Beagle Blog

A fellow beagle lover named Peggy has a unique issue with her beagle, I was wondering if the readers could help her out.

Here is her dilema:

I’ve been trying to find out why my dog hums or sings.  At night or when he doesn’t want to be played with or petted he hums.  It’s definitely not a growl, but a high pitch, to a low pitch hum, like he’s humming a song.  I assume it’s because he doesn’t want the attention.  He’s never nipped at anyone.  Just wondering if that’s a natural beagle trait?  thanks

I have never heard my Beagle ‘hum’, but maybe yours does.
My thoughts include:

Maybe its a friendly way of saying “I want my space” (beagles are usually of a very friendly nature so growling does not come as naturally as other dogs (when I annoy my dog, he will whine, but he won’t growl, at most, he will bark (almost cheekily) and then run off).

The only other thing I can offer is maybe the dog is humming, as he may be in pain or discomfort, and may want to be left alone. In this case of course medical attention should be sought.

What does anyone else think?

Hey all,

After many conversations in the break room about my unruly beagle, I think most of my colleagues think I’m mad for owning one. However I do think people realise the fondness we beagle owners have of these lovable creatures. I got an email from a lady who works on my floor, after all the tales I had told her of my beagle escaping, she saw this and thought I could appreciate it. Check out this video: Its funny, frustrating, and amazing. This beagle needs a good smack!

Please share any exciting stories of your beagle’s attempts at escaping.

Jono.

Last Friday night, I could hear a noise, I went out to see what my beagle was up to, to find that he was convulsing. He was foaming at the mouth, and was unconcious. Luckily, I used to work with people with intellectual disabilities, and seen many epileptic seizures. I held him for the remaining minute that he convulsed, and then sat there petting him as he lay stil for a further two minutes before coming round. My very confused and frightened beagle then ran into my room, and barked for about 20 minutes, he would not let anyone near him, warning us with barks and growls. We left him in there with the door open until he decided to approach us. The after hours vet told me that it may be a one-off, but the vet I took him to the next day said he may have juvenile epilepsy. Does anyone else reading this have a pet with epilepsy? Please tell me your experiences.

A lady named Rose contacted us about crating beagles, she wrote:

“My husband and I are wanting another beagle and we currently have a 4 1/2 month old male.  We are wondering if we should keep them in one crate when we are away or have one crate for each puppy?”

This was my reply to her:

“Hi there Rose,
I’m not really experienced in crating dogs as I do not do this myself (someone is always at home during the day to look after my dog). If it were me though, I would think that the 2 beagles would become distressed if they could not be together. As I said, if it were me, I would get a large crate for both dogs, that way they can entertain each other, have a play, and take
comfort in each others company. Hope this helps.”

I am not a ‘certified beagle expert’, just an enthusiast. I own a beagle, and am learning from him.  I realise that there is a beagle loving community out there with plenty of experience and thoughts on raising beagles. So I ask anyone who thinks they can help, to leave comments and advice for people to come across this site. LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! BECOME PART OF THE COMMUNITY!

Thanks.

Beagle or Boxer?

Earlier today I was playing with Bosco a game I like to call “Kick your Bum”. I walk up to my beagle and say “Kick your Bum”, he begins to bark and tear around the room. I chase him and every now and then give him a soft tap on the back of his legs with my foot. He barks more and runs more, he loves it. Anyways after a short round of Kick Your Bum I bent over to give him a pat. Still hyper, Bosco leaped up towards my face, where my nose collided with the top of his skull. I immediately stood up and cupped my hands around my nose, the pain was severe. I have never been punched in the nose before so for a minute I actually thought it was broken. Maybe Bosco should have been a Boxer instead of a Beagle. Ever been accidentally injured by your pooch? Please comment.

Collars

What sort of collar do you use for training your Beagle?

I use the choke (check) chain collar when training Bosco, but only because it’s so easy to slip on. I have been looking at different types of dog collars that are available, and am trying to figure out which one is right for my Beagle. So we start with the check chain. The chain is made into a loop and placed around the dog’s neck, and attached to a lead. When the lead is pulled, the chain is tightened around the dog’s neck. The purpose of a check chain is not to ‘choke’ them, but to offer a sharp pull to distract them from their train of thought. This is probably not the best type of collar for someone who gets wound up easily, as giving the chain a good yank can be all too tempting.

