Beagles are super-friendly and highly energetic dogs. They require a good amount of your attention and energy to keep up with them. The majority of Beagle owners will tell you how friendly and happy they tend to be. However, all dogs come with a list of pros and cons.
Before you decide upon the right pet dog, you must consider all the factors.
This article will talk about the con side of keeping a Beagle as your pet. Read ahead to find out more about the detailed list of disadvantages.
Beagles: An Overview
Today, Beagles are considered a good breed of family dogs. Be that as it may, they were initially bred as hunting dogs. Keeping that in mind, you must know that they have strong senses and can get easily distracted. It gets tough to train them outdoors due to this reason.
You must go through detailed research and have a prepared mindset before getting a Beagle. These dogs, if not given proper attention, start developing anxiety and behavior issues. Thus, if you don’t stay at home that much, you should either make sure that your dog is not left alone or just do not go for a Beagle, for that matter.
Beagles are good with children. They make great playmates for your kids if they are young. Nevertheless, you need to have a separate schedule for raising a Beagle puppy along with your child. It can certainly get very overwhelming and divides your attention.
In short, Beagles are harmless and friendly, but they require a good amount of energy and attention. Let us look at some of the disadvantages of owning a Beagle below:
Cons of Owning a Beagle
1. A lot of Barking
Other than being energetic, Beagles are very vocally expressive. They are louder than a lot of other breeds. For every different situation, they have specific kinds of sounds. They can whine, bark, cry, grumble, or howl depending upon what emotion they feel at the moment.
If you live in a quiet neighborhood, make sure your neighbors don’t have any issues with the sudden barking noises.
2. High Energy Breed
As mentioned before, Beagles are highly energetic dogs. Especially during their puppy stage, Beagles are very playful and require a lot of your attention.
They tend to get very stubborn for you to play with them. During the puppy stage, they also begin their teething phase. It gets especially tough after that because they are constantly restless and will want you to attend to them most of the time.
So, go for a Beagle only if you are mentally prepared to deal with such hyper energy.
3. Can’t be kept off-leash
As they are originally hunting dogs, Beagles can’t be kept off-leash outdoors. They naturally follow the scents around them and can get easily distracted if not supervised.
Outdoor training or merely outdoor walks can prove to be risky due to this. You will constantly have to control them under the leash and make sure they don’t run off.
4. Not good guard dogs
Beagles are one of the most friendly dog breeds. They are very social and amiable and never show any signs of aggression. When they sense danger, they prefer to hide away instead of threatening the intruder.
Bigger dogs like German Shepards, Doberman Pinscher, or Rottweiler are more suitable for a guard dog status. Beagles do not have the trait of threatening inside them and are unable to deal with high-level danger.
5. Stubborn
Even though they are rarely aggressive, Beagles are stubborn. Their personalities are more independent and less obedient. Some Beagles can prove to be extremely difficult.
The trick to bend them towards obedience is by training them with patience and calm behavior. They can certainly give you a hard time at training. However, with a good amount of training, they can become more adjustable and obedient.
Therefore, if you run low on patience, it’s better for you to not keep a Beagle as your pet.
6. Independent breeds
Beagles do not have clingy personalities like Golden Retrievers. Instead, they are on a more independent and distant side. They are super-friendly and active, but once they are done playing, they do not walk around their owners.
As mentioned above, their independent personalities make them stubborn. They can give you a hard time just to stay put on their stubborn demands.
Retrievers get highly motivated when their owners praise them, however, Beagles do not have the drive to do so. To train them, you must work your way through with treats and games.
7. Scared Easily
As we talked about it above, Beagles are scared pretty easily. Their friendly nature is what makes them suitable family dogs. They have low aggression tendencies and they can not deal with intruders or any kind of threat around them.
Beagles do not have the attacking personality. Instead, they go and hide behind their owners when they feel threatened.
Thus, if you wish to have a courageous guard dog, Beagle is not the right option for you.
8. Get distracted easily
Again, as we talked about before, Beagles are distracted very easily. Their hunting instincts make them very curious about their new surroundings. Every new sensation, smell, or movement draws them in.
Outdoor training and traveling can be difficult for them. So, you will need to be extra-vigilant towards them.
Final Thoughts
As cute and friendly as they are, Beagles come along with a ton of responsibilities. A variety of factors make them unsuitable for someone who stays away from their home during the day. Beagles require a lot of attention, and thus, if you are not ready to give it, you should not get a Beagle.
If you are looking for a guard dog, a Beagle is most certainly the wrong choice. You should better go for a German Shepard or a Rottweiler.
Now that you know the hassles of keeping a Beagle as your pet, you can weigh your options. Go through a variety of options before you settle on the right dog for your home. We hope this article helped you understand the important aspects of owning a Beagle.
Dr. Aram Baker has been with Santa Clarita Animal Hospital since 1995 and his special interests include behaviour medicine and dermatology. He graduated from the Cleveland Humanities Magnet Program in Reseda, CA and attended California State University at Northridge where he received a Bachelor’s degree in biology. He went on to pursue his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis. He also spent time in the zoological medicine department at U.C. Davis during his Junior and Senior years. He is dedicated to caring for all pets big or small, young or old with compassion, patience, kindness, and love.