Beagle dog advice
Discussion
Hello all,
We are looking to get a dog and really considering to get a beagle! I have not had a dog for ages (used to have a massive anatolian shephard and later boxer when I was a kid).. In my early adulty-life, did loads of travelling and changing countries so never had a chance really. Would like to get some advice from the owners if possible?
- Are they o.k. in a flat? We are currently in a 2 bed flat in London(planning to move soon), but literally steps away from Victoria Park, so would not have a problem about daily runnings. I'm away at work all day but my wife works from home, and pretty flexible hours so I guess she might be o.k.
- Any specific health issues to worry about?
- Finally, how do I get a healthy puppy? seen loads of breeders info and etc.. but really not sure about their reliability.
Many thanks in advance!
We are looking to get a dog and really considering to get a beagle! I have not had a dog for ages (used to have a massive anatolian shephard and later boxer when I was a kid).. In my early adulty-life, did loads of travelling and changing countries so never had a chance really. Would like to get some advice from the owners if possible?
- Are they o.k. in a flat? We are currently in a 2 bed flat in London(planning to move soon), but literally steps away from Victoria Park, so would not have a problem about daily runnings. I'm away at work all day but my wife works from home, and pretty flexible hours so I guess she might be o.k.
- Any specific health issues to worry about?
- Finally, how do I get a healthy puppy? seen loads of breeders info and etc.. but really not sure about their reliability.
Many thanks in advance!
ReverendCounter said:
Excuse the tough questions but they are provoked by your seemingly lackadaisical approach to a pretty huge decision.
I really laughed about it, after re-reading my post, you are right, it does sound quite relax!..
What I meant was, we could train and get out with the dog as much as we could, having one of us at least working from home. We love dogs, having owned both of us in the past.
andyb28 said:
I put my foot down and our next pup was a Springer Spaniel. I can honestly say that I have never had such an easy dog to train and one thats so well behaved.
Thats very interesting to hear. I love springer spaniels, one of my best mates had it for years when we were growing up. Always assumed beagle would have been a bit easy-going despite their hunting background.
okgo said:
Why do people bother posting on forums? You have to wonder.
I now having read this would never buy one. Yet OP still does...
Good point, really appreciated all comments but at the end of the day, it is not super hard. I wish also some commenters were reading more properly about our situation, I mentioned that one of us works from home, with the dog all day, so not a huge problem.I now having read this would never buy one. Yet OP still does...
Update, 9 months later.
Our naughty beagle 11 months old. She stayed with us, for the first 6 months in our previous flat, and we finally moved into a house. She is much better settled now.
It's not an easy dog, but absolutely great friend. Very social with other dogs, and super playful with almost anyone.
Extremely intelligent and naughty. Stealing food or any other objects from the table like her dream activity. She knows loads of commands already but would only act if we have the right treats, otherwise she would not care less!
Recall is still difficult. Depends on the state of her mind, sometimes she just picks up a scent, and disappears so we are very careful with long leads.
She need loads of exercise and attention. She can only stay max 3-4 hours alone at home, otherwise quite loud and in the destructive mode. We are lucky my wife works from home, so she is usually with her during the day, and I do cover the early morning and evening walks. We occasionally leave at doggy-day care, if we have to be somewhere all day. Our day care has 4 beagles for himself, so extremely lucky in that department !
I think the most difficult part was the toilet training. IT really took a lot of time to train her for wee, but she is mostly there now.
Here she is enjoying some sunshine with her older pals. (The unique white colour)
Our naughty beagle 11 months old. She stayed with us, for the first 6 months in our previous flat, and we finally moved into a house. She is much better settled now.
It's not an easy dog, but absolutely great friend. Very social with other dogs, and super playful with almost anyone.
Extremely intelligent and naughty. Stealing food or any other objects from the table like her dream activity. She knows loads of commands already but would only act if we have the right treats, otherwise she would not care less!
Recall is still difficult. Depends on the state of her mind, sometimes she just picks up a scent, and disappears so we are very careful with long leads.
She need loads of exercise and attention. She can only stay max 3-4 hours alone at home, otherwise quite loud and in the destructive mode. We are lucky my wife works from home, so she is usually with her during the day, and I do cover the early morning and evening walks. We occasionally leave at doggy-day care, if we have to be somewhere all day. Our day care has 4 beagles for himself, so extremely lucky in that department !
I think the most difficult part was the toilet training. IT really took a lot of time to train her for wee, but she is mostly there now.
Here she is enjoying some sunshine with her older pals. (The unique white colour)
ukbabz said:
The far one looks like a twin of ours. Lovely dogs but do seem to like doing their own thing at times.
Thankfully we've managed to train him out of begging (he goes to bed when we eat & stays there) but has moments of selective hearing when gets certain scents!
The white one? It's ours..it is pretty unique here (London), I've probably seen only one quite similar to this colour. When we picked her from the breeder, she was the only one with this colour among her gang Thankfully we've managed to train him out of begging (he goes to bed when we eat & stays there) but has moments of selective hearing when gets certain scents!
My neighbour has one too, quite popular dog actually around Victoria Park. He always walks without a lead, and recall is perfect. All of his other behaviours, pure beagle as usual. They do have to be trained quite well, then they can respond to recall. You do need to find the most important/desirable treat for them and than they can respond to anything and can walk freely even in a very busy environment.
Mine did a runner once too, straight to the park in front of our house from the front door. I went back with cheese (massive parmesan slice) in my hand and she run back to my lap immediately. We walk every morning, around 6-6.30 a.m. in the park without lead. Usually exercising recall with food and treats. she is much better than in the past, but I would not be able to let her off yet, as traffic is always mad in London.
Mine did a runner once too, straight to the park in front of our house from the front door. I went back with cheese (massive parmesan slice
) in my hand and she run back to my lap immediately. We walk every morning, around 6-6.30 a.m. in the park without lead. Usually exercising recall with food and treats. she is much better than in the past, but I would not be able to let her off yet, as traffic is always mad in London.Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff