ABR E35

Updates of what's happening at Alaska Beagle Ranch. The 10 Most Common Beagle Behavior Problems and How to Fix Them.

Transcript

Alaska Beagle Ranch

Episode 35

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the Alaska Beagle Ranch. I’m Dave Dorsey and I manage the ranch located near Wasilla, Alaska. There are presently 19 beagles and 1 basset at the ranch right now. One beagle is with one of our fosters. We do have 1 beagle mix up for adoption. Listen for more information later in this podcast. Alaska Beagle Ranch is the only rescue in Alaska dedicated to beagles only.

Thank you to all our listeners. This week we welcome new international listeners from France and the Philippines. In the US, we have new listeners from Catonsville, Maryland and Staten Island, New York. Of course, our largest listener groups are here in Alaska. Welcome and I hope you like what we have for you here. We do appreciate your support. The Alaska Beagle Ranch has over 1250 downloads since we started doing our podcast last November. We are available wherever you listen to your podcasts at.

Alaska Beagle Ranch is the number 1 beagle podcast on PlayerFM.

While I’m talking about it, will you take a moment and write us a review. Tell us what you think, how we are doing and maybe what you would like to hear more about. Help us get the word out about the Alaska Beagle Ranch.

You also can help support our podcast by donating on PayPal @Beagle Ranch 907.

Today’s podcast is dedicated to Sammy. A sweet beagle mix looking for its furever home.

Does your beagle ignore you? Is it a digger? Does it have separation anxiety?

These are common problems in beagles. Well, here’s 10 Common Beagle Behavior Problems and How to Fix Them by Raaj Mehta of beaglecare.com

1.  Barking – Whining – Baying – Howling

Beagles are vocally expressive. They like to express their feelings out loud. You may have already heard them making different types of noises like barking, whining, baying, and howling.

Barking is normal. They like to bark just like people like to talk. But sometimes loud and excessive barking can become a little irritating for us.

Most owners unknowingly instigate their beagles to bark louder. When you scream at your beagle to stop barking, your pooch gets more excited and sees it as a competition. Seeing you shout, he may try to bark louder than you.

Beagles also bark to gain their owner’s attention. They are very clever at picking up small things. If they notice that barking gets your attention, they will bark more often.

How to Fix it

The best way to deal with barking is by not reacting to it. When your beagle barks or whines or howls, do not respond, do not even look at him, keep doing what you were.

And once he stops barking for more than two minutes, give him a treat. By this, you are promoting the good behavior of your beagle without encouraging his barking.

2. Chewing around the house

Beagles like chewing. It makes them happy and satisfied. While it’s okay to chew on toys, what’s not okay is to chew on furniture and other household things.

This problem is more common than you think. When I got Groot, my younger beagle, he was a zombie. He used to chew everything that could fit in his mouth. Furniture in my house still has all the scratches and teeth marks.

How to Fix it

The best way to stop unwanted chewing is to confine your beagle to his chew toys only. Please do not give him a chance to chew anything else.

Do not allow him to roam freely in your house. Instead, keep him in a room or in his crate with his chew toys.

You can beagle proof a room by removing all the unnecessary things that your pooch can chew.

You can also put him in his crate with some of his chew toys. But make sure your beagle has been crate trained properly.

3. Ignoring Commands

Beagles are very smart and cunning dogs. They will stop following your commands If they realize they don’t benefit much from following your orders.

Let’s say if you stop giving them treats for a while for following your commands, they will start ignoring you.

Something similar happened to my neighbor. Her two-year-old beagle would listen to her only when she had a treat in her hands. And he would ignore all her commands when she had nothing in her hands.

How to Fix it

Your beagle needs some positive reinforcement to follow your commands. First, start giving him treats every time he follows your command. Gradually decrease the frequency at which you give the treats.

For instance, start with giving your beagle treats for every time he follows the command, then lower down the frequency to treating him for every 2nd time he follows the commands. And then after every three times and so on.

4. Pulling on the leash

Beagles have curious minds. You can say they are dogs with Hashtag Wonder Lust. Due to this, pulling on their leash is a common behavior problem among beagles.

When they are out in the open, beagles are more interested in finding out the source of a scent than sticking beside their owners.

How to Fix it

Allowing your beagle to pull will motivate him more. Whenever he pulls on the leash, stop right there. He needs to understand that pulling will not get him what he wants.

Once he stops pulling and comes back to you, give him a treat, and continue walking. Soon he will understand that pulling gets him nowhere and stops doing it.

5. Biting

It is normal for young puppies to bite. They don’t know how to interact with humans. It is your duty to teach them the correct way to communicate with you.

However, biting habits can continue to adulthood if you fail to teach them the correct way of interacting when they are young.

Soft play-biting is fine, but if it causes any type of pain, then you must do something about it.

How to Fix it

Redirect your dog’s behavior to a toy whenever he starts biting.

When he bites, make a low pitch, loud noise until he stops and then ignore him for some time. This will help your beagle to understand that biting hurts, and it will end all the fun of him.

6. Jumping

Jumping on people is not something you should promote. Beagles can jump for many reasons. They jump when they are excited, they jump to greet people. They jump when they want something that you are holding.

While jumping on you may seem cute, but it can be dangerous for you as well as your beagle.

How to Fix it

Whenever your beagle jumps on you, turn away. Do not motivate his behavior by greeting him back.

If your beagle jumps to grab things from your hands, or when you have his food, then give him the ‘sit’ command before he jumps. If he doesn’t sit, then wait and do nothing until he sits.

If he jumps on strangers and guests, then show him a treat and make him sit before you open the door.

