He isn't a Beagle but when Ricky was in the PetSmart dog class, some of the other dog owners were shocked when he was the first to learn his commands each week. Our instructor used to keep Ricky as last because he knew he would do whatever it was we had practiced all week. It didn't make Ricky a smarter dog or a dog that was easier to train. One owner of a beautiful poodle named Hannah said she wished she had gotten a chihuahua because her Hannah wouldn't sit. It never seem to sink into her that it wasn't the dogs getting trained, it was their owners. Training takes time and consistancy. It doesn't happen overnight and even when they get it right, you have to keep practicing because they get out of the habit if you don't stick to it. Which breed is the easiest to train, the one with the most committed owner.

And about agility, I would think Labs and Border Collies would be wonderful. Ricky had the will and heart to do it but he just couldn't jump that high.