Picture this: you’re browsing the dog park, and there’s this adorable Beagle with those soulful eyes and floppy ears. They seem perfect – compact, friendly, and oh-so-lovable. But hold that leash for just a moment. While Beagles can indeed make wonderful companions, they come with a unique set of challenges that can turn the honeymoon phase into a real wake-up call. If you’re a first-time dog owner dreaming of that picture-perfect pet experience, you might want to sit down for this one.
They’re Basically Four-Legged Escape Artists
Beagles are inquisitive and fun loving dogs that will happily take themselves off for a wander if they are bored. Your new Beagle puppy doesn’t just walk through doors – they orchestrate elaborate breakout plans that would make Houdini jealous. Their powerful nose leads them on adventures that don’t include you in the planning committee.
Thanks to their strong sense of smell, beagles are prone to wandering off if they catch a scent that interests them. This means you’ll need to have a secure yard or keep them on a leash when outside. Even experienced dog owners struggle with this, so imagine the panic when your first furry friend vanishes into thin air chasing a particularly interesting smell.
Their Barking Could Win a Volume Contest
Beagles can be quite vocal, thanks to their hunting instincts and sharp sense of smell. Their barks or howls can be set off by exciting scents, new noises, anxiety, or just plain boredom. It’s all part of being a beagle. In situations like apartment living, your beagle’s daytime serenades might not be music to your neighbors’ ears.
When you’re already stressed about being a new dog owner, the last thing you need is your neighbor’s passive-aggressive notes about your “lovely singing dog.” Beagles are vocal dogs, known for their distinctive baying and howling. This trait can be challenging in an apartment setting where noise can be an issue for neighbors. Training and keeping them engaged can help minimize excessive barking and howling, but potential owners should be aware of this characteristic.
Training Them is Like Herding Cats
First-time beagle owners usually find it challenging to train their energetic dogs. The training process for beagles takes patience and commitment. Their stubborn streak runs deeper than the Grand Canyon. Just when you think you’ve mastered the “sit” command, they’ll look at you like you’re speaking ancient Greek.
Beagles can be difficult to train, especially for first-time dog owners. They are known for being stubborn and independent, which can make training a challenge. However, with patience and consistency, they can learn basic obedience commands. As a first-time owner, you might find yourself questioning your sanity more than your training methods.
They Have Zero Impulse Control Around Food
Beagles are obsessed with various food scents, and their historical background as hunting dogs has instilled in them an opportunistic approach to food. These traits combined with their expressive eyes and endearing demeanor make them expert beggars. Often, well-meaning owners unknowingly encourage this behavior by yielding to their beagle’s pleading looks and giving them table scraps or treats.
Your kitchen becomes a battlefield where every meal prep session feels like a negotiation with a tiny, furry terrorist. Beagles are notorious for eating absolutely anything, and will put anything in their mouths – at least once! A great tip is to secure their dog food in a good quality, airtight food container (like this Vault) which is then kept behind closed doors in a cabinet. First-time owners often underestimate just how creative these food bandits can be.
House Training Feels Like an Eternal Battle
Your Beagle might be at the top dog at alone training, but this most likely won’t be the case with potty training. Practically everything you read about Beagles will tell you that potty training your Beagle puppy can be a challenge, sad but true. While other breeds might catch on after a few weeks, your Beagle seems to think your carpet is their personal bathroom.
A Beagle puppy on the loose inside the house will pee and poo in every corner of that house and most likely on the carpet, on your shoes, behind the sofa, under the kitchen table, well, you get the picture. So, until your Beagle is 100% fully trained, you will want to contain the messes during all times that you cannot keep a very close eye on your pup.
Their Noses Lead Them Into Trouble
Beagles are born to track and hunt scents. Since this dog breed has a keen sense of smell, they are naturally curious. Training them becomes more challenging because of this curiosity to smell different scents around them. Their nose essentially hijacks their brain, making every walk feel like you’re being dragged by a furry bloodhound on a mission.
Led by their powerful nose, Beagles will unzip backpacks to steal lunches and counter-surf for snacks. Their sense of smell keeps their nose to the ground, and they will follow it to anything that smells curious to them. First-time owners quickly discover that their Beagle’s nose has zero respect for personal property or social etiquette.
They Turn Into Teenage Rebels
Not all dogs go through the Terrible Twos, but you’re almost guaranteed to have a challenging time if you own a beagle during this phase. Beagles instinctively want to test their boundaries and figure out who’s boss, and the Terrible Tw Just like human teenagers, they’ll push every button you have and then some.
The most prevalent issue are Beagles that look mature, but don’t act it. In other words, they are getting close to their adult size or are already there, but are behaving like young pups. Another common thread are fully adult Beagles having trouble containing and properly expressing their inner drive to be active, acting overly hyper at times deemed inappropriate. Your “adult” dog still acts like they’re perpetually caffeinated.
Separation Anxiety Hits Hard
Another reason beagles are considered one of the most troublesome dogs is their separation anxiety. Add separation anxiety to the mix; it sometimes feels like you can never leave your house again. Beagles are pack dogs. They enjoy the company of others, whether it’s other dogs at home or their favorite humans.
Beagles are family-oriented and love nothing more than getting stuck in at home. When left alone, Beagles can become distressed and bored which means they tend to bark a lot and may even chew things they shouldn’t. We wouldn’t recommend leaving your Beagle alone if you can avoid it. If leaving them is unavoidable, we would never recommend leaving your dog alone for more than four hours but even this may be too long for your Beagle. New owners often feel trapped by their dog’s emotional neediness.
They Have Disgusting Eating Habits
Beagles are particularly prone to exhibiting coprophagia – the act of eating feces (poop). Various causes may drive this behavior including boredom, nutritional deficiencies, environmental tidying instincts, or just the taste. Sometimes it’s learned from their mother, who cleans the den by consuming her puppies’ feces.
Eating feces can cause dental issues and bad breath due to bacteria. After ruling out health issues with a vet, cleaning up after your dog’s poop and using positive reinforcement to end the behavior can help. Nothing quite prepares first-time owners for the horror of watching their beloved pet treat the yard like a buffet of unmentionables.
Their Energy Levels Are Absolutely Relentless
Beagles are little energy balls! They need plenty of exercise to burn off their seemingly endless enthusiasm. Think you can tire them out with a quick walk around the block? Think again. These dogs were bred to hunt all day, and they haven’t forgotten their job description.
Puppy 4 months to 12 months: Very hyper. This is the stage where you will see the most hyper behavior; though, without proper methods to vent, even adults can be this way. Beagles that are not given ways to release pent up energy can become very frustrated and even frenzied. Beagles are an active breed, which means they need regular exercise. Without it, they may turn to destructive behaviors out of boredom. New owners often underestimate the commitment required to keep these energetic pups happy.
Conclusion
Look, I’m not trying to crush anyone’s dreams here. Beagles can be absolutely wonderful dogs – loyal, loving, and full of personality. But they’re definitely not the “easy starter dog” that some people think they are. While Beagles can make good family pets, they present training challenges that require patience and consistency, but every dog is different.
If you’re a first-time owner who’s willing to embrace the chaos, invest serious time in training, and accept that your Beagle will probably outsmart you more often than you’d like to admit, then go for it. Just remember that those adorable floppy ears come with a whole lot of attitude attached. Did you expect that these sweet-faced hounds could be such little troublemakers?
