BEAGLES- what do I need to know?

[OldMotherHubbardsBigBottom]

We may be getting an adult beagle. First dog as a family, I've always wanted one but the time has never been right for a dog before. She has always been a family pet and not a working dog but her current owners are separating and neither have the space for a dog any more. Poor baby.

I've heard they are difficult to train, prone to getting a bit smelly, but affectionate and friendly. (Just like ds2 actually, it will fit in brilliantly)

What else do I need to know?

[adaline]

Food obsessive and will steal, you need eyes in the back of your head or you to to shut them outside. They never give up either so it's hard work if you have friends round for a meal.

This is only the case if you don't train them. Mine will go and sit on the sofa while we eat with a simple "bed" command. We've never fed him from the table - if he gets leftovers they go in his bowl on the floor. We do have a baby gate across the kitchen but that's more so the cats can eat in peace.

If there's a couple of them they'll start hunting. Selective deafness and wilful disobedience.

It's not disobedience, it's doing what they've been bred to do for hundreds of years. Beagles have been around since at least Elizabethan times if not earlier. Their job is to work independently and to go off and hunt away from their masters. They're not bred to work alongside man in the same way spaniels and retrievers are. Treating a beagle in the same way you treat a Labrador won't make anyone happy!

They're a bit big and heavy to pick up if you need to do that.

Much lighter and smaller than any Labrador I've ever met! But you should never be picking a dog up anyway - they don't like it. Train them to come away to command or use a lead/longline on them so they can be guided away from whatever they're doing.

[Fannia]

I once read a dog training book in which he said if you can get your be able to recall within 3 days that is very good.

[adaline]

I've been told that she's not a barker, but her current owners was very open about the rest of things you have all mentioned- she's a greedy escape artist with dreadful recall and a huge capacity for love.

Sounds like a typical hound to me! However most of that behaviour can be dealt with using environmental management - baby gates and ensuring doors are shut/locked at all times. The food issues can be dealt with using training, or again baby gates/crates to keep the dog away from you while you eat or prepare food.

The love part is definitely true. I've never encountered a more affectionate breed. Mine spends most of his waking hours superglued to my side and spends his sleeping hours using some part of my body as a pillow! He has a fantastic personality and while he does bark a little, he's the most loving dog and I'm forever glad we ignored the nay-sayers and picked a beagle!

[Krazynights34]

I have two. Amazing, sensitive, sweet, cheeky, full of life. I adore them. One is very loud and loves dogs(the younger bitch) and the other loves people and going to the pub (14 year old male).
They sleep, snout about, steal, play and sleep some more.
They are brilliant with my seriously disabled DD.
I’m dreading losing them.

[NoMorePoliticsPlease]

Hard to train, run away and wont come back, bay, not good pets really

[adaline]

Hard to train, run away and wont come back, bay, not good pets really

Have you ever had a beagle, or are you just repeating what you've heard? because none of that is true if you put the training and the work in. Same with all dogs, really. You just have to know what makes your dog tick.

Being food motivated, beagles are actually exceptionally easy to train. Ours was top of his class in puppy school - he would do anything to get his treat and was super-quick to learn new things. Have some sausage in your hand and he will do anything to get it. We just reduce his meals accordingly.

They do chase scents but the way around that is to work to their strengths. Mine chases rabbits so we have a rabbit fur tug that we use to keep his attention on us. We also don't let him off the lead in certain places because we'd just be setting him up to fail which isn't fair on him. When beagles disappear they're not being naughty or obedient, they're just following their instincts. Work with them and use them to your advantage and you'll be fine.

They do bay, but plenty of dogs bark. I'd rather have a baying hound than a yappy terrier!

[dontfeedtheunicorn]

We have a 6 year old beagle. Everyone who comes over comments how well behaved she is, although it did take us a long time to get her trained.
She is a bit of an escape artist and she used to chew everything but thankfully has stopped that behaviour now. We have child gates, a very secure garden and we only let her off lead in a proper fenced in dog exercise field (luckily we have one of these locally) as her recall is terrible.
She is the most loving dog and is absolutely best friends with my 4 year old. We have a 10 month old son now and she is equally as loving to him. She loves company though, not one to leave alone for long but luckily I only work 2 days a week and on those 2 days she goes to my dad as he works from home.
I can pick out her bark from the other dogs in our road as it is more of a howl. She will stop barking at command.

[MissEliza]

They are obsessed with food. As an example, ds got himself a kebab after work the other night. Our beagle stood at the bottom of the stairs and barked for an hour because she could smell it.
They have to be part of a pack. Ours loves to snuggle on the sofa which is nice. However on days when we're too busy to sit and snuggle for hours, she's a right pain in the arse.
They love to chew and destroy things. Ours once chewed up a mattress topper and I'm constantly replacing socks and pants. She's started following me to the washing machine when I'm loading it because she's figured she can get some lovely dirty pants to rip up, so I have to be sure to keep the door firmly closed.
They are very cute. That's why they get away with so much.

