I'm afraid that if I followed that advice, Hannah, my dog would end up in awful trouble and it certainly wouldn't be for lack of training. We spend a large part of our day training and reinforcing things already learnt. He will learn a new trick in minutes. His recall is 100% at home, in the garden and at obedience class but I would say only about 50% reliable when out in the field. We train on a 50ft long line... sometimes he's an absolute dream, but others he's a total nightmare. When he's on a scent, I've lost control completely. He can change from one state to the other in a split second and because of this unpredictability I can not let him off leash. I understand that every dog is different and a breed should certainly not all be tarred with the same brush, but I know my dog inside out and I know the consequences of letting him loose in an area that isn't completely safe.
Yeah, it would be a bit hard to hunt with them if they just ran off when you let them off the lead. My beagle will not run away from me, if I am there, and comes when called. If he smells something interesting and there is a hole in the back fence...well, that would be a different story.
i was just saying that everyone always say keep your beagles on a lead i understand all dogs are different but not all beagles need to be kept on a lead they are bred for running all day and all night with horses thats what theyve always done - thays why i go out on the bikes with mine same speed and i hardly ever use a lead - but like i said all dogs are different if you know your dog will run off then obvisloly your not going to let them off lead but i know my two wont run off so thats why i said it
Monty is always let off-lead, unless we are road walking or anything of course!! His recall is almost perfect unless he is playing with another dog, but I put that down to puppyhood rather than being a Beagle! The best choice I ever made was letting him off his lead from the start when he didn't have so much confidence (he had it not just as much to wonder off) I do agree though that if you can't trust your dog to come back it is not worth the risk!! Thanks again for posting everyone!! Keep everything coming!!
In my opinion All Beagles should be off the lead at some point they are a breed which needs plenty of exercise, so if that means you have to find a park which is enclosed and secure or you have to drive to a woodland or in my case the beach where you have massive open spaces then so be it. They are at their happiest when they are on the scent and it is sad to see Beagles stuck on the lead. My two have a decent recall for Beagles and i am under no illusions they will come to me every time i whistle but thats what you take in consideration when walking and where you walk so go on let this happy little hound run free and do what they do best.
I go to agility classes with a Beagle and think they are amazing dogs. PeeWee can smell me a mile off as i always take liver with me, and after only a few weeks he is stealing all the lime light from the other dogs with his agility skills. Her owner has shown conserns about letting her off lead as she had 2 previous Beagles that had went off after a smell when on holiday walking and the 2 dogs reappered at her home 2 weeks later after traveling more than 200 miles by themselves. Now that is 2 clever dogs.
Quote "I go to agility classes with a Beagle and think they are amazing dogs." I was doing agility with my 9 year old Kerry Blue and we were changed into a different class on week 7 of an 8 week course. The class we were put into (without being told or asked about it!) just had one other dog in it a very reactive Beagle bitch owned by an older couple. As soon as we walked into the stable the Beagle eyeballed Cherry and wouldn't stop barking at her. Our trainer took the Beagle round the course on a lead in-between Cherry having a go. Then halfway through she let it off the lead and it flew straight at Cherry! (Unfortunately meeting with my foot first as I had no time to do anything else, not having been warned it was going to be let off-lead as it was obvious what would happen!). The trainer then said it was exhibiting "breed-specific behaviour"! My initial thought was "Oh that makes it ok then does it?" I rang the breed contact for Beagles and she was insulted about this comment as she said Beagles had to work in a pack and an aggressive one would be shot! Certainly the only other times I have met Beagles they have been nice, friendly dogs! I think perhaps this one had the wrong owners as the Beagle breed contact person said it sounded like they had spoilt the dog and not trained it.
Kerryowner, We met a couple who had their dog attacked by a Kerry Blue and the owner ran out of the park and left the scene with the couples dog fighting for its life. I does not make every Kerry Blue and their owner irresponsible. It does not make me look at a Kerry and put my dogs on the lead and walk the other way.Every breed will have their problem dogs either due to bad owners or bad breeding.
