[allymcbeagle]

She's adorable. You've taken the place of Mom and she's still a baby.

SInce she's accustomed to her crate, leaving her there for little periods of time starting out and rewarding her for not making a lot of noise. (The other option is to let her come with you when you go to another room unless you can't keep an eye on her, then crate is a safer bet).

 

[allymcbeagle]

Well I have an older cat you see and I’m talking about simple things like going to the toilet or grabbing something from upstairs. I would rather not have the dog upstairs you see. So is it viable to crate her for like 5 minutes at a time?

I understand not wanting a dog in certain places for whatever reasons. In the original post you mentioned she goes "nuts". Can you describe the behavior she exhibits (that is, barking, jumping, scratching at things, crying, etc)? You also mention she is fine in her crate. When she is in her crate does she get upset (barking, scratching to get out, whinning etc)? And how long is she normally in her crate when you put her in? Going "nuts" sounds like separation anxiety (afraid you leaving when you out of her sight and not coming back) and best to condition her not to get anxious rather that a quick solve of 5 min in a crate.

If she is fine in her crate for any amount of time and doesn't get upset, then it's fine to crate her for 5 min or however long. If she acts up in her crate, it can worsen her behavior and you need to get her used to short times in the crate. Typical crate training starts with putting a dog in a crate while you are present, rewarding for good behavior, and letting her out. Little by little you leave her longer and then start leaving the room and coming back so she sees you didn't abandon her; plus, you are conditioning her to not associate the crate with bad things (like leaving her forever - she knows she has to be patient until you come back). Some people go directly to crate at night without the conditioning of a little bit at a time and so if it's not bedtime (she may associate dark with bedtime and crate so in daylight hours may act diferently), it confuses the dog.

 

[allymcbeagle]

He's adorable and overweight. But those eyes are gorgeous! If he's a 15" (taller) beagle (measure from ground to shoulder), he shouldn't weigh more than 30-35 pounds. If he's shorter, even less, under 30. Ally gained up to 26 lbs and vet said her ideal weight was 23, so we had to cut out "table treats" - while cooking dinner, my husband gave her a taste of everything, she especially loved fruit (full of calories). Store bought treats are loaded with carbs/calories. My vet said to subtract out treats from the daily food allotment. Of course, that isn't healthy so best to cut back and be prepared for the "you are starving me" look. He also advised cutting her food in half and feeding her 2 times a day (or in thirds and 3 times a day).

Agree with everything Cassie's Mom said (I seem to always say this, lol). Try positive training (not punishment) with the peeing. Clean up using an enzyme cleaner that will also take away the smell (or look on internet and you may have something around the house you can mix up). Beagles have 225 million scent receptors (compared to our measly 5 million) and you don't want him to get used to using the area as a toilet.

Don't give him attention when he is howling. Just say no and walk away. Ally started do to screech a very high pitch scream out of no where one day. At first I thought it was cute so I was petting her then I found I was enabling the behavior. I told her to sit and walked away. For a while she just followed me with the screaming and trying to jump on me. I gently pushed her down and said sit. If she sat quietly, she got a tiny treat just to reinforce she was doing the right thing. It took months, so be in it for the long haul. We got to the state where when I came in, she would sit - then I would acknowledge and love on her. If it doesn't work, there's the bark collar Cassie's Mom mentions (I haven't used one but she's an expert).