I have a 3 year old that I have had for 2 years. I love him but he is a "runner". I live in the mountins of Southern Utah. He has a doggie door and a fenced yard to run and play with our Westie and a cat but he will run the first time he sees an open gate or door. I am tempted to see if I can find him a home on a large farm or ranch but hate to lose him. Any suggestions?
"Runner"
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davidcook ,
Welcome to the forum.
>I love him but he is a "runner".<
Beagles are hunters by nature and require little training. Your Beag just wants to hunt and given a chance that is what he is going to do. Beagles are also loving family pets. Obedience training will help. This can be said for most scent hounds. I would work on recall when you have time , and , make an extra effort to keep the gate closed.
Best , oldhounddog
Welcome to the forum.
>I love him but he is a "runner".<
Beagles are hunters by nature and require little training. Your Beag just wants to hunt and given a chance that is what he is going to do. Beagles are also loving family pets. Obedience training will help. This can be said for most scent hounds. I would work on recall when you have time , and , make an extra effort to keep the gate closed.
Best , oldhounddog
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Is he getting walks and/or time to sniff and explore outside of his fenced yard? Also, is he neutered? Like Oldhounddog said, training would be very helpful. We always double check doors and gates so we don't have any escapees.
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My little girl is 8 years old now and very obedient to me. I can take her outside off-leash and she doesn't stray....unless...there was something that needs chasing or some enticing scent for her to follow. (Needless to say, she does not spend any appreciable time off-leash without being in a fenced in area.) Am I the only one who thinks that no matter how well-trained your beagle is, if there hunting instinct is engaged...they just aren't going to listen because they just don't hear you? Has there ever been any one here that has had any success in teaching a beagle to resist this instinct?
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Melita ,
The short answer is yes , however , you must be reasonable with your expectations. All hunting breeds are hard wired with pray drive , some stronger than others. Regular obedience training interspersed with play breaks together with mental stimulation will increase your ability to curb prey drive. Training must be positive reinforcement type with emphasis on recall. When training you must strive to become to best and most interesting in your dogs life , be consistent and loving and you will see big benefits.
If more information is needed please post back.
Best , oldhounddog
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I know better than to expect a leash-free experience with my beagle....my goal is rather to increase the odds that if she does take off by either seeing something or smelling something, that she might hesitate long enough for me to find her and interrupt the process. My whole family has had hunting dogs and guard dogs my whole life--so I have a healthy respect for a dog's inherent drives. I gotta say that I never saw myself as a beagle owner...I prefer medium dogs...between 50- 80 lbs..but there is something just so endearing about this little hound....
Right now I am trying push training with the beagle simply because I am curious to see what impact it will have on her behavior. Although it has only been two days, it has seemed to increase rather than decrease the amount of tension she experiences, I figure I will try it once a day for a week before I pass any judgement, however. It is supposed to make her a more confident dog..I would be happy if it made her less skittish around strange adults and other large dogs. I try to spend time with my little dog on most days, my work schedule permitting, and devise games for us to play; plus, she is a great travel companion. If it isn't hot, I take her with me when I visit people and run errands around town.
Negative reinforcement is not really something I see as useful. The adage that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar (unless you are talking about fruit flies, I suppose) would better describe my approach. I wish to be seen as a benevolent dictator rather than a tyrant, in my dogs' eyes.
Anyway, have you ever heard of push training? what is your assessment of it? Also, I have a feeding question---I tried a high-end chow and it caused constipation---tried 3 more with the same result...finally went with a 3-4 star chow and the problem seemed to correct itself. Could the 5 star stuff been to rich for her? What did you feed your beagles? Also, did they have bad teeth? My beagle sure does. My Dobe/Lab dog had all of his teeth with a very little bit of tartar on them when he passed at age 18 1/2. The beagle lost one of her front canines to gum disease and I brush her teeth once a day with a special enzymatic toothpaste (chicken flavored, no less).
Right now I am trying push training with the beagle simply because I am curious to see what impact it will have on her behavior. Although it has only been two days, it has seemed to increase rather than decrease the amount of tension she experiences, I figure I will try it once a day for a week before I pass any judgement, however. It is supposed to make her a more confident dog..I would be happy if it made her less skittish around strange adults and other large dogs. I try to spend time with my little dog on most days, my work schedule permitting, and devise games for us to play; plus, she is a great travel companion. If it isn't hot, I take her with me when I visit people and run errands around town.
Negative reinforcement is not really something I see as useful. The adage that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar (unless you are talking about fruit flies, I suppose) would better describe my approach. I wish to be seen as a benevolent dictator rather than a tyrant, in my dogs' eyes.
Anyway, have you ever heard of push training? what is your assessment of it? Also, I have a feeding question---I tried a high-end chow and it caused constipation---tried 3 more with the same result...finally went with a 3-4 star chow and the problem seemed to correct itself. Could the 5 star stuff been to rich for her? What did you feed your beagles? Also, did they have bad teeth? My beagle sure does. My Dobe/Lab dog had all of his teeth with a very little bit of tartar on them when he passed at age 18 1/2. The beagle lost one of her front canines to gum disease and I brush her teeth once a day with a special enzymatic toothpaste (chicken flavored, no less).
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Melita ,
There are many new training methods being used today as the next best thing on the market , most of which are parts and pieces of long standing training technique rebagged under a new name. I am a fan of what works for you and your dog. I would like to hear what you think of the push training method. You have a very good attitude , and I expect you will use what is working best. I am a big fan of positive reward based training and have a couple of modern favorite trainers. When you have time take a look at the Kiko pup series , timing , reward and motivation are always key. The magic is in finding what combination of training method best suits your need.
Emily Larlham of the KIKOPUP training series has many free video shorts and is a great source of basic ideas to draw from.
Example links: http://www.youtube.com/kikopup
On the Dog food question. Sounds like you are making informed choices using a selective process of elimination. Your thoughts on a food being too rich are spot on accurate as all dogs can not eat the super prem kibble. The main thing I stay away from is corn wheat and soy. The next most important item is who is having a recall on pet food/treats and why , always stay on top of this one. I am currently feeding 4Health adult chicken and rice which is a house brand for TSC. This product is made by Diamond Pet food and has gotten a lot of bad press of late , however , if you check recall history you will find many major brands have problems from time to time. When the recall first came out I made a cold switch that day to Earthborn Primative Natural and all was good and no problem with any of my 10 hounds. It is important for me to feed quality and get value at the same time and I continue to evaluate my choices always keeping in mind that I may need a backup at any time. After some time passed and new stock was on market I went back to a dog food I knew was good quality. (4Health)
Education is key when evaluating dog food and I find my best choices and value at feed stores. I try not to feed a dog food that has many sources of protein in one brand. I do rotate protein sources and do not feed grain free all the time. I keep track of protein sources fed because if I ever have a dog with allergy I will know what protein sources are open to try. If you stay with a quality kibble you will most likely get the best balance of nutritional needs and dry kibble will help keep teeth clean if used on a regular basis. You can tell a lot by how you dog looks and acts along with general health.
Best , oldhounddog
There are many new training methods being used today as the next best thing on the market , most of which are parts and pieces of long standing training technique rebagged under a new name. I am a fan of what works for you and your dog. I would like to hear what you think of the push training method. You have a very good attitude , and I expect you will use what is working best. I am a big fan of positive reward based training and have a couple of modern favorite trainers. When you have time take a look at the Kiko pup series , timing , reward and motivation are always key. The magic is in finding what combination of training method best suits your need.
Emily Larlham of the KIKOPUP training series has many free video shorts and is a great source of basic ideas to draw from.
Example links: http://www.youtube.com/kikopup
On the Dog food question. Sounds like you are making informed choices using a selective process of elimination. Your thoughts on a food being too rich are spot on accurate as all dogs can not eat the super prem kibble. The main thing I stay away from is corn wheat and soy. The next most important item is who is having a recall on pet food/treats and why , always stay on top of this one. I am currently feeding 4Health adult chicken and rice which is a house brand for TSC. This product is made by Diamond Pet food and has gotten a lot of bad press of late , however , if you check recall history you will find many major brands have problems from time to time. When the recall first came out I made a cold switch that day to Earthborn Primative Natural and all was good and no problem with any of my 10 hounds. It is important for me to feed quality and get value at the same time and I continue to evaluate my choices always keeping in mind that I may need a backup at any time. After some time passed and new stock was on market I went back to a dog food I knew was good quality. (4Health)
Education is key when evaluating dog food and I find my best choices and value at feed stores. I try not to feed a dog food that has many sources of protein in one brand. I do rotate protein sources and do not feed grain free all the time. I keep track of protein sources fed because if I ever have a dog with allergy I will know what protein sources are open to try. If you stay with a quality kibble you will most likely get the best balance of nutritional needs and dry kibble will help keep teeth clean if used on a regular basis. You can tell a lot by how you dog looks and acts along with general health.
Best , oldhounddog
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Once they have a scent to track, most beagles tend to become "deaf" to everything else that's going on around them. It's not that they mean to, it's just instinct. I have tried teaching Dexter (my 2yr old) to always come when called.. and inside the house, he is very obedient! Outside the house is a totally different matter. The other day, I was airing out the house and forgot to close a window. When it came time for his breakfast, Dexter was no where to be found.. then I saw the open window. Have no idea how long Dex had been out there, but thankfully I heard him snuffling around the neighbor's house. The next 20 minutes were spent trying to catch him: no calling or treats could entice him to come to me. Finally, I was able to corner him, grab onto his collar, and hook the leash onto him.
You just have to always be careful not to let him slip past you when you open doors. If you know guests are coming, put a leash on him so you can quickly grab him. That's what we do.
You just have to always be careful not to let him slip past you when you open doors. If you know guests are coming, put a leash on him so you can quickly grab him. That's what we do.
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