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Is the Beagle Right for us?

6852 Views 43 Replies 26 Participants Last post by  Pop_Rivit
Hi everyone, I understand that this is a forum for current beagle owners, and I hope to soon be one. I thought I could get some good advice from you on whether my fiance and I should get a beagle or not. We've been doing research and talking to breeders for 4-6 months now, but we're still not sure if our situation is right for us and the dog. We both think beagles are adorable and would love to have a fun, cuddly family pet, but we keep hearing horror stories that make us think twice. We know several people that have beagles, and they have mixed reviews. Here is a quick breakdown of where we're at:

We live in Boston. Our neighborhood is extremely dog friendly. We live next to several parks, and specifically a fenced in dog park that is usually quite crowded. We are both active young adults (late 20's/early 30's) that like to be outside and get exercise. I work full time during the day, but only about a 10 min drive from home. My fiance is in med school, so she has long but odd hours. Sometimes she leaves later in the morning, sometimes comes home early, but basically I assume that she is out of the house for most of the day, and sometimes until 8 pm or so. We do not have any children, but hope to in the next 5 years or so. We own our condo, and it is about 850 sq ft with a private, fenced in back patio that is probably 15-15 in size. The fence goes right to the ground (which is concrete around the edges) so there's no way a dog is digging under it.

We're thinking of getting a male tri-color puppy. I plan to come home at lunch everyday for at least month or two to let the dog out, and we're committed to going to puppy school, working with the dog at night, etc. I'm worried that leaving a puppy alone for 3-4 hours for the first 6 months will make it lonely and cause it to act out (ie bark a lot while we are gone, etc). We could potentially get a dog walker for the first few months to come let him out every 2-3 hours. Also, we've recently heard that beagles have a problem with seizures. A person we spoke to in our dog park mentioned their beagle has seizures every 3-4 months. Is that a common occurrence?

So, that's where we are at. We're trying to make the right decision for us and the dog. Any advice would be much appreciated!!! Thank you.
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I wish I could give you more answers but I know very little about puppies except that like small children, I suspect they require lots more attention. All my dogs have been adult rescues and as for the beagle breed I can address some of the specifics.

Beagles were bred to be independent thinkers and hunters and work as a team with other in their pack. If you adopt a beagle, you become their pack so they tend to be very affectionate, cuddle critters and by nature are friendly with anything that doesn’t act like prey. They are not like herd dogs who were bred to take commands, the most you can hope for is that they will favorably evaluate your requests but beware; a good scent may trumps the best treat so 100% recall is not a given and few if any beagle owners allow their beagles off-lead in unconfined areas.

I can’t direct address problems like seizures, I am unaware of a profound problem within the breed but there are a lot of beagles and some have problems, perhaps someone on here can help you. I can say that beagles tend to live longer than most canines and all dogs, like all God’s creatures are subject to the same diseases and problems that plaque us humans.

I rescued my beagle eleven and a half years ago when he was between three and five years old, neutered him, had a chip installed, and went off to obedience school. He is still my best friend and buddy, healthy and happy in his senior years. If you decide on a beagle consider this, adopting a beagle is probably a long term commitment.
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