Beagles-Where is their place in the home?

[Jasper's Mom]

In my home bursting with four legged creatures, a visitor, when asked if they had any pets, said a BEAGLE. I asked if it was a house dog, and the comment was, "No, it's a hunting dog (but doesn't go hunting), and belongs outdoors. I have 6 foot fences and a fenced in run, where he belongs."

I was wondering if most Beagle owners feel this way, or is this person just unaware and uneducated about dogs. I thought even Great Danes and other large dogs can be house dogs and beagles are much smaller. What do you think?

[Pam]

You hit on one of my pet peeves. For the life of me I have never been able to understand "outside" dogs or cats! I know there are some who may disagree with this, but since I was a child our pets were all inside and part of the family. I don't understand how anyone can bond with a pet that lives apart from their family. We wouldn't put the kids outside. To me, animals are kids with fur. What's the point of having a pet anyway? I guess living outside is better than living at a shelter but honestly I don't really see much of a difference. I think pets deserve better!

[RachelJ]

Ditto to what Pam said. She details my feelings exactly so I will let her statement stand for me as well.

[ownerof3dogs]

Originally posted by RachelJ:
<STRONG>Ditto to what Pam said. She details my feelings exactly so I will let her statement stand for me as well.</STRONG>

I totally agree with Pam and RachelJ

[kobieeli]

Chalk up another person who agrees with Pam and Rachel! Why do people bother with the expense of a dog if it's just kept outside with little or no family interaction? What do they get out of it?

My family had a sweet little beagle when I was growing up, and although she was pretty independent and difficult (never totally housebroken, great escape artist, stubborn to train) we still had her in the house a lot! When Daisy got old she preferred to sleep outside (??), so my dad built her a custom doghouse with insulation and carpeting. And when she went blind at age 14 we just made sure not to move any furniture around. She was a good little indoor dog.

...And now my parents have a Great Dane who sleeps on their bed and gets a reclining chair all to herself in the TV room!

[delidog]

another vote for pam and rachel...if dogs are not part of the family what are they???? the deli dog

[Karen]

I had a friend who initially got a beagle to be a hunting dog. In short order, Miss Lucy was sooo spoiled that there was no way his baby was going hunting - she might get hurt o something! So he decided that a second dog would just have to come into the household, and got another beagle pup. This one, very sadly, died just weeks after he got it, the vets think it was a heart problem, poor thing. So there they are with one spoiled princess of a beagle and no "hunting" dog. Then one day a friend showed up at his door with a gangly yellow Lab pup in his arms. "Jake" was the last puppy in a box of puppies he had run accross somewhere and he KNEW my friend needed this dog. Well, here was their "hunting" dog. He contacted a school to ask how old the pup had to be to train for such things, etc. Except before Jake ever got to a class, my friend figured out that he, too, was never gonna make it as a hunter. Jake, sad to say, doesn't have an ounce of hunting instinct in him. They'd walk past a pond full of ducks every day, and Jake would get really excited - about the water. The duck weren't even there as far as he was concerned, he'd bound right through them to go splash! At that point, my freind decided that he just wasn't meant to have a "hunting" dog!

[RachelJ]

Thanks for sharing that story, Karen. It was delightful.

[Albea]

I agree with all the comments about the fur babies staying indoors with their families.
I know somebody with a Golden Retriever who goes hunting. The dog will point but absolutely refuses to retrieve the ducks In my book, the dog is smarter than the owner

[ August 27, 2001: Message edited by: Albea ]

[Logan]

I often think that because my Honey (Golden Retriever) is so intense, she would make an excellent retriever for a dove or duck hunter. But she doesn't have to worry, because this mama doesn't hunt...and there is no daddy to worry about!

I think that the Beagle issue is like many other "hunting" type dogs, spaniels, bird dogs, setters, etc. There is a set of people out there who were brought up under very different circumstances. In fact, when I was a child, we had a "bird dog", Belle. And she lived in a pen in the yard. We had our "pet", and we had Belle. What you should know though is that Belle was very well loved. We played with her constantly in the backyard, but her "job" was to quail hunt. That lovely girl lived to be 15 years old. But my dad and his father, who had "
Rock", his bird dog, just believed that a good hunting dog, wasn't an inside dog. I can remember in real cold times though that she was allowed inside. My father doesn't "hunt" anymore and would probably never have a dog that wasn't right there with him ever again. Scout and Darcy prove that theory!