You have missed my point I think! I am saying that it is irresponsible to blame the breed for a dog behaving badly rather than apologising for its behaviour and doing something to change it! On the contrary to saying I put my Kerries on the lead and go the other way when I see a Beagle I made the point that we see some nice ones where we walk! I think these owners weren't suitable as Beagles seem like quite high energy dogs. When I was in "Pets at Home" one of the staff who knows me was speaking to me about an old couple who have got a Kerry Blue dog and are having problems because they are high energy dogs and they are not exercising it mentally or physically enough. My point is that I don't think it is ok to blame aggressive behaviour, or any bad behaviour come to that on a particular breed. Do you?
The Beagle breed is known to put its head down and bum up and completely go " deaf " to everthing around it when on the scent, is this bad behaviour or is it a behaviour issue to the breed. I would say it was to the latter. As i took your first comment, it was if you were saying and your trainer, that the Beagle was a well known breed for aggression. If you read up on the characteritics of a Beagle you will see that aggression does not normally get associated with this "merry little hound "
Well, today I bit the bullet and took Murphy along what used to be an old rail track, now the Derwent Walk Country Park. We went really early to minimise distractions and the stretch I chose is mostly securely sheep fenced on either side, with nothing but fields for miles. We were out for an hour and for the first 55 minutes he behaved impeccably. A simple 'This way, Murphy' was enough to get him to stop what he was doing and fetch him charging back towards me. He disappeared off into the undergrowth a few times but a blast on the whistle brought him flying back. A few times along the walk I asked him to wait, which he did. I then caught up with him and leashed him up, walked on a bit, then released him again. He was loving it and so was I. He really is a very obedient dog. Then, just as I we were nearing the car park and as I was thinking about putting him back on leash, as the long lane from the car park leads out onto a main road. He suddenly put his nose to the ground and bolted back down the track and off up the embankment. There was no way I could follow, as the bushes were too thick, so I thought the best plan of action was to just stay put and give an occasional whistle, in the hope he would find his way back. I was desperately trying to stay calm and not panic. After what seemed like ages but was actually only ten minutes or so, he came bursting through the undergrowth on the opposite side of the track, looking mighty pleased with himself. He'd obviously had a ball, but I don't know how much of that my heart can take. :? I don't know what else I can possibly do, training-wise to over-ride those instincts.
Quote "As i took your first comment, it was if you were saying and your trainer, that the Beagle was a well known breed for aggression. If you read up on the characteritics of a Beagle you will see that aggression does not normally get associated with this "merry little hound "" That was what the trainer was saying yes-my point is that I couldn't believe someone would say such a thing about Beagles -which is why I telephoned the Beagle breeders association to check if this was correct! Obviously they said to me what you have stated above!
Thanks for sharing Murphy's adventure!! I know what you mean about worrying so much, even though Monty is pretty good at recall I still always get this horrible feeling that he may run off etc. I gues we have to train ourselves not to worry so much!! But how can you not hey?? Sounds like Murphy is pretty good on walks though, well done!!
Hi all,Bout time i put some pics of mine up (past & present) Some of the longer term Dogsey members will be familiar with most of the pics ! Bless you Honeytone,Glad Murphy enjoyed himself even if he nearly gave you a heart attack in the process. I think consistancy and good judgement are key to letting your beagle offlead,take plenty of treats and keep working on it,I don't let mine off anywhere that may pose a risk....it's just not worth the risk of losing them but with good judgement ,being familiar with the area and any hazards and reinforcing recall in training and confidence in yourself it is possible for you both to enjoy offlead walks.Make sure you pop that lead back on a bit earlier next time when you come towards the car park Its a learning curve for you both Kerryowner, I understood what you were trying to say The Beagle at the training class is certainly not (as Jimmylaw said ) how a Beagle should be...maybe the trainer needs to 'train himself' into understanding breed traits better before telling others. Anyway onto the pics,I have so many hundreds i dont know where to start....Beagles are my heart breed ...always will be Hope you enjoyed them....There's plenty more where they came from
Thanks Hannah,means alot I'm always skulking around,I just don't post quite as often now,I lost heart a bit after losing my Alfie for some reason.It's nice to see a new Beagle thread and everyone's beautiful Beagles There are more Beagle owners on here now than ever before Lol Jimmy,Good result today (I'm a woman )
