To get a beagle?

[mashh]

My parents think I am. DF says they are hunting dogs so are hard to train and very noisy. DM says they are working dogs, not family dogs and no one really gets them as domestic pets.

DP grew up with one so is happy to have one but says his childhood dog was stubborn and had bad recall. I personally just don't want a big dog and preferably a low maintenance breed. Aibu to consider beagles?

DM says they are working dogs, not family dogs and no one really gets them as domestic pets.

The OP's DM is wrong though. I know quite a few people who've had/have them as pets.They are very gentle around children (not that I'd leave any dog with a small child just incase). My other dog has been nasty to my Beagle a few times and she has never snapped back at him.

I'm not saying they are perfect but temperament wise they are very kind and gentle.

Can you handle the Beagle Stream of Consciousness? It's a constant background noise of humfhhhh, ergggg, huff, huh? SQUIRREL!DUCK!DOG!CAT! Urrddďdd, hfffffff, mmmmmm (this tastes nice), irrŕŕmrmmmm, pleeeeeeeese feed me I'm starving, grumpfffggg, OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWIWOWOWOQOWIWIWIWIWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWOOWOWOWOWOOWOOWOWOWOWOOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOW with their accompanying constant tail language being thwack, thud, crash, bang, thwack, thud thud thud, crash, whip (across the shins, usually), thud, etc.

I absolutely adore beagles and everything about the contrary little buggers. But I also have cats that spend their days and nights wittering away at me. And I'm going deaf, so they shout. Beagles are perfect for me, but they're quite a niche choice for the terminally patient, hard of hearing (unless it's the sound of the cupboards, fridge and oven being quietly opened in between fake snores) and food orientated owner.

The OP's DM is wrong though. I know quite a few people who've had/have them as pets

She's not completely wrong. They are working breeds. Yes, their loving, trusting nature is perfect for a family pet but if you're not dog orientated and can't/won't give your beagle a job that plays to it's strengths they will find their own job (i.e digging up the garden or figuring out how to access the food cupboard).

We play scent games and do clicker training with ours but it's still not enough to wear him out. He can and will still find trouble if we don't ensure anything and everything he could possibly eat or destroy is kept out of his reach and/or locked away.

My sibling has one and she is adorable but God, that dog is hard work.

I've walked her a few times and other beagle owners have approached me and said dont worry they calm down when they get to seven or eight (as she has dragged me bodily along the pavement or field). My sister has put a vast amount of time into her and she is still as wilful as ever. She trained her last dog a terrier in no time.

Also their ears pong like nobody's business. All of the ones I've met are really smelly pooches.

I'd still have one as she is so affectionate , I love her to bits but having spent time with one I would be very aware of how high maintenance they are. She is just never still and always on the lookout for food or something to dismantle.

Have you got another dog? We have and I think that helps because they play together even at 9 years old. The only time she gets separation anxiety is if we take the other dog to the groomers or vets without her. She doesn't care if the humans leave.

She can clearly let us know if she wants a treat but is satisfied with one and doesn't pester for more. The smell of meat cooking does get her going though.

I think we have just trained her well.

They obviously can be trained as they were used in Airports in Australia as sniffer dogs.

We had a Springer once - that's what I call hard work.

No dog is low maintenance.
I’ve only seen, well heard one at daycare. Gorgeous dog, but noisy as hell.

I’m not sure any dog is low maintenance to be honest.

Nonsense.

They are a specialist breed but they only become destructive and unmanageable if you don't put the work in.

Beagles are annoying dogs (sorry)

We used to have one that lived in the house directly behind us, their back garden backed onto ours. It would be in the garden constantly howling. Honestly they make the most annoying, irritating noise.

This beagle would howl at anything and everything. So many complaints from all neighbours (not us as I had enough to deal with).

Was glad when they moved.

The dog was not being looked after well and was obviously unhappy.

We have two other dogs. One hates the beagle cross and will attack him on sight. The beagle thinks this is a game, he doesn't seem to understand what aggression is.

This dog chooses to live upstairs with the cats who also hate the beagle cross (he's too big and bouncy for them). We have taught the beagle he is not allowed to open the door to the stairs or go upstairs. The chihuhua plays with him but gets worn out quicker than he does which leads to him barking at her loudly until she is sent upstairs out of his reach.

He is well trained. His recall is mostly fine (except if he spots a toddler or picnic). He knows multiple commands including wait, back up, give, settle and go to mat and will follow them 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time is when there is something too exciting going on eg too many new guests or other dogs playing closeby.

None of that stops him surfing the counters the second my back is turned and he is taller than your average beagle. There is nowhere in my kitchen he cannot reach. Ditto toys. If it's on the floor, as far as he is concerned, it is fair game to chew it to death or bury it in the garden. I've had to dig up and wash more of DC's friends trainers and shoes than I care to remember despite them all being warned shoes can only be left upstairs. If there is nothing on the floor to bury when he feels like digging he will dig for the sake of digging or find something off the kitchen counter or coffee table to bury.

He doesn't have SA at all. All the other animals sleep upstairs and are kept upstairs when we go out because the beagle's bounciness could easily accidentally injure the smaller animals. He is 100% fine when left alone.

@Frequency He is very cute.

@BeagleMum9

Is this not normal for a beagle then? To do all that constant howling? I just thought that's what they did.

I'm obviously not a dog person by the way, so know very little.

