General Beagle Training Advice

Beagles are very energetic dogs. They love to run around and play and if you don’t train your beagle properly, you will that it get set in its ways and will be harder to train later on. Between the ages of three months and six months is the best time to being training your Beagle. However, training beagles are not always the easiest task.

There are two reasons why training Beagles can be hard:

  • Beagles can be independent to the point of stubbornness.
  • Beagles have great noses — they can be distracted by scents and ignore your commands.

That doesn’t mean that Beagles can’t be trained. Far from it. If you are consistent with your training and find good ways to motivate your dog then Beagles can excel in many kinds of training. Beagles are very intelligent.

Training Classes or Training at Home?
Can you train a Beagle better in a class setting or at home? You may be wondering which approach would work better for your Beagle. It may depend on the kind of class and on your dog’s age.

If you have a beagle puppy then puppy kindergarten classes or puppy preschool are an excellent way of getting your puppy out and socializing him. The whole purpose of these classes is to introduce your puppy to other puppies and people. Socialization is one of the most important things a dog learns. It helps him fully adapt and adjust to living in the human world. He learns the manners he needs for interacting with non-threatening strangers. He learns to be a pleasant, friendly dog and to act without fear. These classes help to build your dog’s confidence.

Beagle Dog well trainedBeagles puppies usually have a wonderful time in these classes. Beagles were bred to live in packs for so many centuries that they enjoy being “part of the gang” in a class setting and get along very well with groups of other puppies. Classes such as these are highly recommended. You can often find out information about puppy preschool and puppy kindergarten classes at your veterinarian’s office, pet supply stores, pet shops, animal shelters, kennel clubs and training centers.

When it comes to more serious beagle training classes, you may wish to continue training your Beagle in a class setting. Beagles can do well learning obedience in classes. Small classes are usually better than large ones and training situations with fewer distractions are recommended. If you have a choice between long classes and short ones, the shorter classes are are better for most dogs. A dog’s attention span usually begins to wander after a short while. Several shorter beagle training classes are better than one long one.

Beagle Training at Home
You can also train your Beagle quite well at home yourself. Like other dogs, Beagles respond to positive reinforcement very well. Consistency is very important but so is getting and keeping your dog’s attention and making training fun for your dog.

Beagles usually respond very well to food rewards. You can also use a favorite toy or playtime as a reward when training your dog.

Commands such as “Sit,” “Come,” “Lie Down,” “Heel,” and “Stay” are considered basic obedience commands. Your Beagle can easily learn them in either a training class or at home. There are several ways to teach your dog to sit on command but they all involve a little positive reinforcement. Some people like to use a clicker to “mark” the behavior but it’s not strictly necessary.

Have some treats in your pocket. Hold a treat near your dog’s nose and move it back over his head and downward. He should move into a sitting position to try to reach the treat. Praise him and give him the treat. Do this several times. Do it again and and give the command, “Sit.” Give him the treat when he sits. Don’t forget to praise him lots. Keep repeating until your dog is associating the word “Sit” with the behavior. Beagles like to eat and beagle training always goes better when their is food involved.

You can also teach sit by using a clicker. Clickers a small clicker devices that you can buy for about $2 at a pet supply store. When you see your dog doing something that you like “CLICK!” the clicker. It gets your dog’s attention and tells him that you like what he’s doing. Follow up with some treats right away. Your dog may not know what he did but he knows the clicker means something good. You can keep going until you have fine-tuned what your dog did and he knows what it was. Say your dog sits and you click. You give him treats. He has no clue why you’re giving him treats. Next time he lies down beside you. No treats. Then he sits down again. “CLICK!” and treats. Your dog starts to figure it out. All you have to do is put the command to the behavior.

You can teach your dog to do anything a dog can do using a clicker. It works particularly well with Beagles since there’s food involved.

There are many good ways to train your beagle. Following the rules above and you will find that beagle training isn’t that are of a process despite the dog’s stubborn streak. Training just takes time and patience.

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