I had a friend contact me on FB she had a litter that’s ready to go and asked if I’d like one since she knew I was on the puppy hunt.
I had one when I was a kid but that was forever ago. I was also curious about how to introduce my girl to one if we got one.
But I would like to know the good/ the bad and the ugly on the breed. Since I did have one when I was a kid & he was a great dog. And my first dog so of course he was wonderful.
they are slaves to their noses…one good scent and off they go…
and they bay…:lol:
I only had a half a one…she was da bomb!
they are cute puppies, but personally I am not a fan of beagles, or hunting dogs in general. They tend to follow their nose and I would worry about them escaping or getting out. When I lived in Ocala we had 2 beagles that would come on to the farm, we called them the beagle brothers. they would turn up every couple of weeks, they were nice dogs but hard to contain.
If you do not mind walking on a leash all. the. time. or fretting that they may dig out of a fence get a pup, but these are then things I worry about.
What does your breeder friend say? Why is she breeding without buyers…doesn’t bode well for their quality. Beagles take owners who truly understand “the nose”, but they can be great dogs.
I have only been going back and fourth with her the last couple days on and off with fb messages and texting. She was going to text pics but isn’t sure how I do know from the little we spoke she only has one male & one female left? I assume from the sounds of it.
I do worry about the nose. I don’t want a dog running off all the time since our rottie is always loose unless we go on walks. I do love the short hair the colors the baying and the size. Just not the running off. But I did want a greyhound and they always have to be leashed too.
Beagles are hounds.
Hounds do hound things.
No way to stop them from being what they are.
You gotta love a dog for what it is… and a beagle is a very loving dog - a great addition to a family. But they will follow their nose, they will wander, and they may bring home a rabbit. Or 20. If they come home.
There are plenty of beagles who are content to be house beagles, maybe these don’t come from hunting lines and that makes a difference?
You know - you might want to post this question in the hunting forum. There are a few posters who hunt with beagles (usually in packs) and really know the breed. I bet they could help.
[QUOTE=JSwan;5865938]
Beagles are hounds.
Hounds do hound things.
No way to stop them from being what they are.
You gotta love a dog for what it is… and a beagle is a very loving dog - a great addition to a family. But they will follow their nose, they will wander, and they may bring home a rabbit. Or 20. If they come home.
There are plenty of beagles who are content to be house beagles, maybe these don’t come from hunting lines and that makes a difference?
You know - you might want to post this question in the hunting forum. There are a few posters who hunt with beagles (usually in packs) and really know the breed. I bet they could help.[/QUOTE]
I have a Beagle and this is a very accurate description. I would never recommend them as an off leash farm dog. They will follow their nose anywhere. My dog is very loving, but he is still a hound.
If you are looking for a house dog to take on walks and never be off leash, then I think a beagle would be fine.
We had a beagle mix years ago that we found by the road in TX. Rusty was a wonderful dog, and looked like a beagle until he stood next to a purebred beagle. 
We never worried about him running off, because he never did. He was in a kennel a lot, but had the run of the (fenced) back yard and never tried to escape. If he did get out for some reason, he would just hang out in the yard.
Now we have a Puggle (that I found on the road, too). Pepper does have that beagle hunting instinct, because she will run off and check out the groundhog holes. However, she ALWAYS comes back. But :winkgrin: if she and the dachshund get out, it’s more like WOOOHOOOOOOOOO. Everyone is contained in a fence/run now for our peace of mind and their safety.
I love beagles and would get one in a heartbeat if we didn’t already have 10 dogs. It would drive me crazy, however, to have a dog that tended to disappear for hours/days at a time. We have just had good luck with our beagle mixes, and maybe that is the key. ?
PS- a friend has a beagle JRT mix ( a “Reagle”)–I’d love that combo in a dog!
Me too! She is pure evil.
I grew up with a Beagle and I have a 3 year old female now. They are wonderful dogs. I adore the breed and will probably always have one. All the ones I have known have loved people, especially kids and the elderly.
They are generally healthy dogs. The male my parents had lived to be 15 and the female I grew up with lived to be 12 1/2 before cancer took her. The main thing is you have to keep their ears clean and treat them regularly to keep them from getting infected. They are very food driven and are prone to obesity.
The nose rules the brain. When the nose is going the ears shut off and they will not listen to you. They generally can never be trusted off leash. My old girl could be trusted after many years of enforcing her boundaries, but I don’t see my current girl ever getting to that point. I like to say she thinks of herself as a “free spirit” who thinks she should be allowed run free all over creation and I’m cramping her style :lol: A good fence is a must. I’ve never had a serious digger, but I’ve heard some do that. The amount of howling depends on the dog, my current Beagle howls a lot more than my last one did.
I have a beagle mix who has been very educational for me. For example, I did not know that dogs could open kitchen cabinets, take out the jar of peanut butter, and then open the jar and eat the peanut butter. Or turn on the gas stove. Etc, etc. They’re very tenacious about getting into food and follow their noses. But this is also the most loving, cuddly dog I’ve owned. She’s awesome with every person and every dog and loves kids. And she’ll come when you call. If you’re holding a steak, that is. Otherwise it’s a crap shoot. But she’s never gone off for more than an hour, and when I work with her a lot she gets much better. But they’re not easy!
