Beagles have a friendly character. They are kind, cheerful and affectionate.
Caring for a beagle is not difficult. These dogs are unpretentious in terms of maintenance and feeding.
Thanks to their small size, they can easily live both in a spacious household and in a small apartment.
However, these charming hunters have breed characteristics that must be taken into account when keeping them in the house.
How to care for a puppy?
In order for a beagle puppy to grow strong and healthy, it is necessary to provide him with good living conditions and take good care of him. And already in the first days after the puppy appears in the house, you need to start raising it and teaching it some simple commands.
As a rule, respectable breeders provide their customers with instructions for keeping and feeding the puppy, and all that is required of the new dog owner is to strictly follow the breeder’s recommendations.
IMPORTANT!
In the first two weeks after purchasing a puppy, it is especially important to follow the breeder’s recommendations regarding feeding the pet.
Even before buying a beagle, you need to take care of purchasing a bed for the puppy and from the first day you need to accustom the baby to his place.
Until the end of vaccination and the quarantine period, puppies cannot be walked outside, and therefore, you need to take care of setting up a temporary dog toilet in the house.
Caring for a puppy of this breed is simple - you need to examine the puppy's eyes and ears daily, and clean them as needed. Puppies' nails need to be trimmed from time to time with a nail clipper.
It is not advisable to bathe a small beagle. If the need arises, then you need to remember that for the first time this procedure can be carried out only a week after purchasing a pet.
It is necessary to strictly adhere to the vaccination and deworming schedule recommended by the breeder or veterinarian. Also, it is necessary to rid the puppy of external parasites in a timely manner.
Beagle and household
By nature, the Beagles breed are hunters, but in life they are very loyal and kind dogs for their households. They quickly become attached to people, and their love for their owners is limitless.
Relationships with children
The pet’s cheerful character encourages games, including with children.
How does one live with a cat in the same house?
There will be no quarrels with cats living in the same room. They are very friendly and will spend time together with great pleasure, the main thing is that the cat does not offend.
With other dogs
These dogs are friendly, so they easily get along with other animals, but can show their hunting character.
Basic rules for caring for an adult dog
An adult beagle does not need complex coat care - it is enough to comb it with a brush 1-2 times a week, and comb out the dying undercoat during shedding.
If the animal gets dirty during a walk, you can simply wipe the dirty area with a damp cloth or baby wipe.
If your eyes become sour, you should wipe them with a cotton swab, after moistening it in chamomile decoction. The ears are cleaned as needed with cotton swabs.
The claws of an adult beagle, if he walks on a hard surface enough, wear down on their own. If necessary, you can trim them with a nail clipper.
There is also no special need for brushing teeth if the dog chews cartilage, veins or special toys to clean the mouth.
You only need to walk your beagle on a leash. These dogs can only be allowed to run in a fenced area, since representatives of this breed are passionate hunters and if the beagle picks up a scent, it can run away and get lost.
Expert opinion
Kozhevin Semyon Kirillovich
Expert dog handler.
Beagles require minimal grooming - brushing, cleaning eyes, ears, and, if necessary, teeth. They usually grind down their claws themselves while walking. Maintenance and feeding are not difficult - beagles are unpretentious in this regard. But you need to remember that they love to eat. The dog should not be overfed, and on the street it is necessary to ensure that the beagle does not pick up anything from the ground.
Also read reviews from owners about the features of keeping beagles.
Origin, history
The Beagle breed was developed in Great Britain. But the history of their occurrence is not limited to the events of the 18th-19th centuries. The roots of modern beagles go back centuries, so there is no reliable information about their origin. Everything is based on assumptions.
- Track hounds were known and widely used in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. They were brought to Britain, where they crossed with local dogs. Thanks to the efforts of breeders, by the 18th century in England there were two types of hounds that were used for hunting hares
- Northern Beagle – light, agile;
- the southern hound is heavy and clumsy.
Northern beagles were small in stature. They were inferior to the hares in speed, but still overtook them thanks to their unique flair, perseverance and ability to follow the trail to the end.
- It is believed that the basis of the breed was dogs from a pack collected in England by the breeder Honeywood. Towards the end of the 18th century, hare hunting became less popular. Hunters began to become interested in chasing foxes, in which faster dogs took part.
- Thanks to the efforts of some breeders in the 30s of the 19th century, interest in the breed reappeared. Hunting with beagles is becoming popular in America, where until this time dogs were also used to hunt hares, which were more like basset dogs and dachshunds. The first English beagles were brought to the USA in the 70s of the 19th century.
- In 1884, the American English Beagle Club was formed, whose activities were aimed at improving the exterior of the breed. The breed standard was created in 1957.
Is it suitable for an apartment?
You can keep a beagle in a city apartment if you take him for walks three times a day. Moreover, walks should be long and active.
If you don’t give your pet the opportunity to release energy, then he may start playing pranks and chewing furniture, walls, and shoes.
NOTE!