In this way, you are correcting the unnecessary jumping of your pooch.

But this doesn’t mean that you should never allow your beagle to jump. You can teach your beagle to jump on your command.

7. Digging

Not just beagles, but all dogs love to dig, and there’s a reason behind that. Back in the past, when dogs used to live in the wild, they used to dig a hole and sleep in it. It makes them feel more secure.

Even after being domesticated now, dogs still have this hiding of digging. It satisfies their natural instinct. 

How to Fix it

Digging is perfectly fine, and you don’t need to correct this behavior. However, if your beagle has been ruining your backyard garden by digging up holes, then there is something you can do.
 
 

Provide an area in your backyard to your beagle where he can burrow as much as he wants. Designate an area where he is allowed to dig and hide his favorite toy there. He will surely love this game.

And whenever he tries to dig in the garden area, distract him, redirect him to his designated area. Soon enough, he will figure it out where he is allowed to dig and where he is not.

8. Begging

Beagles make a squishy noise when they want something. That’s begging. Once it starts, it never ends.

While begging, their eyes suddenly become very soulful and sound as if they are crying. If your beagle learns that he gets what he wants when he begs, then he will do it all the time.

How to Fix it

The only way to fix this is by not fulfilling your beagle’s wish. Suppose when you have your dinner and your pooch starts begging to taste some Pasta, do not give him that. Let him beg, but do not give him what he wants.

9. Aggressive Behavior

Beagles are a breed of friendly dogs, and they rarely show any type of aggression. People often misunderstand common puppy behavior as aggression. 

How to Fix it

If you think your beagle is aggressive, the best way to deal with it is by consulting a professional dog trainer or dog behaviorist.

10. Separation Anxiety

Beagles are social and friendly dogs. While this is an excellent quality, it also makes them prone to separation anxiety.

Beagles like to be around people, but when left alone, they can become anxious. Separation anxiety can lead to destructive behavior like chewing and excessive barking.

If your beagle starts barking every time you leave him alone in the room, then he is going through separation anxiety.

How to Fix it

Before leaving your beagle alone, give him some tasks to do like a Kong. KONG is a must-have toy if your dog is going through separation anxiety.

Kongs are interactive toys that you can fill with dog food and let your beagle struggle to eat it.

Before leaving your house, offer him Kong filled with dog food and let him get busy getting his food out of it.

Conclusion

Every behavior problem of your beagle is fixable. You just need enough time and patience. However, if you are unable to solve any of these issues, there is no shame in asking for help from a professional dog trainer.

Beagle Spotlight: Sammy, a beagle mix, came to Alaska Beagle Ranch last week. Her humans loved her so much that they reached out to ABR hoping to find her a furever loving home. They’re having medical issues themselves and could barely take care of Sammy’s basic needs. 

Sammy’s recent humans had got her from a woman rehoming her. They had got him about 2 1/2 years ago. They believed it was the son’s dog and when he left, she became moms’ dog.

Sammy got to see ABR’s vet last week and checked out perfectly. Her shots are up to date, and she got chipped. Sammy is going to be someone’s perfect dog. She is sweet and gentle. She needs some basic training and pulls on the lead. She’s a good lap dog but is a bit of a bed hog. For more information, go to our Facebook page of Alaska Beagle Ranch for more information and pictures.

Shoutout! Shout out to the Matsu Borough Animal Control. Animal Control Officers came out to the Alaska Beagle Ranch this past Friday to do a kennel license inspection. Though I was nervous, they came in without attitude. You can tell that their main objective is that the pups are being properly cared for and we meet borough standards. We do care for our pups well and we do meet those standards. Thanks officers. I’m glad we got you out there making sure everyone is keeping our animals safe and well.

Hey, do you know what I’m thinking of? Will you take a moment and write us a review. Tell us what you think, how we are doing and maybe what you would like to hear more about. Help us get the word out about the Alaska Beagle Ranch.

You can also help support our podcast by donating on PayPal @Beagle Ranch 907.

Remember, your next forever pooch can be at your local shelter or rescue. 

Adopting an animal from a shelter or rescue organization not only saves that one animal’s life, but it also saves the life of another animal who can now take the empty spot you’ve opened. Also, most of the people you’ll see working at the shelter are volunteers. And the ones at the rescue, chances are they all are volunteers.

The Alaska Beagle Ranch is a nonprofit and we depend on donations to help us with our mission. What is our mission? Our mission and our goal are for every beagle, especially in Alaska, has a happy home. For our beagles to be happy, they need to be healthy. We only adopt healthy beagles, so we need your help in paying medical bills to get or keep them healthy so they can find their forever home. Beagles that can’t be adopted become resident beagles at ABR. Their medical, food and upkeep can be costly. We know that the economy isn’t as good as we would like it to be. Just a few dollars add up and goes a long, long way. Go to our Facebook page of Alaska Beagle Ranch and you can find out how you can donate through PayPal or Amazon.

Thank you for listening to the Alaska Beagle Ranch. If you know someone who is looking to get a beagle, please share our podcast with them. All the episodes will tell you what you need to know about beagles. If you have any questions about beagles and if they are right for you, email me at akbeagleranch@gmail.com or call us at 907-202-4226.

You can follow us on Facebook at Alaska Beagle Ranch or on Twitter at @beagle_ranch. If you would like to support the Alaska Beagle Ranch, there are links on how to on our Facebook page. Our show notes can be found at alaskabeagleranch.buzzsprout.com.

Be sure to like, subscribe and maybe give some feedback. See you next week at the Alaska Beagle Ranch.