We have a beagle and he’s a great family dog. Sleeps a lot, very cuddly and doesn’t shed much. Only downside is we don’t have him off lead but tbh we’re just very cautious, his recall is actually pretty good. With any breed you’ll hear nightmare stories but every dog is different and you’ll get back what you put in.

Ours was until we started using this

www.poochandmutt.co.uk/products/bionic-biotic

We also cut out the fattier meats such as lamb and duck and use a dog food with added vegetables (Winalot Sunday dinner is current favourite).

She is now far less windy and doesn't often have the runs like she did when we first got her.

We did briefly try a raw diet but that made her tummy troubles worse.

We have a two year old Beagle and tbh we didn't find her hard to train compared to other breeds. Perhaps we were just very lucky with her temperament, I can't say. She does need a LOT of exercise, but she's taken out for very long woodland or fell walks every day for hours (ex is a dog walker who specialises in longer walks/runs so she goes out with him and the other dogs and loves it). They need to be kept busy or can be destructive (but same for most dogs).

She is very inquisitive, happy to be left in the house for a couple of hours but when we're in usually wants to sit on or next to one of us as much as possible. She is a bit cheeky and loves digging up house and garden plants to bury her treats under - she also hides treats and "special" items like DS's sweaty socks behind the sofa for later.

She's very friendly, affectionate and great with kids of all ages plus other dogs. She did silk a bit when we looked after another Beagle for a few days, but they became firm friends after a couple of days. And she smells far less than other breeds I've known (or maybe I've just gone noseblind? 😂).

They all can howl. Mine doesn't very often. She did a couple of times at the vets and when someone tried to dry her with a hairdryer - she was not happy. Never done it at other times.

I don't know if I've just got lucky though.

We have a beagle she's 4 and I love her to bits. Great with the kids, super loving and funny. She needs a lot of exercise which is great as so do I . And I am home alone at night a lot and walk her alone and she makes me feel safe.

I wouldn't describe her as low maintenance though. We can't have her off lead, she howls at the slightest noise, we put her in a pen at meal times as she is very food motivated, she has issues with her anal glands which is common for the breed and as grim as it sounds and she has chewed a lot of bloody stuff.

Our beagle has never been like this. She has whimpered a little bit if we have to go out and leave her, but she stops as soon as we're gone and settles quickly (can see & hear on security cameras). She'll whimper quietly if she needs letting out. Never any howling.

Someone I know had a beagle. No aggression whatsoever, totally placid around people. She didn't howl and wasn't at all destructive, but my god, the food obsession. I've never seen anything like it. When I hadn't known her very long I lost an entire pizza to her. They lost an entire raised bed and several planters of strawberries and veg in the garden before she was caught. You couldn't take her to a dog-friendly pub or cafe, it would have been carnage.

She also stank, it was really unpleasant. It was her coat rather than her ears as someone mentioned above. You could smell it as soon as you walked through the door.

Difficult to walk as if she picked up a smell or spotted something she wanted, she was off.

Very very clever. But very high maintenance. When she died they got a staffy who is far easier to live with.

Ours doesn't do destructive or has separation anxiety. In fact ours goes to bed at 10pm at night and on OH's day off is lucky if she comes downstairs before midday to ask to go out for a wee.

She is used to being left on her own for up to five hours without a worry, she just sleeps.

I had one as a child, she was a lovely dog and would sell her soul for a treat, so was quite easy to train. Apart from recall once she got a scent. My poor mum chased her across many a field and through hedges trying to catch the little bugger.

I would not call beagles low maintenance, she was very family orientated and loved us all. But this also a downside of being prone to separation anxiety. We left her with relatives once when we went on holiday. She was a nightmare apparently, howling at the door for hours, refusing to eat, trying to escape. Thereafter we only went on holiday in the UK and took her with us.

She lived until she was 15, and I would not have it any other way, but our family had to make many changes to accommodate her needs, and had lots of anxious times when she decided to go rogue on a walk and we couldn't find her.

But having said that, any dog will change your life.

When I think of a low maintenance dog, beagle is not the breed that comes to mind!

Greyhound, whippet, or lurcher? We have an ex-racing greyhound and he is lovely. Very chilled. Not bothered for hours of walking, mostly happy to snooze and to come to a human for a fuss/food every couple of hours. Lovely. Has the same issue as other scent/sight hounds though in that his ears deactivate when he goes into chase mode. But thankfully he is lazy so his sprints don't last long!

I think there are two kinds of beagles, the American variety, which have been bred for cuteness and seems to have had some of the worst hound instincts bred out of it, and the traditional British version.

I grew up with the British variety. They are dogs that, ideally, need to be walked off-lead for at least a couple of hours a day. I spent many hours of my adolescence standing in open countryside and woodland calling for him to come back and hearing him baying in the distance as he chased a scent. The older he became, the more stubborn and occasionally growly he became. There were certain toys and items that he was very protective over and we had to be careful around him when he had them. On the positive side we could walk him through a field of sheep and he'd take no notice, he travelled well and was generally friendly. Easy to keep clean. Minimal grooming required.

Don't buy a dog for its looks. Best dog I've ever had (and I've had several) is the mutt currently asleep in his basket under my desk. Playful, gentle rescue dog who'll walk 15 miles if I do but is happy to make do with a quick walk round the block if the weather's bad.

@Frequency

What is the chihuahua wearing? ( I’m guessing that’s a dog, though it might be his favourite toy?)