Hello everybody. Just a few questions. I am a young dog owner that rescued Isis from a shelter a little over a year ago and had a few questions. I have never really been a hound owner so she has been a little different of an animal than my previous dogs. Growing up I had shepherds, toy dogs, and a collie but never a hound. Question 1: I know this is the most common question just from browsing the forums but do you think that Isis is a purebred. We rescued her from a shelter in a very urban area but she has a tattoo in her ear consisting of letters and numbers. I was never able to track the number to any breeder or previous owner. My girlfriend bought me one of those DNA tests as a gift because I was interested but the breeds that came back were very odd... And since it asked me what breeds I thought she might be in the first place I'm not sure I can trust it. I won't say what it said in order to avoid putting ideas in your heads. Question 2: Does anyone have any tips for leash training a beagle? I've taught her sit, stay, come, and paw/shake which she does well while inside the apartment. She can do "leave it" and "down" while inside as well but only if I have a treat to reward her with and she knows it. However, all of these things go out the window when we are on a walk or at the dog park. She has her face to the ground and doesn't even respond to her name most of the time. I've tried training her with treats but I haven't found a treat smelly enough to keep her interested in what I'm doing instead of the ground. Any advice would be amazing!
I'm not an expert on Beagles but have seen a few around and Isis does look very beagle to me Maybe not a classic beagle with dark patches but that just makes her more special right? I would ignore the results of the dna test , I have not heard of them ever getting it right!
Hello Josh I can't answer with regard to Isis being a purebred but I wouldn't worry about it just enjoy her. ...are we talking on or off the lead I am assuming on the lead ? It can be difficult to get the attention of some dogs when you are out. I tend to let my dogs sniff unchecked unless I really need to get their attention for some reason. Sniffing is their recreation and provides mental stimulation. It is not a good idea to 'nag' at a dog or make a request which you know will be ignore. It can help to teach a 'watch me' to get a dogs attention like this... ... take a high value treat like chicken and give it to your dog so she knows what is on offer. Now take a treat and hold it in front of your eyes and ask your dog to 'watch me' and her gaze should fix on the treat. Keep saying 'good girl' as she watches the treat but not too excitedly (you want calm focus from the dog not excitement ), then after a moment give her the treat and praise. Extend the 'watch me' time and see how long you can hold your dogs gaze lowering your voice to a whisper saying 'good girl' all the time you have her attention. Each time her eyes leave yours make a sound 'ahah' then go back to saying 'watch me, good girl' when she returns your gaze, now treat and praise. Do this a number of times each day starting in a quiet place where there are no distractions (eg in the house)and progress to a place with distractions (eg the garden). Eventually you should get her attention for long periods and you can use this 'tool' to get your dog's attention in a variety of circumstances .
Just look at the queries on here see how different the Beagles look. Type varies so much depending on whether they have been bred for show, the hunt, pets, or (god forbid) even laboratories. Really excellent advice from Meg, The 'watch me' command was the breakthrough with Eddie. I started with an extra length Flexi for open spaces. His reward for attention would be a decent sized smelly treat (don't forget to knock some out of her dinner if you're too generous!) such as sardine cake. Don't make your first lessons too long, Beagles do have concentration problems. I follow a training session with 'go be a dog', a chance to snuffle and have a wee. I would also add - never let a Beagle know that you have nothing in your pocket! Have you got a local training club? The KC Good Citizen scheme incorporates lots of really practical exercises, and gives your dog chance to socialise. Good luck with Isis.
Of course I enjoy her, I've only ever had one purebred dog so I was just curious. I am mostly curious about the tattoo in her ear as I've heard some breeders use tattoos, laboratories may use tattoos, and some hunters use tattoos to identify dogs. She is on a lead when we are at our home because it is in an apartment but she is off lead at the dog park. I want to let her sniff but I also want to be able to get her attention if something were to happen where I may drop the lead or she were to squeeze out of it and start heading for the street. I will have to try to that method for training her. I may just need to find a smellier treat. We did take a course but all of the training took place indoors and she does listen very well indoors she's just not able to keep the attention outside. Thank you for the advice I'll let you know how it goes.
