Talk to me about Beagles!

lnixon8 · April 2015

FI and I are talking about rescuing a dog once we come home from our honeymoon. We both grew up with labs/golden retrievers but we are thinking about a smaller dog for ourselves. We've done a little research but these rescues are obviously trying to get people to adopt their dogs so I'm looking for more unbiased opinions.

We're not looking for a puppy, just a younger dog. FI leaves for work at 8, I'm home by 2:30. I teach so I have a lot of time off in general and about 2 months in the summer when we want to get the dog. We have a medium sized, 6 ft. fenced wall, no other pets, no children (as of now). We take walks just the two of (between 1-4 miles) almost everyday already but FI is a runner, I'm not. Besides our honeymoon we vacation at my family's beach house with their labs/goldens. Obviously it comes down to the original dog and it's history but... Anyone care to share any beagle advice or stories?

novella1186 · April 2015

The downsides to beagles:

1. They're stubborn as fuck

2. so this makes them really difficult to train

3. They're clever, so it doesn't take long for them to realize that even if you think they're trained, they don't actually have to listen to you

4. They're total food mongers. Food is like heroine to them. My beagle will move chairs to get onto the kitchen table. She once stole an entire chicken. And remember how I said they're clever? No matter how well you think your food/garbage is gaurded, they will get it.

5. Since they're scent hounds, they follow scents without paying attention to anything else, and you can't break their focus, so they can get lost

6. That bay/howel is ear splitting

The upside to beagles:

1. They're extremely sweet and affectionate

2. They love to cuddle

3. They're clever (this is good and bad)

4. They're adorable and have super expressive faces

5. They don't need a ton of maintenance

6. They're good travel companions and are really fun to take on hikes and whatnot

My beagle likes to be a total pain in the ass, but I adore her and wouldn't give her up for anything in the world. I will probably never own another beagle, but she is the love of my life

vikinganna87 · April 2015

Everything @novella1186 said. 5. on downside: Beagles are hunting dogs and it's in the nature of any hunting dog to single-mindedly follow a scent. It makes it difficult to trust them off leash.

Also I'll second that they're difficult to train.

Need a lot of exercise.

Adorable and sweet, good with people but wouldn't necessarily recommend a beagle as a "first dog." But if you have lots of experience with dogs and training you should be fine.

ShesSoCold · April 2015

novella1186 said:
The downsides to beagles:
1. They're stubborn as fuck
2. so this makes them really difficult to train
3. They're clever, so it doesn't take long for them to realize that even if you think they're trained, they don't actually have to listen to you
4. They're total food mongers. Food is like heroine to them. My beagle will move chairs to get onto the kitchen table. She once stole an entire chicken. And remember how I said they're clever? No matter how well you think your food/garbage is gaurded, they will get it.
5. Since they're scent hounds, they follow scents without paying attention to anything else, and you can't break their focus, so they can get lost
6. That bay/howel is ear splitting

The upside to beagles:
1. They're extremely sweet and affectionate
2. They love to cuddle
3. They're clever (this is good and bad)
4. They're adorable and have super expressive faces
5. They don't need a ton of maintenance
6. They're good travel companions and are really fun to take on hikes and whatnot

My beagle likes to be a total pain in the ass, but I adore her and wouldn't give her up for anything in the world. I will probably never own another beagle, but she is the love of my life

The bolded. Any beagle I have ever known is constantly yelling. Constantly. And they need a good amount of exercise. But they have a lot of great traits and everyone has different wants in a dog.

southernbelle0915 · April 2015

Unpopular opinion: I'm not a fan.

They're adorable, for sure. But I can't stand the howl/baying. Like really cannot stand it. It's worse than a yappy dog, IMHO. Plus my understanding is that they're really hard to train and are more independent than people pleasers. But I'm sure there are beagles that are exceptions to this generalization (like anything else).

sarawifenow · April 2015

I also agree with @novella1186.

I have a beagle and she is the best dog I have ever had in my life. I've had Aussies, mutts, jack russels, and now my beagle and I would say hands down that she is the best. You seriously cannot find a more loyal and cuddly dog.

Mine does get very stubborn, especially with her baying. It's difficult to break her focus. She is very friendly, though, and gets along well with every dog she meets. I also have a cat and she does just fine with her.

