Beagle owners...

equestriansports

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Hi all! I'm looking at getting a Beagle after a while of missing having a dog in the house. I've always loved Beagles and was wondering what people's opinions were? I'm most concerned about the fact they apparently bark quite a bit. Also any suggestions of medium-sized dogs to consider are more than welcome! Thanks.
 

conniegirl

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I love my beagle, however you have to be very firm with the discipline and exercise them a lot!

What ever you do dont read the beagles uk facebook page! Tons of badly behaved beagles on there mainly due to a lack of discipline and exercise!
If i had read that page first i never would have gotten my beagle as the posts would have put me off entirely and realy do give beagles a bad name!

Mine is awsome with kids and ponies, is very independent, very intelligent, has good recall, very trainable and loves playing and cuddling!

Id have anouther in a heartbeat!
 

Leo Walker

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I'm always recommending whippets or whippety shaped lurchers. I adore mine, hes the dog of a lifetime and I'll never be without one again. He almost never barks either :)
 

Roxylola

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My beagle is mostly called Lola and occasionally called Baddog!

She was irish working bred so I suspect is like an extreme version of a regular beagle.

I have heard people say they are stupid, I have actually found the opposite, they are very intelligent, stubborn, tenacious, independent, these dogs really think for themselves but are very food motivated and very trainable. We have a recall, it is not amazing but she does come back, even from deer, eventually, where eventually has been up to 2 hours!

She is great with kids, other dogs (was fine with my cats when she lived with them) but will chase (in play) anything that moves, I have truly never seen her curl a lip or mumble a growl no matter what she is subjected to. In fact I blame her for turning the springer in to a brat - she let her get away with anything as a puppy!

She is playful, cuddly and just lights up my life. She doesn't bark much but she hates being left and does not cope well with life as an only dog. When she had to we managed for a while but she thrives in company. The pack instinct is really strong in them

This is a little tale I wrote about life with the Baddog on another forum I am on. It's long but I think its worth a read! Amusing as her antics are she is hell on four legs at times and perhaps it might give others some hope for their own baddogs! Some of you may have read some of this before, if so I apologise for repeating myself.

Some beagle pups had been bred at our friendly Irish gypsy's (James) daughters place. Two had not sold in Ireland so he brought them back across on the boat at about 10 weeks old, a bold as brass tricolour boy all squiggly wiggly and a much quieter tan and white girl. James had brought them down to the stables to meet a possible buyer for one of them and I stayed for an hour or so to help entertain the pups while he dealt with his buyer.

As it happened I took a bit of a shine to the little boy even though his sister was a real sweet cuddly thing his adventurous sparkle really caught my eye. So much so that after his buyer took the girl I remarked that it was a shame the tri was a boy otherwise I might have had him myself.

Of course as it turned out, the tricolour's funny spotted tummy at a glance made him look like he had more bits than he really did and in fact, the adventurous, sparky little boy was actually a girl. Immediately in my mind I named her Lola for the kinks song. I spoke to my (now ex)husband about having this puppy no end of times over the next few weeks. Despite his adamant refusals I would always ask James how "my" little black beagle was doing when I saw him and when he brought her down to the stables she would inevitably escape to come sit at my feet while I was teaching, looking up and wagging at me. I thought this was fate, I have since seen her do the exact same thing to almost anyone despite my own attempts to call her back (not so cute on the other end of this!)

And one bright afternoon I made arrangements to collect her and take her home the next night. This now 5 month old puppy who had been living in a pen in a barn for the last few months would be coming to live in my carpeted house with our older, easy to manage fully house trained lab mix.

I have toilet trained pups before, how hard can it be I thought. I would add that Roxy was taking herself outside to toilet or going on paper if I was out after 1 week at home with me at just 8 weeks old. Lola is now 4 and will mostly go outside, unless it's raining, too cold, the grass is too long, if there is too much poop in the garden, the grass is wet... So yes toilet training was to put it bluntly a nightmare. She would sit outside by the door for literally hours while I waited for her to toilet, on one memorable occasion from 10 at night until 1:30 in the morning. If I took her back in she would go in "her corner" literally the second by back was turned. I put puppy pads down and then took them out after she had done so they smelled right, I took her out on the lead, off the lead, I interrupted her going in the house took her out and she would simply sit by the door until we went back in. She was over a year old before she would toilet at all on a walk, and if we went out for a day she would hold herself until we got home. Even now she is incredibly fussy about only using one spot in the garden.

