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Does having two beagles lessen the baying?

4101 Views 20 Replies 20 Participants Last post by  Beagle Eyes
Over the last few weeks we've been talking about getting Bodie (8 months) a sister (another beagle). At first I was cool with the idea of Bodie having someone to play with and therefore not under my feet every 5 minutes. But then came the realization of what it would be like to have TWO beagles beagling/baying. Listening to Bodie beagling every time he's in the backyard is really annoying. I can only imagine what it would be like with two.

So my questions is this, would having two in fact be twice the beagling? Or would having two beagles perhaps lessen the beagling. Maybe because they can play with each other or stray cats (the main beagling culprit) would stay away. Even as I'm typing this I can hear him now in the backyard beagling. It never ends!

The other option is we get a second dog but not a beagle. Which is a completely different question. But for now will stick with this one and see what others' experiences have been.
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I really think it would depend on the personality of the new pup. Our male only makes noise when there is someone at the door or behind the fence but as soon as he checks it out he's done. Our female on the other hand starts and doesn't stop but she has no influence on him.
Ok, Jen so perhaps you've touch on something I'm missing. Not all beagles (when it comes to beagling) are created equal.

Bodie was breed from a long line of field beagles. So the hunting trait has been breed into him. Which is perhaps why he beagles a lot, and maybe even more then a so called normal beagle.

If this is true, we could get another beagle, just maybe not one from the same breeder as Bodie.
Originally Posted By: Brien & Bodie
Ok, Jen so perhaps you've touch on something I'm missing. Not all beagles (when it comes to beagling) are created equal.

Bodie was breed from a long line of field beagles. So the hunting trait has been breed into him. Which is perhaps why he beagles a lot, and maybe even more then a so called normal beagle.

If this is true, we could get another beagle, just maybe not one from the same breeder as Bodie.
Honestly i dont even think lineage is it, my dog also comes from a long line of trial hunting beagles and he's a relatively quiet dog, my golden retriever barked more. If the beagling bothers you i would def not even go for another beagle because you will run the risk of getting a talkative dog. Go with a quieter breed of dog, it might help bodie's beagling and if it doesn't atleast you wont be multiplying your noise level times 2.
Well, I have two, also as you know. Casie came to us without beagling loudly at all. But Cobi wouldn't stand for him not talking; so big bro taught little bro the true meaning of being a beagle. Now it doesn't matter, if one doesn't start it the other will. Casie is deeper in his barking, and Cobi is more high pitched...that drives me nuts...but actually their barking is one of the reasons I love the breed so much. My neighbor has 9 little yappers as I call them , and I can't stand the sound of them and then her yelling at them to shut up. I've had poodles, and didn't like their bark either. I am thinking it depends on the dog, Chipper wasn't a barker unless there was someone in his territory...he was a thinker...on the other paw, his brothers are very vocal about everything.
Two of ours bay a lot - the other two not at all. I really don't think that having more than one impacts on it at all...
I agree with everybody here. Snoopy is an only dog but does not bay or bark.
Even when she is at the dark park, she is not influenced whatsoever by the other hounds. I think it is all in the personality of the individual dog.
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My Charlie Bays and howls a lot, or is it really? So I adopted Him a companion hoping like you it would help him maybe he was lonely? oh but another beagle, who knows i might end up with a louder more voicing beagle, soooooo i got scared...anywooooooo....... new guy is not a Beagle and hurts my charlie when he hears him howl baying etc....I come to think it's because he's not understanding this type of breed and the reason they do this, well to be honest I come to like and accept my little beagleweegle bays and howls, and WISH I WOULD OF Considered and not been so scared and worried getting another Beagle, a beagle just like him, BAYS AND ALL.......I know they would of understood eachother and this should of been important in looking for another dog, only cause My charlie is soooo vocal.....
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I am in the same boat. I want to get Buddy a little sister also. Everytime I leave the house (even if i go outside and he can still see me) he bays like there is no tomorrow.

I even asked my Vet what he thought and he thinks that having two of them they would both bay when i am gone and it will make it worse.

SO thats the only thing really holding me back.
I have four dogs. 3 purebreds-1 beagle/lab mix. Two are very vocal and the other two are not. I really don't have any howlers at the moment though. When I did have one that howled living here for about 9 months or so, she would occasionally get the others to howl with her, but now that she is gone I don't hear it again. I think our dogs are too busy playing all the time to be howling. They do bark at passersby (especially dog walking humans), cats and sometimes at children playing in neighboring yards, but I just bring them in if they get too loud.