Now we look at the gentle leader, like a harness, but around the face, you lead the dog a bit like you would lead a horse A muzzle covers the dog’s snout and the lead is attached to it. There is controversy behind these, and a hard pull of the leash could cause neck injury

Ok, let’s look at the dreaded Prong collar. These are metal chain-like collar, but with prongs pointing inwards, so when you pull the chain, your dog gets poked in the neck. I must admit that the only time I have seen it used was on an episode of the Dog Whisperer, but you would never catch me ever putting them on my beagle. As I see it they are inhumane, they are not meant to be painful, but I can’t imagine wearing one being a very pleasant experience.

Electric dog collars. You put the collar on the dog, and let him run. When he does something you don’t want him to, you push a button on a remote and give him a small electric shock. Although this would be beneficial, especially to ignorant Beagles, I’m sure it wouldn’t be nice for them so I wouldn’t personally use them. Not to mention the price, I saw one in a hunting magazine for US$400!

My personal recommendation: The check chain. Nice and simple and effective.

Over the last week, I have noticed Bosco vomiting some mornings. The vomit is a yellow bile. I wasn’t concerned at first, but it continued to occur. I thought I would do a quick google search to see if anyone else was having this problem. After visiting many websites, the general idea was that some dogs have gastric issues, and there were many treatments including antacids and changing diet. A lot of people have had success by feeding their dog right before they go to bed.

I am going to try this tonight, hopefully I will see a change in Bosco. Please comment if you have had similar experience.

**NOTE** In all cases of gastric issues that I saw, all dogs were otherwise healthy and happy (including Bosco). If your dog is vomiting, and is not happy or healthy, see a vet immediately.

This happened today when I was working on the allthingsbeagle.com design, so I thought I would tell you about it while my mind was on the job.

This afternoon, as I said, I was tapping away at my keyboard, working on the website, when I heard a noise coming from outside. Bosco in the garbage again, I thought to myself. I didn’t want to get up as I didn’t want to lose my concentration from what I was doing, but I did anyway. I walked out onto the balcony and sure enough, as expected, Bosco had got into the garbage. This time though, instead of growling and rattling cans and clapping my hands (techniques to break your dogs attention from doing naughty things), I just started to laugh. The silly beagle had got himself caught up. Here are a couple of photos i took from my phone:

I tried to get him to walk around for a bit so I could take a video but after a small awkward walk inside the milk bottle fell off his foot. Ah well at least I got the photos.

I was wandering around my house yesterday looking for my mischievous Beagle. I was calm at first, but became nervous as Bosco is an Olympic high jump gold medallist (or equivalent), and can jump my fence with ease. Wandering down the street, Bosco was nowhere to be found. Usually when he escapes he can be seen playing at the end of the driveway with the many children that live down my street. I became rather unsettled. I went back up the driveway and inside to get my car keys, to do a drive by hunt for him. As I walk past the kitchen, I hear plates rattle. I walk into the kitchen to find that Bosco was treasure hunting inside of the dishwasher! Not just standing on the door either, he was in behind the trays, looking extremely pleased with himself. I find it’s great when you can learn lessons from your mistakes, even if it’s as small as remembering to close the dishwasher completely after putting something in it.

Have you ever heard of The Wandering Jew? Legend tells of a Jew who taunted Jesus on his way to his crucifixion, and then was condemned to wander the earth aimlessly until Jesus’ second coming.

This is leading somewhere believe it or not!.

Today there is a plant called Wandering Jew, and I became aware of it when I noticed my Beagle had horrible pimple-like sores on his belly accompanied with a rash. I took him to the vet and she told me that Bosco had an allergy to Wandering Jew and its variations (which is common for most dogs). Bosco needed a course of pain killers and anti-biotics and he recovered well after about a week. Wandering Jew also had the name Wandering Willie, which sounds funnier.

Anyway, if you see your beagle with a rash or sores on his tummy take him to the vet and get him checked out for contact allergies like wandering Jew. Please comment if you have had any experience with Canine contact allergies.