Thanks0
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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. 0 -
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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
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ha ha ha - scary though! :O ingenious little guy. And there's more vids as well!
bunker as a dog run it is 0 -
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 0 -
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!0 -
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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 0 -
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!!!0 -
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