[Closed] Who had a Beagle?

Eddie the Eagle?

Most working breeds of dog are going to need at least a couple of hours exercise and 'long play' (not just being kicked in the garden to mooch round) a day to stay fit and mentally healthy.

Walking in a decent sized park isn't  a problem, tbh there's often more accesable play space in suburban areas than in the countryside - walkign the same 3 mile footpath loop twice a day for 10+ years will do your head in (particularly if the dog needs to be on a lead due to livestock).

Darwin had a beagle, sort of.

I've not had one before, but a neighbor of ours did a few years ago. Really lovely dog but it certainly did love a walk. Something else to bear in mind is their one certainly enjoyed a howl. Didn't bark much and the noise it made never bothered us but I do think as a breed they are somewhat "talkative". He was a lovely little guy mind you

Might be worth bearing in mind

A what?

The are very food driven as well. It helps with training to a certain extent but you will never eat a bacon sandwich alone again! Any food left on kitchen worktops will vanish and kitchen bins become redundant because they will just turf it all out to get at a discarded fragment of chicken wing.

The are very food driven as well.

Bit of an understatement! A Beagle will make a Lab seem like Posh Spice.

We've got a working cocker who's a complete bundle of energy (and pretty food motivated too). But we live in the city centre so she doesn't get hours of walking each day (two lots of 30 mins on an average week day probably). My wife compensates for this by making sure she gets lots of mental stimulation; so playing with toys, using frozen kongs, training tricks, and agility training once a week, alongside longer walks at the weekend seems to keep our pup fully occupied. So I definitely don't think you should rule it out just because you're not on a country estate.

Plus beagles are adorable!

We had a basset hound (well, a few) which i'm reliably informed are much the same in the brain tank.

Ace dogs but really don't like being left alone. Other than that, top dogs, ours were all easy to train and just loved chilling by your feet after a day in the fields.

Had one for 16 years when I was growing up.

Escape artist & liked to bugger off on her own in walks, sometimes for hours at a time.

Would eat anything & roll in most of it too, even if she’d already eaten it & thrown it back up.

Selective deafness when she decided she didn’t really want to come to heel.

Loved a cuddle, really loyal and gentle.

She got at least 2 hours of exercise a day ok s she lived in a kennel in the back garden, allowed to roam free in it  until she worked out that if she jumped on the kennel roof she could then get over the 6’ fence and roam the whole village.

I loved her dearly and was distraught when she passed away in her sleep at 16yrs old but I’d never have another. Far too much work (& I’ve got a Springer x Lab and a Pomeranian!)

I'd love a Beagle.

Perhaps when I retire and have more time for walks. Do they make good trail dogs?

Some friends have one and it's unbelievable how food driven it is. It's recently recovering from a £4k operation on a broken leg following trying to jump on the dinner table during the middle of their Sunday dinner. This hasn't formed any kind of learning experience for it.

A friend of mine had one which was capable of wrecking any room it was left in. One evening it overturned the dining table and threw the chairs around.

Do they make good trail dogs?

I would say no, they can and will run for hours but they will stop dead if there is anything that they think is edible on the side of the trail (or any fox poo to roll in)

No direct experience of Beagles but many of the ones I encounter while walking my own dog seem to be permanently lead walked due to their predilection for running after things and not coming back or at least not coming back very quickly.

Charles Darwin ooh damn you jonnyboi.

I'd highly recommend not.

My misses has one and he's very demanding.

Eats a lot of dog shit
Completely food orientated
Likes a whine
Pretty much has to live on a lead

He will sleep all day next to me if im working at home but there are too many traits of his I dislike.

My misses runs marathons and is very active and takes him out at least 3 times a day and he gets dog walkers 3x a week as well as her walks or runs with him.

I think they are a crap pet as with any hound it's the wrong environment.

I have a spaniel with my ex and I think she's amazing apart from the white hair that sheds.. much nicer personality of breed for me.

I have a Spaniel cross Beagle, awesome dog, loving gentle, well trained, but still has most of the faults mentioned above...

I call her my Spangle, for those old enough...

I had a beagle growing up. She was a lovely dog, but a complete heller. She hated travelling in the car & if we were taking her any where it was a fight to get her in. Although when she was in she'd get in the backseat foot well & wedge herself in behind the driver's seat.

She hated the vets - she snapped at him & it took several people to hold her down.

She loved food, she ate an entire loaf of bread once, my mum's housekeeping (I learnt that day why you should wash your hands after handling money.)
She ruined my parents lounge carpet by digging. She'd often go out for a walk in the morning with my dad. She'd see a fisherman then she'd run off & come home alone. This was before mobile phones so we couldn't get in touch with my dad who would be trying to locate her.

