Help us decide - SBT or Beagle?

[IndecisiveWombat]

DH and I first started talking about finally getting a dog around 19 months ago. But even after research we just can’t agree on a breed.

Just a bit about our situation so you knowledgeable lot can help!

• three bed Victorian terraced house with a small garden (narrow but not tiny, we have a green house, veg bed and lawn). Live near a small local park and luckily 10 minutes from a very large country park.

• 2 dc, 5 and 7 and both at school. Youngest ds has aspergers (they don’t call it that now but it sounds nicer than ‘high functioning’) and is sad that he has no friends at school, he says his friends are grandads dogs (Dalmatian and JRS).

• DH works from home, luckily only has to do a few hours a day. I’m a part time OU student so also at home all day.

DH loves beagles (he has never owned one) but I’m put off by some of the differing accounts of them. The kennel club page on them reckons they only need a small house/garden and up to an hours exercise a day. However my research has come up with accounts that swung between agreeing with the KC and others which say without 12 hours hard exercise they are demon dogs.

I love SBTs (grew up with two successive dogs but have never owned a dog as an adult). I think that they would fit us perfectly but DH is put off by their ‘rep’ and is worried that he would find them scary. I loved my grinning soppy dogs more than anything.

Clearly I’m biased, but after lurking here for a bit I thought people with more personally experience of actually owning/training the breeds could help us finally make our minds up.

I know we aren’t very experienced. I’ve had a chat with the local dog training club and will be taking future pup there to train/follow the KC good citizen doggy programme.

Happy to put the effort in to whichever breed we do eventually get but we currently seem stuck at a stalemate.

@Motorina
That’s your experience whereas I know plenty friendly sociable staffies including my own.

If you want a dog who you can take on long off-lead walks don't get a beagle, it's not worth the risk.
I'm sure there are some who have good recall but 90% of the scenthounds I know are a liability off lead.

Staff all day long, in fairness I don't know much about beagles but this is our old girl (15) she has been amazing with our four kids and is just an absolute sweetheart and all round amazing dog.
We will always have a staff in our house and when the kids are grown up we plan to rescue the really old ones that no one wants and give them a lovely last few years.

Why is it choice between just those two breeds Op?

• If you want a dog who you can take on long off-lead walks don't get a beagle, it's not worth the risk. I'm sure there are some who have good recall but 90% of the scenthounds I know are a liability off lead.*

Nonsense. I’ve had 3 in adulthood and 3 as a kid - all reliable off lead.

They’re the perfect long walk in muddy countryside dog.

I would have to agree that SBT are usually not good with other dogs (not all, before I get jumped on). That has been my experience over the years and I'm not just talking about one or two, but dozens that I've been around/worked with.

However, my experience was also that those same dogs were generally good with people.

I would look for a reputable breeder rather than a rescue, which really is an unknown quantity. Meet both parents if you can.

Staffy all day long.

Many of the rescues round here have staff pups in for rescue.

I love dogs all dogs but no way could I live with the Beagle howl

I've never had a dog but my parent's neighbour had a sbt and he was the soppiest dog ever. However a friend's large, soft dog was attacked by a beagle and had to be treated by the vet and it's not the only dog the beagle has attacked in the village.

@troppibambini @Si1ver oh my, my heart 🥰🥰

@Si1ver The look of love 😍

I'm so torn about Staffys tbh. The only dog I've ever been scared of was a staffy. But I know several staffs that are just the most lovely dogs that I adore. The problem is that when staffs go bad they can be deadly, more so than most breeds. The first dog really scared me.

On the other hand I wouldn't have a beagle in your circumstances either.

I'd go for a nice Bedlington Terrier instead. No shedding, very laid back, looks like a lamb.

Whatever you decide I'm sure your new pooch will give you lots of Joy.

I know a couple of beagles and they are very hard work.

One is owned by experienced dog owners, whose other dogs are beautifully behaved. The beagle goes AWOL frequently, it is a total escape artist and once out can be gone for days. It has no recall and is really noisy too.

The other is also owned by an experienced owner, and less of a problem but needs a lot of on lead walks, and entertainment, can be destructive and still needs to be kept in via stair gates and crates etc. It is also noisy.

Defo SBT. My area is full of them and none of them are dog-reactive (nor is mine, which is an SBT cross). I started with an SBT then had various other dogs and now I've got another SBT and wonder why I went so long without one. They are absolutely lovely. Some near-ish neighbours had a beagle but it got health issues and had to be PTS at a relatively young age, plus it had the LOUDEST bark I've ever heard.

We did read about quite a few different breeds (naturally, I was always bring the conversation back to SBTs ) but those were the two that we’ve had the most discussions about/were most drawn to.

