[Arameya]

Hello all!

I'm new to this forums, as evidenced by my 1 post count. My boyfriend and I fell in love with a beagle about 4 months ago, and since then have been taking him to obedience classes and generally doing our best to be good owners.

Our mutual friends are also dog-owners, but as we all know, beagles are very different from other dogs in the one quality that they are astonishingly stubborn. So, what helped to keep their dog in check didn't work for us...

Which is why I came here (thank God there's a forum for people owned by beagles!!).

Dion the Snout has been taking socks, slippers, pieces of clothing left on the floor/chairs, and lately his list has expanded to include my digital camera, wallets and toilet paper (you can imagine how the backyard looks like now...).

We're convinced he <span style="font-style: italic">knows</span> what he's been doing is wrong. Once he sees us coming for him, he drops the item and bolts like a rabbit in danger away. If we make him sit and we bring the item close to him, he tries tries to get as far away from it as possible, twisting his body while still sitting.

It still doesn't stop him from taking those items out though, when we're not looking.

Like any other dog owner, we don't want to have to keep things out of reach and doors closed...

Has anyone had this problem with their beagle? What did you do and to what extent was it effective? Every bit helps!

 

[Murphys Dad]

How old is Dion? It sounds like typical Beagle puppy behavior. Jersey was a kleptomaniac as a puppy. She was around 18 months old before she outgrew it, although she still has her moments now. It sucks, but in the meantime, if you don't want Dion to steal it, keep it out of his reach. We kept our ironing board up for close to a year just to have a high place to keep things out of Beagle reach. The bottom halves of my book shelves stayed empty as well. You can try spraying some Bitter Apple spray to deter Dion's chewing. Our trainer suggested soaking a sock in it and letting Jersey steal it so that she'd get a mouthful of the Bitter Apple. Theoretically, it was supposed to keep her from stealing again, since it was supposed to be such a bad experience. It didn't work for us. Good luck! And welcome to the world of Beagles.

 

[beagletails]

All of our Beagles are thieves and while it can be frustrating it can also be a great source of humor. THEY DO KNOW! Ours will take something, hunker down and slither their way past our eyes, and they run like hxxx to get out the dog door. I hate having to go chasing after them, but if I want what they have to still be usable it is my only choice. Baby toys, clean diapers, bras, panties, socks, washcloths, you name it...they take it. We have two 18 month old Beagles, a 30 month old Beagle and a 5 year old Beagle mix. I will admit the two youngsters are worse about this, but they are all guilty. Either keep things out of reach or keep the dog kenneled at all times. Those are really your only options if you want your items to remain safe.

On a brighter side...you will look back and laugh at the antics of this little one some day.

Welcome and I'm glad you found us.

 

[Brien]

He sounds a lot like Bodie, full of mischief! Bodie will chew on anything left out. So there are no excuses when he's caught chewing on someone's shoe. My stance is it's everyone's responsibility to put there belongings away, otherwise they're fair game. Over time he's gotten better and gradually learned what's off limits. And using Bitter Apple (a dog repellent spray) on rugs and furniture helps too. When he is caught with something he shouldn't have we say No and give him a dog toy. Most of the time he'll take the chew toy and play with it... for about 5 minutes before we repeat the process all over again.

 

[jassy]

Maggie has improved as she has matured but we still keep doors closed and things out of reach. She only steals occasionally now and usually to get my attention but we are still careful.

 

[jem_389]

You know the old saying, the dog ate my homework. How about my dog ate my wallet, the remote control for my new Sony flatscreen TV, my wife's reading glasses, numerous old scouting books, my daughter's cell phone cover,.......

 

[jem_389]

Oh yeah, and about a hundred pair of socks!!!!!

 

[Beagle Eyes]

Our Bazel at 11 steal ear plugs of all things. Yuck we have to hide them . As a pup it was soft toys, socks typical thing. He thought it was great and was very proud shaking his butt proudly. He destroyed my watch band that was a wedding band.

 

[beaglina]

Beaglina was a kleptomaniac too (still is sometimes...), and yes she knew it was 'bad' but I thought it was mainly an attention-getting routine as she'd prance right past me with my socks in her mouth! So, if possible, try not to make a big deal of retrieving stuff, and you can probably work on selected areas - I decided there was no way I was having the bin on the worktop and (mostly!) managed to teach her from being a young pup that it was off limits.

 

[RosCole]

Yep, I can relate as well. I have so many socks with holes in them, I call them my Designer Beagle socks.