In order to avoid such destruction in the apartment, you can try locking your beagle in a cage of a suitable size, but you need to start accustoming your pet to it while still a puppy.
A beagle living in the city will need special clothing and shoes that will help protect the dog’s fur from dirt, and its paws from the reagents that are sprinkled on the streets in winter, as well as from glass shards and other sharp objects.
Winter clothes
Specialized equipment and clothing for the dog will be an excellent help in uncomfortable bad weather. The modern pet industry offers a stunningly extensive range of beagle wardrobe options:
- blankets or capes for chilly windy evenings;
- Bolognese overalls and water-repellent windbreakers for walking in the rain;
- quilted sets with hoods for special cold weather.
The choice is really huge, there are no universal solutions: there are kits for protection from humidity and slush, winter collections are designed for insulation.
Personal place
A dog bed or a thick mattress with a removable cover on it, which is washed when it gets dirty, and a clean one is put on instead, is suitable as a place for a dog to rest.
It is best to arrange a place for the beagle in the room where all family members most often gather, for example, in the living room. The bed should be located away from heating appliances, as well as from windows and doors.
A small beagle needs to be trained to its place from the first day it arrives in the house. If the puppy is stubborn and does not want to fall asleep there, then he needs to be taken to the bed.
There is no need to allow the puppy to sleep on the owner’s bed, as well as on armchairs, sofas and other places where an adult dog will subsequently be prohibited from climbing.
How to accustom a puppy to a diaper?
This is easy to do if from the first day you put the diaper close to the dog bed and, every time after the baby has eaten or slept, put him there. Subsequently, the puppy will understand why the diaper is needed and will wear it himself.
From this time on, you can move the diaper little by little until you finally move it to the place where the dog toilet should be. The place where the diaper lay before must be thoroughly washed and treated with a product that eliminates animal odors.
How to feed?
It is recommended to feed beagles with industrial food for active dogs of medium breeds or with complete natural food. It is important to remember that the food must be fresh and of good quality.
If your pet eats natural food, it should be food based on protein products. For a puppy, it should mainly consist of fermented milk products like cottage cheese, and for an adult beagle, it should consist of meat and offal with the addition of raw or cooked vegetables and herbs.
Cereals should also be present in small quantities in the diet. Oatmeal, buckwheat or rice porridge are especially beneficial for dogs.
For a natural-fed dog, it is recommended to add vitamin and mineral supplements to its food. If the dog eats commercial food, then he does not need to give him any food additives.
CAREFULLY!
You should not feed your beagle food from your table, as it may contain foods that are harmful to dogs, such as spices or sugar.
Features of different sexes
Before purchasing, you need to decide on the gender of your pet:
- males are more stubborn and independent, more difficult to raise and train, and can run after bitches and prey;
- girls are easy to train, more obedient, affectionate, changes in behavior are recorded during estrus.
Beagle babies are funny creatures, ready to frolic and play all the time. With proper care, diet and timely training, you can raise an intelligent, obedient friend, a favorite of the whole family.
Grooming
In order for the beagle's coat to look well-groomed, it is enough to comb the dog with a brush 2 times a week. During shedding, loose hair should be removed with a shedding dog brush.
During the shedding period, the frequency of brushing should be increased to once a day.
The Beagle's smooth coat does not require trimming. But you can trim the stray hairs a little with scissors before the exhibition.
When weaned from mother
Babies are weaned from the female in a period of 1.5 to 2 months. At this time, they show independence and are not too attached to the family into which they were born. Adaptation to the new owner is faster and easier.
Young animals purchased at this age have a puppy card. It specifies compliance with the standard and the first vaccination. Babies are checked for breeding after 45 days from birth.
Important! At 2 months Beagle puppies come with documents, so the risk of purchasing a sick or non-standard pet is reduced.
How to walk?
You need to walk your beagle 2, or preferably 3 times a day, and the walks should be long and active.
A sedate walk on the asphalt is not for the beagle, who, following his hunting instincts, must certainly run around and sniff the entire territory that he considers “his own.”
You should only let your dog off the leash in closed areas, where the dog cannot escape and go in search of adventure.
NOTE!
You also need to take into account that the beagle is an addicting nature. If the dog gets on the scent, it may ignore the owner's commands. That is why you need to try to achieve unconditional obedience from your pet.
How to trim claws correctly?
To trim claws, it is recommended to use a special device - a nail clipper.
To trim your pet's claws, you need to sit him in front of you, and, taking his paw, press on the pads. Then, holding your pet's paw tightly, you need to carefully, but at the same time quickly, trim the inanimate part of the claw, which is usually clearly visible in beagles.
If the living part of the claw is poorly visible, then you need to trim the claw 1-2 mm at a time until a lighter point appears on the cut.
If you don't wear them down while walking on asphalt, you need to trim your nails about once every two weeks.
Vaccination
Vaccination of Beagle puppies is a mandatory procedure that will provide strong, reliable immunity against deadly infectious diseases.
