Pain in the butt Beagle!

[Vikki]

Been there done that got the t-shirt!!!
You must get a crate! Our dog is in a crate during the day or whenever we are not in the house, I would NEVER leave her with the run of the house. We have to pad lock her in the crate as she even escaped from that. I posted a post months and months ago prob over a year I can't remember when I had had enough of her - she escaped from her crate and proceeded to tear up the lounge and destroy loads of DVD's etc and anything she could get her paws and teeth into the lounge looked like a war zone when I got home. Now she is in her own room different part of the house in the biggest crate I could get and it is pad locked shut. She has the radio on during the day for company and always has a treat to go in and plenty of water bed etc and toys to chew - we think she just sleeps most of the time she is in there.

We used the puppy pads when she was a pup they were brilliant and she was house trained b4 4 months old and has never had an accident since. She asks to go out
Our dog still chews anything she is a little sod at times she likes my children's soft toys etc and will grab them at any given opportunity dont think she will ever grow out of this (she is 2 in March). I give her plenty of bones to chew she especially loves the ones you can get in Waitrose with the filled stuff inside.

I would recommend getting a good trainer or going to classes etc. Our dog went through this growling stage with the children - that was sorted out with training one to one. You must sort this out asap especially with young children. Your dog is def at the right age to train now and it must be done as soon as possible.

She is our first beagle I had a lab b4. Recall has been a nightmare at times but we are slowly getting there but not 100% recall yet (doubt she ever will be).

Good luck things do get better but you have to work on it and training is so important I remember those early days very well and it was soooooo hard!!!

[Charlie's Dad]

^^^ Repeating what Vikki said above! While you may think its cruel in the beginning, a crate is not only the best thing for you, its also the best thing for him. It gives him a place to retreat and a place that he knows is his. My Charlie goes to his crate (now pen) without being told to do so to lay down, get away and have his moments alone. As for potty training, that should have been the most important thing to have trained on when he first came home. Its various ways on how to do it, so theres no "it should be done this way" method, I would suggest repetition. They will know what to do when they are taught what to do more than once and the same method everytime. We established a routine. Out in the morning before dawn (even if he was sleep). He'd relive himself and we'd come back in and he normally went back to sleep. Same thing before he retired for the evening. Everything in between depended on on his water and food consumption. But you have to just figure his cycle in the beginning. Once he figured he was going out every 30-45 min we found that he would start going to the door on his own and now its automatic. If were moving to slow he'll bark for us to hurry up.

As for the location. Due to Beagles keen sense of smell, the kitchen in my opinion should never be used as a location to keep your Beagle. Some Beags have free roam of their home, but the kitchen is an off limit area which we have a gate to keep the animal garbage disposal out of...lol

Your Beagle's urge to ignore or challenge you is a stage. My Charlie did the same around the 11 month and we remained firm with him. But it was nothing like growling or biting at us. What I have found with Beagles is that they get bored quickly, which means you have to find something to keep their minds working. A good long walk while letting him investigate smells normally works.

For the chewing, Bully Sticks or a tire grade rubber chew works. The rubber is recycled and is beginning to be used more that I've noticed. Its a little firmer than a kong and I suspect it drives the dogs urge to chew on it more.

In closing, dont give up! We're here to help in any way we can

[pam4611]

Thank you guys, I really appreciate the advice.

I took him out at 4.30am today for a good 40 minute walk, he had a wee and a poo then he came in and had breakfast and went back to sleep. When he woke I took him out again and he had another wee.

He did have an accident in his bed at night again though, how do I stop him peeing in his bed?

I really want to try the crate but my husband will not have it

Any other suggestions?

[Dawna]

Originally Posted by andyb28

Hi Pam,

We went through exactly the same as you, but now we have a chilled out 1 year old beagle. I must say at between 6 months - 12 we came very close to giving him up as he was causing my wife and I to argue. There are some of my threads and many others on here about the same thing.

First, get a crate, straight away, we made that mistake and went from the dog going to the toilet in the house to almost none at all straight away as soon as we changed and used a crate.

Second, we had loads of problems with chewing, he was ruining our home, people will say take away what they aren't allowed to have and give them a toy. This did not work for us, in the end we got a muzzle for him that we put on him everytime he chewed something he shouldn't, or if we had to leave him un-supervised / not in his crate. This worked wonders, he doesn't chew anything anymore and we dont need to use the muzzle! (note we were very careful with our selection of muzzle, it was loose fitting and allowed him to still drink).

The only thing we noticed after getting him neutered was he stopped trying to hump things. It didn't calm him down at all.