[MissEliza]

I wouldn't have one in a family with small children. I'd worry about them trying to steal food off the kids and also chewing toys. Mine is also wary of small children. I don't know if that's typical.

[TheGoddessFrigg]

Our beagle loved children, mainly because she could steal food off them! But she was also the idiosyncratic loving stubborn funny dog I have ever met. And she loved the cats. If she got bored, she'd burrow out of the garden and go and see the neighbors digs. Or go to the local supermarket as they'd give her a biscuit and bring her home.
She had the softest most affectionate nature.

[adaline]

Ours loves children too. He's fantastic with all our relatives and seems to know when he has to be calm. He's also great with anyone elderly or who's slow on their feet for whatever reason.

Beagles make fantastic family pets if you give them the outlets they need - time off-lead to run (doesn't have to be daily but a couple of times a week), plenty of sniffy walks where they can explore and take 5 minutes to examine a blade of grass, love and consistency!

[MissEliza]

We let ours off lead at the park yesterday. Unfortunately some kids had decided to scatter pretzels all over the park so instead of running free, she just gobbled the pretzels. Nothing could entice her to run around and we couldn't distract her from the pretzels. Then she walked home, happy as larry, licking her lips!

[adaline]

We let ours off lead at the park yesterday. Unfortunately some kids had decided to scatter pretzels all over the park so instead of running free, she just gobbled the pretzels. Nothing could entice her to run around and we couldn't distract her from the pretzels. Then she walked home, happy as larry, licking her lips!

Mine once found a chicken sandwich discarded in the street on a walk - he thought all his Christmases had come at once!

[MissEliza]

The other week, I looked down at mine to find she had a polystyrene kebab box in her mouth which still had some food in it. I felt like a right rotter taking off her because she was probably looking forward to tucking in when she got home! They are funny little things.

[QueenOfOversharing]

Mine is a rescue, had him almost 3 years and through him I arrange a monthly beagle walk.

My boy is great - recall is very good, apart from during winter months when squirrels are down from trees. But I have a tracker for him.

I grew up with a beagle too. Great personalities & very loving.

Huge bark. And the shedding is something you need to prepare for. Most asked question on beagle groups is "what's the best vacuum cleaner?"

[QueenOfOversharing]

Oh & have a look on the AIBU "What's the grossest thing your pet has done?" thread. A few beagles get honorary mentions! 😂

[WheresMyChocolate]

Don't do it!

Beagles are wonderful, beautiful dogs but not for the inexperienced. First off, they don't bark, they howl. Very, very loudly. Secondly, you will never tire it out. They're bred to keep up with horses running at full pelt. An hour's stroll around the park won't cut the mustard.

I've known a few people who've had beagles and the only one who did the distance was a farming family where the dog had the run of the farm and got to chase tractors all day. All the others were eventually rehomed.

[toomuchconfusion]

We have a 2yr old beagle and he is a brilliant dog. Not all beagles are loud, wilful and destructive, our boy very rarely barks though when he does he will bay. He has destroyed far less, even as a puppy, than the terriers, labradors, king Charles etc we've had in the past. He's very gentle, tolerant, affectionate and just wants to be loved. An all round brilliant family dog. His main problem is getting overexcited wanting to greet people and dogs on walks and seeking out food at every opportunity. I'm not sure I'd be quick to recommend them to everyone as they aren't dogs for inexperienced dog owners.
I do not agree with the comments about them being dim, I think they tend to be very bright and need a decent amount of stimulation. I think people are quick to judge them as a breed but I couldn't ask for a better dog with our kids.

[adaline]

Secondly, you will never tire it out.

Utter nonsense.

Mine gets an hours walk everyday and spends approximately 20 hours sleeping, one hour eating or trying to beg food and the other two hours demanding cuddles!

As long as you work to their strengths they're really not difficult, but too many people insist on treating them like labradors or spaniels and then why wonder why it doesn't work!

Here he is thinking I'm going to let him sleep on my pillow!

[QueenOfOversharing]

@WheresMyChocolate with respect, that's utter crap. #NotAllBeagles

I've owned 2 at separate times & none of that applies!

Also - the packs that run with horses are foxhounds - much leggier & more high energy. Harrier beagles can be higher energy too. Beagles are bred to hunt hare.

Most beagles, as @adaline says, sleep 20 hours a day!

OP meet the beagle, get a feel for whether this would be a good fit. But if you are aiming on leaving them for more than a couple of hours, a beagle isn't a good fit.

[MissEliza]

I have heard that you can't tire them out, but ours is a right lazy sod who'd definitely rather doss on the sofa than go for a walk. A lot of owners on my beagle FB group seem to have similar dogs.

[Motorina]

Mine look like this much of the time. They do need a decent amount of exercise but, mostly, they like to sleep.

What they do need is company, and a bored and lonely beagle is an impressive destructive force.

[WheresMyChocolate]

@WheresMyChocolate with respect, that's utter crap

With respect, that's my experience of being a dog foster carer for many years.

[QueenOfOversharing]

@WheresMyChocolate of how many beagles?

[MissEliza]

@Motorina that's how ours spend most of the day.