Arnah

My beagles are pets only, but I like them to smell nice because theyre inside/outside dogs and theyre often inside on our suede couches. Because theyre coarse haired dogs, I find washing them once a month is fine, and I usually do it after I mow the lawn so the cut grass doesnt irritate them. They'll get washed earlier if they roll in something horrid, which they're prone to doing.

I cant give any crating advice, because we tried and failed (sook of a husband snuck into the loungeroom and slept next to the crate with his hand inside!!!!! FAIL!!!!!) but I wanted to tell you how adorable she looks! So soft and squishy!

Awwww - its so cute when they do that isnt it? Charlies goes straight up, Grovers is sort of half-committed Just wait until your beagle does the 'beagle-business' pose- body taut, front paw bent, nose straight out, tail straight up. When Charlie did it the first time I nearly died of cuteness overload

Charlie and I have been training with an obedience trainer reccomended through a member of this forum. It's been tough, but the results are worth it. We started just walking around the front yard through to the back yard - one big circle because taking him beyond our fence was too much and i completely lost his focus - straining the lead the moment we tried to open the fence. Maybe this might help? Get Martha comfortable with the process before taking her out where theres so much to smell and see? Charlies word to look back at me is simply 'look' (and its come in handy for photos!) :-P He is also made to sit and wait patiently before any door/fence/gate is open. What blew my mind was him sitting at the gate of the dog park on saturday when it was full of dogs. He sat there, watching me, waiting for me to let him move, even when I moved my hand to open the gate. Like what 4paws suggested, whenever the lead goes tight (Charlie is a beagle, so I allow a bit of sniffing so long as he stays close and looks up at me occasionally) I change direction and make a clicking noise with my tounge. We walk the other way until he catches up and i turn back around when he behaves. If I stay rigid, he sits beside me and expects a treat - which doesnt teach him to walk beside me, but rewards him for straining the lead (if I treat him when he sits, he strains the lead straight after). I reward now for when he looks at me and walks beside me. I reward after a few steps by holding the treat in front of his nose a little and making him continue to walk without jumping for the treat. If Charlie wants to go to the dog park, he has to walk beside me with no lead tension. It normally takes about 5 minutes before he accepts this (were still working on it!) On the way home, he is flawless. By this point he realises hes not going anywhere unless he does the right thing, and theres less thrill in exploring. The hardest part is being consistent. There were some mornings where we didnt even get beyond our front fence. When we went to the lurcoursing day, I was so much more relaxed about walking him because there were so many adorable beagles he wanted to meet - and I paid for it the next day! Charlies trainer also used a gentle leader - and im buying one to use when he is in a stubborn mood. The lead goes partly around the nose and the neck, so that when they pull, you can gently lead them to look at you. Might be an idea too! Keep perservering - Charlie gets better every time and Im sure Martha will too!

Just thought Id post an update. Tried a completely different tact today based on everyones info. Yesterday I spent some time teaching him to respond to 'here' as WalandLibbys suggestion. He picked it up slowly, but surely. This morning we went for a half an hour walk, and then for a half an hour play in the dog park. I tested him with 'here' (ready with some rewards for responding) and he actually left a patch he was sniffing, to come back and sit in front of me. We came home, and Charlie hung out with my husband / played outside with some toys we'd selected while I went to the hairdressers. When I got back, (I was gone for a while!) I took Charlie for a walk and another play at the park with the Staurday afternoon group (He particularly loves being around Chad, our neighbours Lab - he is SUCH a gentleman doggie!). Practised 'here' a few more times, and he came back almost every time. A setback was he tried humping another dog. Assertively told him no and removed him, but he was pretty excited and so I decided it was time to leave. We were out for about an hour and a half. We came home, and I let him outside to go to the toilet - absolutely NO barking. People walked past, nothing. Perked his head up and watched. No barking. Brought him inside while my sister cookeed dinner, he sat on the floor and went to sleep. Moved him to the mat, fell asleep again. Our kitchen is open plan right next to our living room - the fact he wasn't under her feet trying to get some food was amazing. We brought our food out and ate, and he sat up on the mat a little interested. We had saved some chicken peices to reward him for sitting and not moving off the mat. He moved off the mat a few times, but was told to 'sit' and directed to the mat. After a while (and a few rewards) he stayed and sat while we finished out meals. It was, amazing. After we finished our meals, we praised him and brought out a toy to play with him. He played with it for a few moments, and then went back to the mat to sleep. It was only afterwards we realised our shoes and slippers were on the mat - he didnt even notice! They are intact, and he is peacefully resting. Weve also called a trainer that Libby suggested - and shes agreed to come out and work with him next weekend. We've agreed that my primary concern is his lead walking, as if I can get him walking without pulling, it will make walking with him a fun activity for us both, and will be an easier activity to incorporate to our mornings and afternoons each day, which will correct a lot of his behaviour which is stemming from boredom. We're having him desexed on Wednesday, (We had him booked in for it this week) and hopefully he should be ok for training on Sunday, if not, we can reschedule. Id like to thank everyone for their suggestions. I realise now alot of his behaviour was directly related to my failure to meet his needs. This would have been painfully obvious for all of you, and youve all been really supportive. I know Im going to learn a lot from each of you, and I'm so happy I joined up here. Thanks again!

Oh - tried to find his Kong earlier tonight, cant find it anywhere. Hes buried it! Argh! (Atleast hes filling in a hole hes dug right? grrrr!)

