Beagles - the good, bad and ugly

[Anonymous]

Seriously considering a rescue so wanted to get a sense of them ... thanks!

[Anonymous]

Ugh...the howling.

[Anonymous]

Feed Avoderm food, it costs more but your hose won’t smell like Beagle. They are smelly dogs but it can be managed with the right food and a bath every two weeks.
Go get her!

[Anonymous]

I love dogs, OP. But I wouldn't get a beagle unless I had a lot of land. I grew up with hunting dogs, including beagles. They are adorable and goofy and friendly and fun
They are also loud. They are smelly. And they are happiest when they are able to run.

Maybe consider a beagle mix?

[Anonymous]

I had a Foxhound which is a similar breed to a beagle. She was a rescue and was 2-3 so had never been in a house before. It took 3-4 months for her to settle down and be what I consider a pet. She had never walked on a leash so had no concept of a sidewalk and walking around lamposts etc, didnt know how to go up and down stairs, didnt know how to push a door open with her nose so would just stand there, stuff like that.
She was extremely smart but extremely stubborn. She got on well with other dogs but not with cats, their prey drive is strong. If you have cats I would not recommend it. They are a loyal breed and can be affectionate. She lived to be 12 and I had am amazing 10 years with her, took her with me on vacation, she could run off leash and come back. They do howl but its when another dog would bark, so no big deal, I actually found it endearing.
If you have the time to put into acclimating a rescue Beagle to household/family like and dont have cats I would say go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love dogs, OP. But I wouldn't get a beagle unless I had a lot of land. I grew up with hunting dogs, including beagles. They are adorable and goofy and friendly and fun
They are also loud. They are smelly. And they are happiest when they are able to run.

Maybe consider a beagle mix?

PP here, my hound was not smelly. I mean if they are outdoor dogs I am sure they smell, just like a pig that is left in mud would be dirty. But an indoor hound/beagle doesnt smell more than any other dog.

[Anonymous]

From 4-7 my sisters went crazy every night.

I’d never get a beagle. The noise - ugh

[Anonymous]

I recently got a new dog, and was considering a rescue beagle. I discovered that a lot of beagles at shelters and rescues were previously used in animal testing labs. So, while rescuing a dog from that life would be wonderful, it would take a LOT of work and patience to rehabilitate such a dog. I was also concerned about some of the listings on Petfinder and other sites calling themselves "beagle rescues" but had pure bred beagle puppies, and they wanted an adoption fee of $650 which made me assume they were actually breeders.
I live in the Midwest.

[Anonymous]

Cons -
Escape Artists.
Howl all the time.
Greedy for Food.
Untrainable.
Need a lot of human interaction and place to run.


Pros -
Sweet natured
Love kids
Affectionate
Like to snuggle
Charlie Brown's dog

I would NEVER get a beagle because while I like to play and interact with them for a short period of time, they are otherwise tiresome.

[Anonymous]

I love my beagle to death, but she is definitely a handful. She’s much calmer when tired out. She is stubborn and can be obstinate and just lives for food. On the other hand, she’s so cuddly, loving, funny - just the light of any room. People LOVE her, especially kids, and she loves them. She is a celebrity in our neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Beagles are all love, OP.

[Anonymous]

They love to track and hunt rabbits. So a lot of their behavior is based on that instinct. They love to dig and burrow. They are very inquisitive, They howl, They get depressed if you leave them alone in the house.

They are however an excellent dog for kids.They are very affectionate and very friendly. Their energy is the energy of small children. They love to snuggle with you in your bed. They need a lot of attention. If you can provide all of that then get a beagle.

[Anonymous]

I definitely had a special beagle. She never howled, hunted, and was quite lazy. The absolute best dog and I miss her every day.

[Anonymous]

We had a beagle growing up.

She was a really sweet dog and she didn’t smell, but she was an escape artist/runner. She didn’t howl constantly, but she did have a howly bark (“baroooooooo”) when the door bell rang.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all! Great info. Any short haired breeds you’d suggest that are a medium size?