And for 11 months out of my adult life, I lived in a very rural area where hunting and fishing was the only pasttime. We lived in housing owned by Georgia Pacific, and every man on the street had a pen full of Beagles, who were specifically for running deer. It literally broke my heart to see these precious dogs (who weren't so precious when they barked all night)locked up in the pen, or worse yet, let loose to "run" the street. I hated that situation and the people who created it. A happy day when we were able to move away from there.

Our lab, Chuck, was a hunting dog, but also a pet, and he knew the difference. And always slept in the bed with his mom and dad!

So, after all that, my point is that in today's society, there shouldn't be as many folks who think "hunting" dogs are for hunting only. Many have changed their stance on that. I agree with the rest of you..I'd never have a dog that I isolated for a "job" and not have it be a part of the family.

[ilovehounds]

I have two beagles, I think they are the best breed in the world. They are lovable, loyal and make the best companion.


Hannah my first beagle as you can see is NO hunting dog She is spoiled rotten. When I got her I had alot of beagle owners say to me "thats not what a beagle is for, if you wanted a companion dog why didn't you get a fluffy poodle?" I was shocked but thats how people with hunting beagles think, "a good, tough hunter lives outside, you can't have a good hunter and a sissy house pet in one".

Copper my seconed hound is a rescue, he is an outdoor dog but not because I want him to be. He was abused and locked in small places like rabbit cages and dark barns. Now he has a fear of being closed in and when we brought him home he jumped through a window to get outside. If outside is where he is happy then outside is where he lives He is free to do as he pleases all day, he has never once left the yard. At night and when Im not at home he is put in a pen where he has a carpeted house with a big dog bed. He's happy and just as spoiled thats all that matters.

Copper

[BandiTank]

At our house, we have 2 beagles. They live mainly outside but whenever they get the chance they come inside. We let them in 24/7 in the winter but during the summer they like it better outside. I take them hutnting sometimes, we don't actually shoot the animal, they just go look for it and I use my cap-gun to make a banging noise and they think I have shot it so they go back to the house to sit on the porch and wait. But they are definately NOT outdoor hunting dogs, they like it much better inside with us.

[Rottie]

The thing I don't understand is why is "hunting dog" always plastered together with "outside dog". Hunting dogs can be great house pets, too.

[Daisy's Mom]

Karen, what a cute story! I loved it.

Oh, sweet little Copper and Hannah! I am just in love with Copper. I adore those huge houndy pawsies! Oh jeez, I am starting to talk puppy talk! LOL

I don't agree with the whole outside dog thing. As someone has already pointed out, I think of my dog as my baby. Would you make your babies live outside? There's jsut no need for it. All dogs should be spoiled in my mind!

[AdoreMyDogs]

A few years back, in the busy, upscale neighborhood where I grew up, I saw a "breeding" beagle in penned up in a sort of a box in a backyard. The box was wooden on all sides and on the top, and it was barely big enough for this breeding bitch to stand up in, with a small screen on the 2 sides where the dog could get a small glimpse of the world it was missing out of. The beagle bitch would have a litter of puppies once a year or so, and all the time she was in that God aweful box. Walking by that box was hard because I could see her sweet face looking out of that tiny screen at me and I could barely make out the wag of a tail. Broke my heart. Then there was the smell...it was SO gross! The bottom of the pen appeared to have alot of screaning so the waste fell through, but it was never cleaned up. I called the MHS on the house twice, from different phone numbers and with a different name the 2nd time to make sure they got more then one complaint and one day that breeding bitch was not in her pen. Days, weeks, & months went by and I never again saw that poor beagle in that most terrible box that she was forced to live in. I assume the Michigan Humane Society assesed the living conditions and perhaps took the beagle away from her owners. I only hope she got a good home because even though she was miserable, lonely, dirty and sore, she still wagged her little tail when anyone walked by her box. She was a little sweety. I totally agree with the people who see no point in having a dog if it's only to be kept outside without any human interaction. I don't agree with it, and I don't like seeing or hearing about it.