ETF Spelling

ShesSoCold · April 2015

southernbelle0915 said:
Unpopular opinion: I'm not a fan.

They're adorable, for sure. But I can't stand the howl/baying. Like really cannot stand it. It's worse than a yappy dog, IMHO. Plus my understanding is that they're really hard to train and are more independent than people pleasers. But I'm sure there are beagles that are exceptions to this generalization (like anything else).

Me too. They're a little much for me.

novella1186 · April 2015

southernbelle0915 said:
Unpopular opinion: I'm not a fan.

They're adorable, for sure. But I can't stand the howl/baying. Like really cannot stand it. It's worse than a yappy dog, IMHO. Plus my understanding is that they're really hard to train and are more independent than people pleasers. But I'm sure there are beagles that are exceptions to this generalization (like anything else).

I will say that my beagle seems to be an anomaly becacuse she never ever ever barked/bayed/or howled until we got big dog. And even now, big dog has to really get going with the barking for beagle to join in. Most of the time she just sits quietly and looks out the window. If a cat or something strolls by, she just stares at it for a minute and then goes back to sleep.

But once she does start baying. Omg. It hurts my ears.

[Deleted User] · April 2015

southernbelle0915 said:
Unpopular opinion: I'm not a fan.

They're adorable, for sure. But I can't stand the howl/baying. Like really cannot stand it. It's worse than a yappy dog, IMHO. Plus my understanding is that they're really hard to train and are more independent than people pleasers. But I'm sure there are beagles that are exceptions to this generalization (like anything else).

I'm with you on this one. We took our dog to the dog park over the weekend and there was a beagle who would howl every time he got excited or wanted to play or really did anything. Even after 20 minutes of it, I couldn't take it.

My dad had a beagle growing up and loved him. He wanted another when we were growing up but my mom refused because she couldn't stand the howling.

sarawifenow · April 2015

southernbelle0915 said:
Unpopular opinion: I'm not a fan.

They're adorable, for sure. But I can't stand the howl/baying. Like really cannot stand it. It's worse than a yappy dog, IMHO. Plus my understanding is that they're really hard to train and are more independent than people pleasers. But I'm sure there are beagles that are exceptions to this generalization (like anything else).

The bay is really bad. I always tell H that if our dog didn't do that, she would be the perfect dog. I have noticed that I can quickly get ours to stop be making kissy noises. I doubt it works for all, but it works for us! Haha!

peachy13 · April 2015

My little rescue girl is half beagle, half dachshund, so some of her traits may be more dachshund than beagle but I'll definitely agree with everything novella mentioned.

The howl is annoying, yes. And when we tell her to stop she won't until we do something drastic like shutting the blinds so she can't see the humans and dogs and blowing leaves or whatever she's howling at. Then she stops and gives you puppy dog eyes to apologize.

Hiking/nature walks are great. She will follow her nose and genuinely has a great time. I do believe they need the exercise too. I've seen many beagles or beagle mixes who are way overweight. They love eating. Breakfast and dinner is inhaled. Anything that smells might be food, so they will try it out to see if they can eat it.

novella1186 · April 2015

peachy13 said:
My little rescue girl is half beagle, half dachshund, so some of her traits may be more dachshund than beagle but I'll definitely agree with everything novella mentioned.

The howl is annoying, yes. And when we tell her to stop she won't until we do something drastic like shutting the blinds so she can't see the humans and dogs and blowing leaves or whatever she's howling at. Then she stops and gives you puppy dog eyes to apologize.

Hiking/nature walks are great. She will follow her nose and genuinely has a great time. I do believe they need the exercise too. I've seen many beagles or beagle mixes who are way overweight. They love eating. Breakfast and dinner is inhaled. Anything that smells might be food, so they will try it out to see if they can eat it.

To the first bolded, big dog and bealge were out on my parents' deck last summer and saw a bunny. Big dog lost his shit so then beagle got going on barking. It was hurting my ears so bad that I started yelling at her to knock it off (big dog stops right away) and she would not stop. So I picked her up under my arm to carry her inside so she couldn't see the bunny anymore. She barked from under my arm the entire way inside and then sat on the kitchen floor staring into space making little "burf" noises under her breath. She doesn't do that often, but damn it's so annoying.