We learned from Roscoe that if it is within their reach, they will eat it!! Remote controls, cell phones, hair clips, laundry (nothing like chasing your pup around the house with a pair of unmentionables in his mouth), coins (my husband had a bad habit of leaving loose change around, not good), and toilet paper. So, now after experiencing all of the above, which does make for some funny stories, we beagle-proofed the house as best as we could. All remotes up high, loose change in a drawer, never sort the laundry with a beagle present, and we always keep the bathroom door closed.

 

[Arameya]

Checking this before I head off to bed - wow! At least I know I'm not alone

I personally keep everything that I can remember out of Dion's reach. The boyfriend doesn't. He doesn't think he should move stuff off the floor and low tables for Dion because <span style="font-style: italic">Dion</span> should know not to touch them in the first place. Which is all very well when it's a human child... but who knows how beagles think?

I shall plot a course of action to convince the boyfriend. Success seems unlikely... but maybe enough nagging will help.

I've heard of the chewing repellent thing, just never quite knew a brand. I'll certainly be looking at that option. I hope it'd be affordable...

Thanks everyone, it's very heartening to read your own stories as well

I shall keep this thread updated, hopefully we can compile a list of solutions for other owners facing this issue...

 

[Murphys Dad]

I have a feeling your boyfriend is going to lose this battle. If he wants to keep his stuff in-tact then he's going to have to understand that Dion doesn't know better until he's trained properly. Even then, it's a losing battle sometimes. As I was sitting here reading this post, Jersey stuck her nose into the garbage at the desk and pulled out some tissues. She was literally inches away from me, but that didn't stop her. They know better but sometimes they just don't care enough to worry.

 

[CarrieD]

Wow, you're lucky he drops it quick. Menolly thinks it's funny to have us chase her all over creation to retreive a stolen item...

All I can suggest is, too, put it up HIGH...at least three and half feet, four or five if your Beag is a jumper like mine.

 

[angelaH]

We have been through all this. Not with our present two as they were research beagles until 6 years of age. Our first beagle was a dreadful thief, she would steal socks, toys, peoples washing and food from grills. Our second beagle stole a whole camenbert cheese in a French restaurant. Your pup will learn to leave things alone, but socks and other items left lying around will be too much of a temptation for quite some time.

 

[Arameya]

@jen-n-jersey: Indeed he already has. Last night, after reading the replies to this thread, he conceded defeat! /cheer! Now on to Step 2: getting him used to keeping stuff high enough. I wonder if Good Boy! will suffice, or there needs be some edible incentive for the man..

I personally think that they just can't help themselves... hence the term kleptomaniac used by some of us hey? One consolation I take from Doghouse's response is that at least Dion doesn't go after things that are out of reach! A whole camenbert cheese... that has to be expensive...

 

[Murphys Dad]

LOL! I'm glad that he conceded. I don't know about your boyfriend, but food always works as a bribe for Mike. Don't tell him I said that though. LOL! It doesn't take long to get into the habit of putting things up. We learned very quickly around here. Baby gates work wonders too.

And Dion is adorable. If that isn't a sad, I'm sorry face, I don't know what is.

 

[Brien]

What an adorable picture!

 

[Lucy's Mom]

As a result of our beagles, our house was baby-proofed BEFORE we had kids. I'm glad your boyfriend conceded -- I was worried that we'd have to ban him from children!

Pieces of good chocolate are appropriate guy-rewards in our household...

 

[JoJo's Mum]

He is just tooooo cute! JoJo is also a theif! Socks, jocks, bra's, lighters you name it! All things in our house are kept high or behind locked doors.

I came home yesterday to find she had pulled the seat cushions from my sofa and started eating the stuffing! I dont think she likes this new diet she's on

 

[Arameya]

So.

After a day or two's worth of no clothes found outside, tonight I noticed the toilet door was opened, and some rustling outside.

Torch in hand, I strode out into the chilly night breeze to see Dion's towel, many socks, three shirts, four pairs of underwear, and a bloody guilty dog.

Once he saw me, he started running in circles all around the backyard as I picked the clothes up.

We've locked him out for the night, and there's no howling of protests.

I just don't believe we can't teach him that dragging clothes outside is wrong if he <span style="font-style: italic">knows</span> that it is. After all, would he bolt if we walked towards him when he was playing with his Kong? No. Clothes? Toilet paper? Hell yea.

Is there any <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">positive way</span></span></span> we can discipline him with? Locking him out doesn't work as we've been doing that since forever. Nor do we want to hit him, even if gently, to make him realize that we are extremely displeased...

He's 8 months old, but do we really have to wait for him to outgrow it considering that he's a beagle, and we all know beagles are smart..