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Beagle insincts! Can they ever be trusted off-leash?

Last post 11-03-2008, 8:33 PM by 1browndog. 1 replies.
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  •  11-02-2008, 8:35 PM 382591

    Beagle insincts! Can they ever be trusted off-leash?

    I have recently adopted a year and a half old beagle mix, but her nose and mind is ALL beagle. I run  a doggy daycare and we take them in big groups up to a big isolated forest where most of the dogs run off leash. My new dog Daisy was fine in the beginning off leash as the old owner said he had taken her to off-leash parks a lot. I am not sure if where we go has just made brought out her insincts more but she has taken off now many times, today for 4hrs!!! At times I can hear her screeching (what she does when she is hot on the trail) so I know she is close. For the last 3wks she has been on a 15ft leash and she is amazing at her sit, stay and come commands, when she knows I have the control, but she also knows when she has gone that extra foot out of my reach and her nose catches a scent, there is no stopping her!!

    On leash she had been coming for 2 walks a day, an hour or more at a time. I have rollerbladed her too, I cannot seem to chanel this energy in a different direction, if I start playing scent or hunting games with her is there a way of her knowing when it is appropriate and when it is not?

    Thank you for any thoughts in advance!

    Keri Lynn

  •  11-03-2008, 8:33 PM 383422 in reply to 382591

    Re: Beagle instincts! Can they ever be trusted off-leash?

    One of the reasons that I have a retriever instead of a Beagle is the breed instincts! 

    Yes, you do have to do tracking games with the hunting dogs to satisfy the breed instinct or they satisfy it on their own.  If you can check into tracking classes with your local obedience club it will even help more and provide fun for both of you. 

    That said, our blacksmith has coon-hounds and he hunts.  However, every time they used to go hunting he was off searching all night and half the next day for one of his prize hounds.  He pays thousands of dollars for some of these dogs, so you can imagine he'll go to the end of the earth to get them back.  Now with new technology they use a GPS on the collars and he only has to go halfway to the end of the earth. 

    As a last resort, you could get into training with a hunt trainer and learn the proper method to condition your Beagle with an E-collar.  I don't recommend anyone attempt to use one of these collars for regular training and never use one without working with a hunt trainer because an accidental wrong timing of correction and your dog gets corrected for an action you want him to perform.  The next thing you know you end up with a confused dog who never obeys.  Go this route only after careful thought.  Your clients may not appreciate the collar on one of your dogs.  People who do not hunt their dogs often find the collar offensive and some people think they are cruel.  Plus you could do your dog more harm than good if you are properly supervised and trained first. 

    Remember the first rule of dog training.  Never issue a command you can't enforce.  Until you can trust the Beagle in a fenced area to respond to every command on leash, then off leash, keep it on a long lead. 

    Good luck. 


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