I love Beagles! None of our beagle mixes have been diggers (not nearly like the Corgi or terrier mix). One (the Aussie mix) had a serious howl, the current (either a pure or a Bagel hound-basset cross) never howls and rarely barks, though she has a howly bark. (Okay, she howls when left home alone, but we aren’t there to hear.) Both were trustworthy off lead after much conditioning. With Molly now the problem is less she follows her nose than if you take her off lead she’ll just sit there and sniff, but she is old and walking slower.
Yes, ALL NOSE. Though while they will follow their nose anywhere, they’re really slaves to their stomachs. Bottomless pits who will break into a fifty-pound bag of food and eat until they explode if they can (and then still be hungry. Because what food?)
Every Beagle I’ve known has been the same. Very sweet and oddly smart but nose to the ground and always looking for something to do. The ones who’ve had proper training are lovely dogs but the ones without enough exercise and structure are nightmares as companions.
I’m fostering a Puggle right now and she’s got the typical Beagle issues that come from living with a clueless person. Pulls on the leash like a train, fixates on what’s outside the 6 foot high, solid fence (rather than my kids trying to toss her a ball) and cannot refrain from chasing everything that moves or makes a noise, including my cats. One of the worst cases of separation anxiety I’ve ever seen, although she is not destructive.
When she is focused on us, she is wonderful. I couldn’t ask for a nicer dog to have around the kids and she has come a long way in a short time, but I’ll never trust her not to take off after something that catches her attention. Just yesterday we were driving home from school and a trip to the pet store and she started freaking out in the van when I turned on my street. Very odd because she is a great car dog. I couldn’t get her settled to release the harness and then she bolted (on a leash) and frantically tried to get under the bushes. I’d forgotten we saw a chipmunk in that area when we left and she was still thinking about it an hour later, after being perfectly calm everywhere else we went.
I love this dog and she’s not the first ill mannered one I’ve worked with. I even had a Basset for 13 years and would take another in a heartbeat. The difference is, she goes from couch potato to crazy intense like no other dog I’ve seen, except for other Beagles. :lol:
I’ve had several in class, including a stray girl who started out incredibly shy, but became the top student in that class by the end of the 6 weeks.
Every Beagle I’ve had in class has be wicked smart and food driven. They’ve all been very, very social and (with the exception of the girl above) not timid or shy. There was one little, itty bitty, girl that I desperately wanted to steal and take home. She was small (13") and she was GORGEOUS. Perfect markings, temperament to die for and so in love with her handler it was incredible. If I was ever going to do therapy work again, a Beagle would be my #1 choice for breed.
The ones in class did not howl or bark, but I did not live with them either, so that might be different at home. In class they were taught to focus on the handler, not the ground so they were not nose-to-the-ground dogs in class. Again…outside that could be different.
There are a number of Beagles running agility, so the nose-to-the-ground must be able to be modified with some training.
Thanks JSwan I’ll give it a shot over there.
CrazyGuineapiglady I actually have been thinking about a basset hound before I thought of beagles. But I don’t know anything about them and never knew one.
Teddy I didn’t know they could do all that!!!
Thanks guys this has all been really helpful.
I’ve had bassets too - and hunt rabbit with a pack of 'em.
They’re hounds too - but perhaps the AKC ones don’t hunt. I don’t know.
But a Basset is very much a hound dog - just used for slow trailing small game. Slow is a relative thing - they can out run us out hunting. They’re not the corpulent dogs found napping on sofas.
Prettier voices than a beagle, though. I love Bassets and miss mine terribly - mine were bred to hunt though one did prefer to be a house Basset.
[QUOTE=threedogpack;5866270]
If I was ever going to do therapy work again, a Beagle would be my #1 choice for breed. [/QUOTE] I wish we’d officially trained my old Beagle for therapy work. We often took her to visit my grandmother in assisted living and she was fantastic. She was so patient and careful with my grandmother and all of the residents (and so not with me :lol:). She knew exactly where my grandmother’s room was.
I’ll never forget her oh so carefully taking an offered treat out of my toddler cousin’s hand and allowing the little girl to climb all over her.
Goodness I miss that grumpy old dog.
Beagles are great family dogs, great with kids, adults, the elderly. They get along well with other dogs and cats. They are long lived and generally healthy. They tend to get obese very easily, so excercise and a careful diet are in order. They are scent hounds, which means when they get on a scent they go and pay no attention to traffic, or how far they have gone. They also howl and vocalize a bit. A good fencing plan will be needed. Even though they have short hair they do shed a bit. A hound glove is very helpful for that. They were bred to be very persistent on the scent and stubborness is part of that trait. They are not known for lighting fast obedience to commands. Some are difficult to housebreak, not others. If you can accept the downside of the breed, I think beagles can be tons of fun.
As previously noted, they are such loving dogs. And those expressive eyes~~~you can look into their very souls.
But, they are such good escape artists. They definitely need to be leash dogs.
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