Usually, kennels sell already vaccinated puppies. A special medical document is created - a veterinary passport. All vaccinations are noted there.
At 2.5 months, beagles are diagnosed with strains of distemper, parainfluenza, enteritis, hepatitis and leptospirosis.
At 6–7 months, the owner must vaccinate his beagle against rabies. Vaccination against these diseases is repeated annually.
Important! Two weeks before each vaccination, the beagle is dewormed. After vaccination, it is important to undergo a two-week quarantine, during which the pet should not be given antibiotics.
Ear cleaning
Beagle ears should be inspected daily and cleaned no more than once a week. It is recommended to use cotton swabs for this purpose, after dipping them in a special composition for cleaning dog ears. There is no need to go deep into your pet's ears - just clean the visible part of the ear canal.
When contaminated, the inner surface of the ear is wiped with a damp cotton swab moistened with the same liquid or just warm water.
After wiping the inner surface of the ear, it must be dried thoroughly, otherwise the remaining moisture on the ear can cause inflammation.
Bathing a dog
Washing a beagle is often not recommended, since the fur of these dogs tends to clean itself of dirt on its own. The normal frequency of bathing dogs of this breed is 3-4 times a year, and this will be quite enough.
It is best to bathe your dog with a special shampoo for short-haired dogs, which should not be replaced with human shampoo or soap.
You need to wash your dog as follows:
- pour warm, but not hot water into the bath;
- put the beagle there and wet the fur thoroughly with water;
- dilute the shampoo with warm water, since most animal detergents are highly concentrated;
- Apply diluted shampoo to the coat, massage a little and rinse with warm water;
- if necessary, dilute the shampoo again and wash the dog again;
- Wipe the dog's fur with a terry towel, then release it from the bath.
You should not dry your beagle's coat with a hairdryer. This can increase the release of oils that coat the dog's coat, causing it to quickly become dirty again.
To get rid of dog odor, you can bathe your pet with shampoo to eliminate the odor. You can also use special fragrances.
Outdoor content
Many people are interested in the question, is it possible to keep a beagle in the yard?
A beagle can live outside - in an enclosure or in the courtyard of a private house, but provided that the area is completely enclosed by a reliable fence, under which the pet cannot dig a hole and escape through it.
IMPORTANT!
You cannot keep a beagle on a chain - this dog should live either in a house or in a spacious enclosure.
It is most convenient to keep a beagle in an enclosure with a concrete floor and reliable fencing. If it is a metal mesh, then it should be small so that the beagle cannot climb over it.
The enclosure must have a booth where the pet will hide from the weather. Every day he needs to be let out of the enclosure to run around the yard, and also taken for walks outside the household.
In the cold season, it is better to take your pet indoors, since the beagle has short hair and even in an insulated kennel in severe frosts it feels uncomfortable and can catch a cold.
Diseases of this breed
The Beagle is a dog with “iron” health and stable immunity, but sometimes illnesses do not bypass them. He recovers quite quickly depending on the disease.
Attention! Even if you were able to diagnose the disease based on certain symptoms, be sure to consult a veterinarian before starting treatment. For timely and competent treatment.
The most common
The most common diseases in Beagles are:
- epilepsy;
- herniated discs;
- dermatitis;
- lymphoma (lymphosarcoma);
- diabetes;
- chronic hepatitis;
- otitis.
Rare
Rarely encountered, but still present in beagles, are diseases such as:
- glaucoma;
- cherry eye;
- dysplasia;
- deafness;
- thinning (stenosis) of the pulmonary valve;
- renal colic and bladder tumors;
- hypothyroidism;
- amyloidosis;
- mast cell cancer;
- hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's syndrome).
Redness of the eyes
To correctly diagnose the causes of red eyes in a dog, you need to consult a veterinarian - an ophthalmologist. Basically, redness of the eyes can occur in the following cases:
- getting dust, chemicals, foreign bodies, etc. into the eyes;
- allergy;
- fungal, viral, bacterial diseases;
- anemia;
- diabetes.
Red ears
The ears of a Beagle dog are low-set, drooping, and the ear canal is poorly ventilated, which allows pathogenic flora to multiply. In addition to undetected allergic otitis media, the infection may be complicated by the presence of parasites.
Inflamed ears become red inside, the dog becomes restless, shakes its head and scratches its ears. The appearance of abundant sulfur secretions, the presence of an unpleasant odor and color, is additional confirmation of the disease. Complicated otitis media can lead to hearing loss.
Tail injuries
Tail injuries in dogs are a common phenomenon in urban environments. Basically, tail injuries and fractures occur when:
- being pinched by a door;
- impact;
- when the tail is pulled and stepped on;
- bites.
If you notice that your dog has damaged its tail or a tumor has appeared, you should immediately show your pet to a veterinarian.
The Beagle is an excellent family pet. Keeping a beagle is quite simple, the main thing is to devote sufficient time to training and proper care from the very beginning. The dog easily gets along both in an apartment and in a country house.