Hi Erin. We're in Logan. (I always feel like I have to put my hands up and say 'dont judge us!' when I tell people that! haha) I honestly think he is bored. We go to the dog park most days when I get home, he has a few friends that he loves to see (namely Chad, our neighbours 7 year old lab) and we spend a lot of time there on weekend afternoons... We take him out with us for outings on weekends, (for short drives, we try to include him in most things we do....) I think its more through the day. My sister and our housemate play with him and bring him in through the day, but I think his barking is his way of getting our attention. I just spoke with the housemate (who just got back from work - he works night shift) and he said Charlie rarely barks through the day, so I think its more when we put him outside for that hourish (or when we let him out to go potty) he wants to be with us. I would get another Beagle in a heartbeat, the way your two interact looks so adorable. I just worry that any issues he has will be amplified with another dog, and getting another dog to solve Charlies problems doesnt seem like the right reason. He can be so naughty and evil, and then so sweet and loving - hes been asleep for the past two hours with his head resting on my leg. I really need to go to the bathroom, but I dont want to move him I just read about a trainer putting dog food in an empty and washed millk container - I might try that tomorrow after 10am Try to find some things to keep him more active / entertained through the day and see what works.

When I did puppy training with Charlie, there was a dog (suitably named) called Devil who humped EVERYTHING. He was 16 weeks old and had been desexed, but because nobody stopped him from doing it the trainer told us he had developed a 'learned behaviour'that would be hard to shake. Ive always been terrified of Charlie humping some poor unsuspecting puppy, dog or person, so Ive never allowed him to do it and have given him a irm no when hes tried. Hes not much of humper, more of a crotch sniffer, but I probably wouldnt let it go. Like you mentioned, on an adult dog it can be really annoying! (Especially if no leg is sacred!) If hes a dedicated Humper, someone with behavioural training should give you a few pointers soon! Good luck!

Thanks for the advice Clyde. Yeah, it didn't make much sense to me either - I thought the point of crates was to give your dog a safe place to retreat to, like bedrooms for children basically - not lock them up. I didn't want to post too much about it, just in case it was what was done and my reservations were stupid, but im glad to see that it IS in act a bad idea. Ive looked at a few dog runs available, and they dont look too limiting. Im going to start the morning and evening walks with charlie and see how that goes for a week or two. Ive also called someone a member reccomended, so hopefully she'll get back to me and i'll see what I can do there. Suffice to say, I dont think ill be back! (To the obedience training that is!)

Paganman - I live in South Brisbane Ive been warned aboutsome companies, so thats for that! Are there any training members from Brissy here? Thanks MalandLibby - When I say its not working, its more that Im entirely uncomfortable with the methods. When Charlie doesnt walk beside me, their suggestion is to pull him harder and more frequently. This doesnt make much sense to me, because most of the time he rebels against being forced into doing something he doesnt want to. And taking him walkies where im tugging at his neck constantly doesn't make it fun or safe for either of us.... Im more concerned that im hurting him rather than teaching him good behaviour. That and im concerned hell associate walking beside me with being pulled painfully to me.... Clicker training sounds brilliant! And the positive interupt would work in a few situations. (Like where he tries to raid the bin... heh) He knows 'bed now' and loves going into his bed, so maybe if I can find a similar mat for the loungeroom that would really work. Thanks again!

Charlie is a Beagle, so a bundle of energy. And yeah, I thought crating him for 8 hours would be cruel. She told me thats what she does with her dog and I thought 'maybe thats the way to do things....' Thought here was the place to check! Ive taken him for an early morning walk, and he seems to enjoy it, I should try and do that every morning I guess, would be good for both of us. He seems to have buried most of his toys.... So i'll take your advice there... Ive thought about having a professional in, purely to correct any behaviour we're contributing to his, but I was wondering if anyone here would reccomend any company in particular? Thanks for your advice Paganman!

Hello! Ive loved reading about everyones dogs in the short time Ive been here, and have been having some problems with charlie. I'm doing my best to resolve them, but my husband is getting realy aggitated by a few things hes doing, and so far obedience training isn't working as quickly as we'd like. (I know it takes time, and im taking him to training once a week, and practicing for 20 minutes a day - a little longer if he remains focused) 1) My husband and I both work full time, (Im off sick with Bronchitis this week) but my husbands friend (who lives with us) and my sister (theyre dating - she practically lives here!) are part time workers/students, and they keep him occupied during most of the day.... However, he is destroying our yard and is barking constantly when we get home. 2) When I come home, (about 5pm) I take him for a walk and to the dog park for an hour and a bit, and then leave him outside while I cook. After we've eaten, we feed him, and then bring him in about 7.30pm. He has soooooo many toys outisde and inside (interactive ones like Kongs that we stuff with vegies and dog bikkies) but he seems to be having separation anxiety issues. I spoke to the trainer we have at our obedience class, and she suggested crate training through the day. Im wondering, whether its far too late to crate train him now that hes 9 months old? Does it work? Would anyone here reccomend it? Im worried that crating him for 8 hours would have him crazy bored when we get home? My husband has suggested getting another dog to keep him company, but to me thats the wrong reason to get another, and i'm concerned it would be double the trouble! 3) We're slowly working on his lead issues (Whenever I try to clip it to his collar, he grabs it and walks away tugging it - like hes taking himself for a walk) and when i hold it he races off. We have a choker lead for obedience training, and ive been told to sort of tug him back towards me (holding the leash through my right hand, and using my left hand to pull him towards me) but when I go for a long walk, he kind of chokes himself straining to get away and im not comfortable using it for an hour when it clearly hurts him so much.... We have a halter, but he races off and theres no way to make him heel beside me.... Have any of you had any success training your dogs to heel when they refuse to? 4) And finally, when he does interct with other dogs, he sniffs their uh, regions constantly. It's a bit beyond 'Oh, youre a boy too thats nice!'. He sniffed a rotty for 15 minutes last week before the rotty growled at him! Does anyone else have this problem? Thanks for your help!