DH is now saying that he just can’t get over a fear that they might turn on him or dc (though I’ve pointed out any dog has that potential and I wouldn’t even leave a chihuahua alone with dc) and that he wouldn’t ever be able to trust Ddog.

Which has now left me in a bit of a predicament. It won’t be a happy life for future Ddog if DH will always be wary of them.

DH is now suggesting Jack Russel (bitey little bastards - or is that just because they ones I’ve met haven’t been well trained?) or a ?Cotton de tulear? (Never heard of them before).

I sadly think we are a while off being able to get a dog - mainly because my heart will always be set on a SBT and I am starting to think that DH genuinely can’t get over his impressions of them

Staffies can be lovely, but in your shoes I would select with great care. I've had too many unfortunate encounters with them to be blasé.

I've lived with JRT crosses and they can be brilliant dogs - but again, pick with care. The PILs had a JRT who was a little sod; his son (a cross) was the softest dog I've ever known.

This is my 8 month old beagle. He has been a dream from having him at 10 weeks. He has had a 30 minute walk this morning and has slept ever since. He will have 30-40 mins this evening and be happy. He goes off the lead most days. He has his moments but generally listens well.
I don't understand the bad rep beagles get, he is very food oriented and will sell his soul for it.

I could have worked harder at training him and I think if I put the extra effort in he would be amazing. But I'm lazy and we're all happy.

Just to add. He is not noisy at all unless our and about playing with another dog and he tends to get barkies!

In the house he may do a short bark to let me know his ball is stuck under the sofa etc.

Maybe we're lucky? I have met plenty of other owners and he seems to be the norm.

Not had a lot of experience with SBT (aside from a colleague years and years ago had a very sweet girl) but DP used to live with a Beagle and would absolutely not recommend! Very tough to train apparently, too strong-willed for their own good!

I'm a vet. Staffie every time. Fantastic family dogs. You literally could not pick a better, more loyal, loving dog. Sometimes they aren't great with other dogs. They are also fairly healthy.
I just wouldn't have the energy for a beagle. I find they are either manic, sulky or neurotic 🤷‍♀️

I have a beagle and one thing I will say is please don't listen to people who have no experience of them. It really pisses me off when I see numerous people going with 100% confidence "oh, they're stubborn, they're impossible to train and you can never let them off lead", when those people have never owned a beagle and have zero experience of the breed.

The thing to remember with beagles is that they're scent hounds and primary working/hunting dogs and you need to use that to your advantage. Training a beagle in the same way you train a spaniel or Labrador is never going to work and will only lead to a very confused dog and a very frustrated owner.

Beagles are bred to hunt. They don't give one shite about pleasing you, so you generally need to bribe them. Food, treats, toys - whatever works for your dog, but they won't do anything just to get a "What a good boy!" or a pat on the head. They're just not wired that way.

They are also food motivated which can be very handy when you're training . Mine cracked toilet training within 2-3 weeks. He's now nearly three and knows all his basic commands (including recall) as well as a few tricks. He's excellent with children, extremely affectionate and will do anything for a piece of chicken.

The downsides are that he has separation anxiety and really can't be left for longer than an hour or so. He also can be quite noisy. But the noise is part of their breed - beagles bay when on a scent, and they're designed to be vocal little things. Complaining about a beagle being noisy is like complaining that a Labrador likes water. It's in their DNA.

Exercise-wise he gets an hour a day minimum, on and off the lead depending on the time of year, weather etc. He can easily go for longer and will happily walk 10k or more, but he certainly doesn't need that everyday to be contented. He's currently curled up by my feet with his head on my knee demanding head rubs

Personally I would pick the SBT any day of the week. I think, in terms of your DH, the key is to remember that it takes time for relationships to build. Dog or human.

He might not trust an SBT he has never met before. But, once you raise, live with, love a dog then you learn all about them. That's when trust comes in - because you know their specific characters. (Which is not to say any dog should be left alone with children). Once that happens, their faces are translated in your mind from "scary dog" to "smiley dog" and all SBTs become beautiful to you, by extention.

In all honesty, I've yet to come across a beagle that I would live with. However, I've met dozens of staffies that I have struggled not to kidnap and take home

I like JR terriers but 50% of them are arseholes. Beagles are smelly, greedy, stubborn arseholes.

I like SBT but they do have a reputation and I avoid the owners walking around unless I'm sure about them. Not the dog, it's the same as Dobermans and used to be German shepherds. People buy them to look hard.

I like JR terriers but 50% of them are arseholes

I've kept JRTs. 50% of each, individual dog was an arsehole

@OnceUponAnEnzyme

I like JR terriers but 50% of them are arseholes

I've kept JRTs. 50% of each, individual dog was an arsehole