Second bolded, that one can get dangerous. Beagle has landed herself at the emergency vet twice for eating stuff that I'm sure smelled good to her but ended up poisoning her. Both times she got into something that she should not have been able to get into (both times were at my parents' house though, and they somehow ALWAYS underestimate her. Come on guys, learn). The second time was so bad that she had to stay overnight at the vet hooked up to an IV, and we thought we were gonna lose her. That's why we keep our trash can inside the pantry.

badbnagdway · April 2015

vikinganna87 said:
Everything @novella1186 said. 5. on downside: Beagles are hunting dogs and it's in the nature of any hunting dog to single-mindedly follow a scent. It makes it difficult to trust them off leash.
Also I'll second that they're difficult to train.
Need a lot of exercise.
Adorable and sweet, good with people but wouldn't necessarily recommend a beagle as a "first dog." But if you have lots of experience with dogs and training you should be fine.

I am not an experienced beagle owner like others on here, but just as an example of the off-leash and the scent following, I walked out our door one morning last week to take our new baby out for a walk and there were three men chasing a beagle around. I guess the beagle had gotten off a leash or hopped out of the car by accident and they couldn't catch him because he was just sniffing all around like a maniac. I gave them some treats to try to help catch him and I think they eventually did. I definitely wouldn't like that particular characteristic myself.

The vet says our new young dog is part beagle and I can see it in the eyes and forehead maybe but nowhere else. She's tall and lanky and doesn't bay.

Edit to add: sometimes the new girl gets annoyed at our terrier when he gets tired and wants to stop playing. Her way to get him to play again is to start barking (she has a big dog sounding bark that is very loud). We could not figure out how to stop her from doing this and then FI suggested a spray bottle. We have only sprayed her in the face twice and she now takes the words "no" and "stop it" much more seriously. If you even go near the spray bottle she knocks off what she's doing. So for baying beagles, maybe a spray bottle would work?

kvruns · April 2015

We have a beagle and he is abnormal because most of the things others mentioned he doesn't do. He doesn't bark. at all. An occasional cute "woof" when he is sleeping but it is pretty quiet. FI has had him 6.5 years and he's heard him bark twice I believe.

The worst thing about him is his food obsession. Twice he has gobbled down a chicken wing at the neighbors house (from having a cookout) and swallows it and needed emergency vet service to get it out. He also has to have his ears cleaned out a lot bc they get gross supposedly and then he likes to lick his paws too much to the point that it causes sores sometimes and then needs medicine on it.

We take him on walks and even 3-4 mile runs. He catches the scent of stuff and we have to pull him along during walks but nothing bad. Normal dog stuff to me. He has never tried to get out of the yard, even with the fence has been open before, and if he goes into the garage not on a leash he hasn't ever tried to run away. He went to obedience school as a puppy and somewhat learned but isn't trained as in listening to commands per se but he's overall well behaved and you can get him to listen. He loves to cuddle and sit on your lap and be under blankets and stuff.

Edit: tried to add picture but wouldn't work

kvruns · April 2015

Guarding his Christmas present

sarawifenow · April 2015

@kvruns I definitely think the paw obsession is a beagle thing! My beagle will sit and lick her paws for HOURS if you let her!

sassyfrass2014 · April 2015

FI has a beagle mix. We are still trying to get him to stop baying when people come to the door, but the sound is awful.

He's also a food monger, not so much in the house anymore (we broke him of that with a spray bottle), but whenever he's not at home, he's on the prowl for someone else's food. We went on a hike recently and ate our lunch on the top of a mountain with a gorgeous view. Halfway through (and after we'd fed the dogs) an older man comes up and asks if he can eat with us. He was reminiscing about how he used to go hiking with a beagle that looked like ours and petting on Beagle, when all of a sudden, Beagle takes a huge chomp of his sandwich! Such an asshole... but we love him.

lnixon8 · April 2015

Thanks ladies.... might be going back to drawing board for breed that will be the right fit for us.

novella1186 · April 2015

lnixon8 said:
Thanks ladies.... might be going back to drawing board for breed that will be the right fit for us.