She quickly learned basics such as being on a lead, sit and down although the come back was hit and miss. So we went to training classes where we would paractise working towards our bronze kennel club certificate. Most places do this as a 12 week course. Lola and I trained for 18 months, took the test 3 times and still have not passed. One memorable night it took me 45 minutes to capture her following our off lead recall which would be more accurately described as an off lead bogoff! She seemed to take pleasure in showing me up at every opportunity. We worked hard at home, spent literally months on a long line working recall, we tried every treat imaginable, calling her back and letting her go off again, calling back and putting her lead on for a bit, toys (none of which she had any interest in) anything and everything and yet each week we would go and no matter what she would have to go visiting every single other dog, mug all the other owners for treats, have a run round and a sniff then maybe think about coming back. For our heel work, if she wasn't climbing my legs she was climbing another owners, stays in cold or wet weather were none existant, if it had been a wet day I had to take a mat for her to entertain any sort of sit...!

And she ate things, shoes, cd's, carpet, wallpaper, doors, beds, poo (her own and anyone elses she could get her teeth on). She no longer eats 5 of those items, poo is still irresistable!

On our walks she would get wind of something and disappear, merrily running off to play with another dog half a mile away, eat something she found somewhere in the woods, mug people for sandwiches or any other likely item of food (including one child in push chair's ice cream), raid bins and generally suit herself when she came back. This has improved somewhat, she will still scoff available food and still goes off hunting if she picks up a live scent - most recently, 2 hours spent running after a deer! But mostly she comes back when called and does not bother other dogs so much at all.

At home even now she will tip up the bin in a well practised manouvre to get at any edibles that may be in there. She can open the freezer quickly and pull out anything she fancies (vegetables tend to get left to defrost) she used to open a cupboard and raid that but we changed where the food was kept! She has literally cost me thousands in stolen food, ruined items, and vets bills as a result over the years.

The list goes on and on I am not sure if the good outweighs the bad and yet somehow she is still my angel dog who makes my heart sing everytime I see her. The other side of the coin is things like on Friday as we were waiting to cross the road a mother was waiting with 2 small children, the little (about 3) girl shrank away at first - according to her mum she is terrified of dogs. Well Roxy and Maddie were oblivious to her but as we stopped Lola turned to look at her and just wagged her tail, by the time the man was green the little girl was beaming and waving at Lola. I think given another minute or so she would have been stroking my gentle girl and wanting to hold her lead like every other child we meet. She is utterly utterly charming and loveable and I treasure these little moments. I like to think it's them that make it all worthwhile but i am kidding myself the truth is even without these moments of angelic behaviour the fact that she is mine is enough to make every minute of struggle worthwhile. My heart belongs to my girl no matter how much of a baddog she can be and all of this is why I sometimes get a bit frustrated with people who think they have the worst dog ever. I really truly believe that if anyone else had bought Lola she would have ended up either being passed from pillar to post in rescue, possibly with some issues and reactivity to other dogs as her enthusiasm might have been misunderstood and frustrated, or possibly being used as a breeding machine, or even run over, shot for chasing sheep (which she can smell from miles away) or possibly pts!

So if you think you own the worst dog in the world, you don't she is mine already and I will never part with her!
 

Karran

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There is a beagle we meet on a daily basis on our walks, he is very food orientated. Has no interest in playing with the other dogs or a ball but roots about on his own looking for sticks and other things to destroy! :)
He is a funny little thing with a clearly stubborn personality and very good at giving you disgusted looks when you suggest he might like to play fetch with Mrs Spaniel.

He will come up for a little stroke but then wanders off again and is apparently the same in the house but quick to let them know when he wants attention!
 

lar

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We had a beagle when I was a kid. He was a real looker and quite the most intelligent dog I've ever encountered. He really did seem to have the ability to reason things out. However he was also incredibly stubborn and wilful. He WAS fairly trainable but was very much a one man dog. My dad was his pack leader and he'd obey him. Everyone else it was up for grabs - sometimes he'd do as he was told sometimes he wouldn't. He was a terrible thief and would scale work surfaces to pinch things - including once making off with the Sunday roast. He was also an inveterate wanderer - somebody once said Beagles are great dogs but their nose and their ears don't work at the same time. If he felt his walk wasn't long enough he'd hang behind and then when your back was turn disappear down a different path - would turn up at home several hours later.

I loved him dearly but I wouldn't have another. I remember when we got my rescue terrier how astounded I was that I could walk her without having to watch her all the time for disappearing tricks and that she would actually come back when called!
 

conniegirl

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Good god, you all sound like your beagles were nightmares

Mine has excellent recall! Has never destroyed a thing, will happily play with other dogs and is rather ball mad!
I can happily leave him alone for hours in the house and he just curls up and sleeps on the sofa!
Yes when his nose goes to the ground I have to shout but he always comes back!