She once got into my pet rabbit's outside run, & couldn't decide if it was food or a toy, so just licked it a lot. She was stubborn, wouldn't do anything she didn't want to do.

She was protective & loyal tho & I loved her to bits.

I cried my eyes out when I found out she'd passed away a week before I came home from Uni.

Yep, spaniel cross beagle here too.  All the bonkers tendencies of both, the daftest dog we've ever had but still as brilliant as only dogs can be.

We've had bassett hounds for 25 years+ and even as experienced hound owners doubt we'd have a beagle, as they have all the 'hound' traits and are reknown for being destructive. They are social dogs too, so you can't leave them home alone, they'll howl the place down, get pretty stressed plus all the unwanted behaviours. They really need another dog or human for company - even at 11years, our hound still gets over an hour of walks a day.

That's changed my mind then. I'll stick with cats for the time being. I don't know how Charlie Brown puts up with it all ...

i have a 75% beagle , 25 % spaniel ;

he is properly mental , very very very food obsessed ; he will trash the bin to get to food .

i walk him 20 minutes in the morning , but he can roam free in a very big garden all day .

he is just like a toddler .

No-one else has said it...

They stink of fags, are constantly smoking and don't run much (probably due to the ruined lungs from all the smokes)...

My mate has one and its feet absolutely stink of cheese wotsits. Lovely dog, daft as a brush, but the smell would put me off having one.

We've rescued a beagle/terrier cross and a pointer/lab cross together last year. Both at about 1 year old and we've had them nearly a year. They love a bit of mischief and are huge bundles of energy, but immensely loving and fun. We've had to toddler proof our house again. Being a pair, they help amuse themselves a lot when alone, but need new batches of toys every couple of weeks to keep their interest. They dig, and have trashed the garden. Need at least 2 walks a day of a couple of miles, despite a dogflap to a decent garden. When she gets ascent of squirrel in the woods, it can be an hour to get her back, but training has mostly fixed this. Great dog.

Abbi

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Poppy

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Sodding new improved forum, names of dogs reversed above, this is Abbi.

I buried my beautiful Willow earlier today. A beagle collie cross who was the best and worst of both. Right now I'm sat in the garden, on a bench under the tree she just had to sniff every morning, foxes probably. At peace now, she spent her eleven and a half years as a proper trail hound, running just behind and to the right of my back wheel. TBH I am in pieces.

She would follow her nose, often disappearing overnight if we didn't manage to notice in time. I'd find her in the morning in the shed, snuggled into the decorating dust sheets.

Her dad was a collie but was daft as a brush. No social skills at all. Willow was the polar opposite, really clever. We had to be so careful to lift the door handles to stop her from wandering.

She loved her daily walks and roaming around in our garden bordering the woods. The moment she saw me with bike kit on she got mental. Multi day bothy trips, leisure rides, whatever.

Her favourite was Brechfa, especially the blue/black combination. We would order our food on the way out from The Shed (and from Ian beforehand) and sit amiably chatting and chomping on the way back.

The last ride together was Cwmyrhaeadr, a few weeks ago.

As a pup it was a very frustrating time. Sheep are very common around here and proved a challenge  It was a while before I could ride with her off the lead past the fluffy buggers. Squirrels were always a challenge, she'd shoot after them if I let her, the trick was to be constantly aware of her and make certain that she was interested and engaged.

And now she lies beneath the ground, overlooking the Beacons, where she loved to run.

Would I have another like her ? Yes, oh yes.

Thanks for the replies everyone. We made a decision yesterday and we fell in love with a black puppy cocker spaniel and we went back and got him! Absolutely gorgeous. His first night in his new home last night and he appeared to have slept straight through! Love him to bits already!

Like Alexx above. Had one once, never, ever again. They like to hunt, eat and eat the house contents. Should not be an only dog under any circumstances.

*Goes for a stiff drink*

Family friends had one. You may find that because they’re pack dogs they can be noisy, not happy on their own and definitely not bred for intelligence. Would be near the bottom of my ‘what dog’ list.

Just seen you went for a cocker. Much better choice!

I’m quite well behaved ta.

OP, pics of the wee beastie. You know the rules, dog threads have to have a picture essay of the new household member.

So sorry to read that Ambrose, a very moving tribute to an obviously adored friend.

I have a spaniel with my ex and I think she’s amazing apart from the white hair that sheds..

The spaniel or your ex?