LeslieFrost

My husband and I are picking up a 4 yr old female beagle from our local humane soc. tomorrow afternoon. Neither of us has ever owned a dog before, but I really want this one. Her name is Maggie. I'll post pics in the next couple of days.

She was surrendered (with a cocker spaniel) by a couple that traveled so much that they had the dogs in a kennel too much, so decided to give them up. She was an indoor dog, and seems to have a great, friendly personality. She is 'fixed' and all uptodate on all health issues.

If there are beagle lovers in the QB crowd, I'd love to know who you are, so I can call on you for advice, if needed. Feel free to throw in your thoughts at any time, I know that they'll do me good.

We live in the woods, on a lake, and like to take long walks every day.

Thanks!

bakermom

I don't own one but my son does. She is the sweetest thing ever but very "vocal". Beagles, from what i've been told are very food motivated and tend to get overweight if you aren't careful. now that is not the case with DS's dog, even his vet has commented that he never sees a trim beagle like her. Don't forget they are a hunting breed and will take off if they get on the scent of a rabbit.

ptquilts

Amen to that! My first dog (as a child) was an overweight beagle who once ate a pound of butter off the kitchen table when we were gone.

No advice, just saying good for you for adopting a dog from the shelter!! (((hugs))) - I bet you guys will love each other!!

barri1

My neighbor has a beagle. She is very friendly, and also very vocal... Too bad she won't go near me.. She remembers Socrates grabbing her by the nose, and shaking her..Ughhh.. I apologized to the neighbor, and dog, but the dog won't accept it.. That was two years ago..

Mellina

I have an overweight one also. Just love him to pieces. They are loving and will try and take off if they get the scent. We live in the country so we fenced in the backyard so he could run around without the fear of losing him when he got the scent. Enjoy.

alwayslearning

Beagles, like bassets, follow their nose. They do not mean to run away, they just have to follow that scent. I am sure that is how our basset ending up in the shelter where we found her. Also, my husband had her on the leash once when she saw a rabbit. That dog didn't weigh but 50 lbs, knocked over my husband (200 lbs) to chase the rabbit. Enjoy!

drgranny

"Food motivated" is an understatement!!!! My daughter has had 2 and they will go to any lengths to get food. Have you seen the pet commercial where the dogs push a stool over to get up on the table and a box on top of the table to reach the cabinets? That is what one of my daughters beagles did. If there was any unattended food of any kind, anything edible, she would find a way to get into it. As soon as she was let out of the house she would head to a spot in the fence and be gone before anyone even had an inkling. The second one, they got from the local pound. The animal warden said that they had him several times. His owners just quit coming to get him so my daughter took him home. He was a very sweet smart little dog but if he got the chance he would be out and gone in a flash. People were always calling her and saying they had her dog. He got hit by a car a few weeks ago. He had gone blind but still had itchy feet. He couldn't see the car.

nivosum

Following the scent and food addiction probably go hand in hand. I remember when we took our German Shepherd to dog obedience classes. There were a couple of beagles and the instruction told the owners to just keep pulling their noses off the ground as they walked. Those noses were glued to the ground.

sewready

Yes, definitely food seekers! We had to keep the kitchen waste basket in a cabinet, my daughter's beagle would "dive bomb" the waste basket and act like it was a buffet! (His vet said he looked like a "five gallon bucket with legs"!) LOL Also, he would seem to go deaf when he was on the scent of something, we could call him and he wouldn't even look up. With all that said, we had him for fifteen of the most wonderful years. He was a real sweetheart and we still mourn his passing.

LeslieFrost

Well, she is 6 years old, not 4, but she's very sweet, loves people, loves to have her ears rubbed, and has peed inside the house three times already! We obviously don't know her signals yet. She loves the leash and would probably love to be outside all the time. Maybe my husband will rethink the fence thing and we'll get her one. I know that she cannot be outside without a leash or a fence -- we live in the woods and she'd take off in a second!