Yes he is food orientated (and rather fat) but that just makes it easy to train him as he will do anything for chicken!
He is amazing with my nieces and nephews (all 5 of them!), my father keeps threatening to steal him and my rather anti dog father in law regularly offers to take him for a walk and has been known to cook sausages just for the dog!
Mine is currently curled up on the bottom of my bed, cuddled up and snoring!
 

Roxylola

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I think possibly if I allowed my girl to get a bit fatter she might be less hard work - she lives to eat so perhaps if I overfed her she might not go rootling so much!

I put a lot of our issues down to her not having much foundation work as a baby puppy. She is the cuddliest most loving dog I have ever had and everyone loves her. I can leave her but she doesn't like it, if I had to leave her alone she would need a kong, and maybe a radio, she lives for company.

I would have another, but only from a good pet breeder and only from a puppy. I would not make the mistake of having a working bred dog as a pet again. Really she ought to be out running with a pack not just chasing the odd rabbit.
 

Crosshill Pacers

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I have three; one dog and two bitches. The two eldest, Begbie & Snoopy, we rehomed at 12+ months and their recall isn't great but I have had Daphne since she was 8 weeks and hers is excellent. We regularly go for walks in a wooded/off-road area behind the village and she's better off the lead than on it. The first time she saw a rabbit I thought I'd lost her for good but after a few minutes of me calling she came back (I suspect the rabbit found a hole which was too big for Dapha Cake). Mine all live outside at the stables; they have kennels and runs and are out all day while someone is there with the horses (OH or his dad, from around 7am through to 5pm).

They bark at strangers walking past the yard but don't make a sound when we're there. They're great with the horses and also with OH's nieces and nephews.

They have a tendency to steal anything that isn't bolted down (food, brushes, coats, bits of carpet); Begbie can also scale 6 foot fences to escape his run.

If you've never had a Beagle before then you need to be prepared to train them, and also to walk them. Ours get exercise every day at the stables and then walked for several miles on the weekends and even with that, Begbie remains on the chunky side. Snoopy is also known to put weight on as she is the 'laziest' of the three and enjoys a snooze in the hay. Daphne is so busy that she keeps her weight down. They do well on not much food.

I wouldn't have any other breed of dog. We also have a Weimaraner and a ex-racing Greyhound but the Beagles rule the roost (particularly Daphne who isn't aware of her own diminuitive stature). They are so full of character and personality and they are a joy to have around.

Here's some pictures of my Daphne/Dapha Cake/Daphtie:









Oh, and you probably need to wash them if they're in the house. Mine roll in anything and everything, particularly if it stinks. Daphne does it just so she can get a bath and a brush, which she loves!
 

MotherOfChickens

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they're super looking dogs-I have a staffie x beagle and some of the traits I recognise eg being good doers and climbing! She's not much of a jumper but readily climbs stuff.
 

equestriansports

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I think all these replies have really cemented that I want a Beagle and think they'd fit in most with my lifestyle. Very excited to start the puppy hunt!
 

Whizza

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I have one! I won't lie, she has been hard work and I should have put in extra work with training her. But she is a lovely dog, brilliant with kids and in the home. Hasn't destroyed anything major, she can tip the bin over and will eat anything given half the chance. She loves being out with the horses, she has learnt very quickly to stay from under their feet and to keep out the way when I'm moving them about etc. She loves rolling in horse wee in the shelter and will also have a chomp on the poo too. She needs exercising everyday, come rain or shine or she can get a bit boisterous. She loves other dogs, is never nasty with them and is generally a lovely happy little girl. We love her to bits and wouldn't change her for the world, but I do wish I had time to put in extra training as they definitely do need to know the boundaries because they will push them!

Good luck :)
 

MotherOfChickens

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don't understand why someone would recommend whippets in a beagle thread :) they're hardly similar.

The worst dog I ever had for barking was a collie fwiw. Setter rarely barked (although he sang a lot).

I am quite tempted by a beagle tbh, met two lovely ones last week.
 

equestriansports

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make sure there are pics-we've decided on no pups this year so am living vicariously through others :D

There will definitely be pictures - even started thinking of names already. Love the names Ben (Benedict the Beagle, how cute!) Archie and Albert/Alby! If anyone knows of any for sale around end of May/June time near the West Midlands or up to about an hour and a half away from the West Mids then please PM me :)
 
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