I don't think it matters what type of dog you get. Bodie may teach his new pack member to howl, but personally I think if for no other reason the howling will be minimized because Bodie will be busy wrestling, running, chewing on the new member, etc... I think beagles howl mostly out of boredom or because of a trigger such as a wild animal or cat.

I do believe that the stronger the hunting lines the more likely they will howl. I say that from experience. We have housed many beagles here due to studding out our male, rescues temporarily living here, etc... I can see in their pedigrees the ones that were bred out of hunting lines and they have all seemed to be more vocal. My current pack members are all from pet lines and I think that is helpful in reducing the noise level.

Beagles get along well with many other animals, but imho I think they are happiest with other members that look like themselves. I think another Beagle would be best for you and Bodie.
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It does depend on their personality. Sadie is a natural born hunter. She gets a wiff of a scent in the back yard and will go crazy. She is very verbal. She makes all the yipping, barking, baying sounds while on a scent. Pooh Bear is not as verbal. He will only bay on a scent if it is very fresh and only for a short time. Sadie can stay on a scent in the back yard and yip and carry on and sniff and run for hours.

I personally love having 2. They are each other's best friend. When we go to work, they have each other. They played and wrestled together as young-uns and now they lay together and do things together. We got Sadie and Pooh together as puppies. They are now 9.
I feel your pain. Most of you know that Henry is a beagle/shepherd mix, and that he never howls, bays, or barks. He whines or growls occasionally, but that's it. I could probably count on one hand the number of times he's barked/bayed in the 1.5 years we've had him. I was prepared for him to be vocal with his mix when we adopted him, and to hopefully modify it a bit, but I am so grateful that he's quiet. Long story short, my next door neighbor has a beagle mix (maybe half, maybe less) that is so terribly loud. She bays incessantly when outside. Plus she's scared of a lot of stuff, so most of her baying has that insecure, frantic note to it. And they have a pom that yaps all da*n day. If Bodie is really loud imagine it times two. My experiences with multiple dogs is that they often set each other off. I had two English cockers for years as a child. They rarely vocalized on the hunt when taking direction from my dad and grandpa, but back at the house they barked a lot and always in tandem. So I guess what I'm trying to say is be careful, whatever you decide!
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I agree with everyone else that it depends on the dog. Toby gets Lucky going by taking away his toy (Toby is 8 and the alpha). When I hear Lucky baying I automatically start yelling for Toby to drop what he has because that's 99% likely to be the case!! Toby bays and barks when someone comes to the door, but that doesn't get Lucky going. Come to think of it, I don't know if I have ever heard Lucky baying that Toby didn't instigate it!
I guess it does depend on the dog, but mine will get each other going. If one starts the other will join in immediately.
I posted the other day about baying and it really seems to differ from dog to dog. At 9 months, Regal still hasn't bayed. And many people comment that he's relatively quiet for a beagle. Now as I type this a truck just pulled up to deliver our garage door and the guard beagle is speaking up!

A neighbor of ours has two beagles and I've been concerned that a concert of baying would occur when they're in the yard. They bark back and forth to each other - I haven't heard either of them bay either.

We'll never know our dogs lineage because he's a rescue...I think its a 50/50 chance you take as to whether or not they will bay.
I have to agree with the it depends on the dog not the breed group. My middle guy Buster is the big mouth of the pack. I think he barks just to bark. If there is something legitimate to bark at, Blaze will join in. Boomer rarely barks. And BJ the lab only barks at the front door, and Buster of course joins in.
I think it sometimes depends on the dog, and their current mood. Sometimes one of mine will start barking, and the other will join in. And sometimes the other one won't. One thing is for sure for my situation is that adding a second beagle did not alter the amount of barking in he first. Actually, I think Ruby is more protective of outside movement and noises now than before Bailey came along. But all in all, they are both not heavy barkers - just a little protective sometimes.
both of mine are silent, and were from the beginning. being together hasn't had any change on that.
Murphy was a howler, but not too often. Summer is a barker. if something enters her percieved territory, she barks. Kali will just join in with Summer, otherwise she is quiet.

So it depends on the dog.
Rosa is a barker and a bayer and a howler and a growler, she does the full reportoire and often lol. She never joins in with other dogs at the park, her vocalisations are purely down to her and when she wants to do it rather than being spured on by others.

Sherry is the quietest dog I have ever known. She has barked about 6 times in the 2 years I have had her and has never bayed/howled or growled once. She never joins in with other dogs or bays on a scent.

My first dog Lilly was somewhere inbetween. She was a barker and sometimes bayed but again was not spured on by Rosa.

So I'd say it is all down to the temperament of the dog and not the breed or what your existing dog is like.
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