All I wanted to say was, the last 6 months have been not pleasant, but stick with it, having been through exactly what you have, there is light at the end of the tunnel

Andy

I swear they go through a "teenage" phase at the age group you mentioned. Dillon was a fairly good younger puppy but at 6 or 7 months he became a little terror! He's 10 months now and it is starting to get a LITTLE better!

[Dawna]

Dillon here: Don't listen to a word she says! I am a PERFECT dog! (FEED THE BEAGLE!)

[Vikki]

Hi I agree with Charles Dad kitchens are not really the place for a beagle to be living and is probably too much temptation for a beagle especially if he is not crated, you may find him scratching at the cupboard doors trying to get at the food. Our dog is an absolute pig and will jump on the table if she is given the chance!
I disagree I dont think crates are cruel at all the sooner you use one the better for you and your dog, I would try the crate otherwise your house will be destroyed! I think some people here are very lucky if they can let there dog have the run of their house and he/she does not destroy anything but all our dogs are different and a puppy at 6 months is still learning - you may find in the future that he settles down and is much better behaved and you dont have to use the crate or you can leave the door open on the crate.

[Charlie's Dad]

Originally Posted by Vikki

you may find in the future that he settles down and is much better behaved and you dont have to use the crate or you can leave the door open on the crate.

Thats exactly what weve done and it hasnt been a problem at all. As I mentioned above, he will go in there on his own and and either nap or go to sleep. I use an expandable Pen which he has been in since he came home with us.

[Charlie's Dad]

Originally Posted by pam4611

Thank you guys, I really appreciate the advice.

I took him out at 4.30am today for a good 40 minute walk, he had a wee and a poo then he came in and had breakfast and went back to sleep. When he woke I took him out again and he had another wee.

He did have an accident in his bed at night again though, how do I stop him peeing in his bed?

I really want to try the crate but my husband will not have it

Any other suggestions?

Great Job!!

From that I would suggest that you start a routine. I know that 430 is very early but if your doing it before you go to work thats good as long as you keep doing it so his body and mind will get used to it, then it will beome second nature to him. Accidents will happen, and since it happened at night while you were asleep, he probably gave a sign to go and it was missed. Just like the morning routine, try it at night right before you're ready to go to bed, let him out to relieve himself even if hes not showing signs, even if he already went after dinner. The idea behind the early mornings and late nite relief sessions is to not only potty train, but its prime time time for tracking and marking due to the cooler temps which helps when its pee pee time.

My only other suggestion if you're not going to crate is get him to a good trainer. When used properly crating is a trainer within itself. A lot of the small problems could be avoided by crating. What I mean by used properly is not using it for punishment. For example, when my Charlie was a pup pup, he would not want to chew on his toys, kongs or sticks anywhere else but inside of the pen (crate). Although he will play with anything anywhere now, he still takes things to his pen (blankets too) to do whatever he does with them there. Trust me, its a relief knowing that your dog is not destroying the house but has his own area and place of solitude to do whatever. Hes even very protective of it. When its time to wash his linen, he's on his way trying to stop us.

Of course the longer you wait the harder it will be for him to accept it or even get used to it. Right now he sees and knows that the whole house is his so it may take a really good trainer to break him from that.

[kimberjms]

"I really want to try the crate but my husband will not have it"

Does hubby ever have to clean up after him??? Maybe hubby should be on this forum too or at least researching crate training before dismissing it. When done properly, crating is actually the opposite of cruel. Cruel is letting your still-learning pup continue to make the same mistakes over and over while you get more and more fed up.
As for peeing his bed, try purchasing a new bed (so you know all residual scent of urine is gone) then try taking him out late at night right before you go to bed, 11ish? then again first thing in the morning, 4:30? Maybe you and hubby could take turns like whoever does the night the other will do the morning (flip a coin ) It took a long time to break the habit of our beagle peeing in her bed at night. Also, offer some water just after dinner (water should always be available with food) but put water away by 6 or 7pm.

Good luck

[Jakesdad]

A crate is not cruel. Jake had been crate trained before we got him at three months. We got a big one and he often makes his own way there at night. He regards it as HIS place. I would rather have him in there when we have to go out (not often) than chewing on a lamp cord or some other potentially fatal object. First year or so has been rough at times, but it was with my Lab too and he turned into a great dog. Jake will be two in may and we have noticed a big move towards more civilized behavior in the last two or three months.

I would agree with what so many of the other posters have said. As much exercise as possible. We walk a mile morning and again at night. A twenty minute play in the back yard now buys hours of peace. We have a window seat where he can jump up and watch the outside word go by and he often dozes off to sleep there.

We wondered if we had made a mistake in the first year or so but if I can encourage you, hang in there it does get better. Our Jake is smart as a whip and knows how to rattle my chain but as I watch him curled up on the couch happily dog dozing as I sit here on the computer I'm glad we persevered. He is a great companion and we love him dearly.