Since you're rescuing, I wouldn't get my heart set on one specific breed. A lot of rescues are mutts. I would just go browse the animal shelter and see if you fall in love with any particular dog, regardless of breed.

My big dog is a breed I'd never heard of (Catahoula) so I would never in a million years have picked him out. But he's by far the greatest dog I've ever had (no offense to my beagle). He's extremely intelligent, easy to train, loving, loyal, etc. I would have missed out on him if I had been shopping for strictly a boxer or something like that.

Go in with an open mind and maybe research common traits of certain classes rather than breeds (like beagles are a scent hound, so any scent hound will have some similar traits as the ones PP have mentioned). Common family dogs that are easy to train are things like labs and retrievers. Herding dogs (like aussies) are high-energy and need to be kept active and occupied or they can act out.

Also have to say that pitbulls are usually pretty common shelter dogs (or pitbull mixes) and in all my years of volunteering at an animal shelter and also personally knowing pitbull owners, they can be the absolute most sweetest dogs in the world.

FiancB · April 2015

I am not a fan of them, but they sound good for your purposes. It sounds like you want a smaller, active but independent dog and Beagles fit the bill pretty well. I just don't like them because I'm a herding dog person and prefer dogs that wait on my beck and call, and Beagles DON'T do that.

Some do bray a lot. I agree with the general advice of not getting too hung up on a specific breed, but it is good to know what you want in a dog and look accordingly.

Also their tolerance of kid bullshit isn't great. I had a Beagle when I was little and it bit me (totally deserved, I laid my head on her belly when she was sleeping, but still) as did my bff and their Beagle bit her little sister multiple times. So that's something to consider. I'm sure both those dogs could have been much better handled and trained, and that's only two dogs but IME it's 2/2 kid biters.

Like all breeds, they're great for some people and hellspawn for others. I have a Border Collie and I love them but they are way too much for people that want something a bit more independent and can't give them near constant attention and stimulation.

novella1186 · April 2015

FiancB yep, my beagle bit a little kid (friend of the family) and I was mortified. Beagle was trying to sleep and little kid was apparently trying to pick her up or something.

bizzy592 · April 2015

We had 3 beagles growing up. 2 were sweet, chill and affectionate. 1 was neurotic as hell, stubborn, and chewed everything it got it's paws on. Also, they howl instead of barking, so there's that. But so damn cute!

laurad75 · April 2015

Since you are open to adopting a rescue (good for you!) you can probably find a mix breed the right size you are looking for and if its not a puppy the foster or rescue will probably have a good idea of its temperament so you can find a personality that fits for you. I adopted my rescue when she was about 1. She is around 50 lbs and looks like a shepherd but she has some beagle traits. She only barks or howls when she is super excited which is almost never. My advice is to be open to more breeds and just focus on the size, age and energy level that works for you.

southernbelle0915 · April 2015

novella1186 said:
FiancB yep, my beagle bit a little kid (friend of the family) and I was mortified. Beagle was trying to sleep and little kid was apparently trying to pick her up or something.

WHAT?!

lnixon8 · April 2015

laurad75 said:
Since you are open to adopting a rescue (good for you!) you can probably find a mix breed the right size you are looking for and if its not a puppy the foster or rescue will probably have a good idea of its temperament so you can find a personality that fits for you. I adopted my rescue when she was about 1. She is around 50 lbs and looks like a shepherd but she has some beagle traits. She only barks or howls when she is super excited which is almost never. My advice is to be open to more breeds and just focus on the size, age and energy level that works for you.

Definitely! The rescues around here have mixes so I thought starting we should start looking at Beagle mixes. We fell in love with a friend's "bashar" (basset hound, sharpei mix) but when I started contacting basset rescues they said they wouldn't do will with potential kids.

novella1186 · April 2015

southernbelle0915 said:

novella1186 said:
FiancB yep, my beagle bit a little kid (friend of the family) and I was mortified. Beagle was trying to sleep and little kid was apparently trying to pick her up or something.
WHAT?!

Yeah it was awful. I mean I guess she didn't BITE the kid, she just snarled and snapped in her direction. So there was no actual injury. I was pissed, though. Even snapping is unacceptable to me, and none of my other dogs have ever behaved that way, so I was extra shocked.

Talk to me about Beagles!

Re: Talk to me about Beagles!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards