Beagles are intelligent, gentle, and excitable dogs. With their level-headed temperament and friendly attitude, it can be a great experience to train them.
Puppies, regardless of their breeds, require to be treated with a lot of patience and attention. Yes, dog training can be an exciting task, however, you should always begin with basic exercises. Since puppies are known to have a very short attention span, they cannot carry out training exercises with more effort.
If you have recently brought home a beagle pup, and are wondering about its training timeline, you have come to the right place! Read further to find out more about how and when you should start training your beagle puppy.
Training Timeline
| Age | Activities |
| Between 8 to 16 weeks |
Give them challenges to build their confidence Teach them about chewing the right things Teach them bite inhibition |
| By 6 months |
Develop boundaries Crate and potty training Exercise and training |
| By 1 year |
Outdoor leash training |
Between 8 to 16 weeks
You are usually allowed to bring a puppy home at 8 weeks. The initial weeks are crucial for your puppy. Everything about your behaviour and the environment will affect the puppy’s growth. So, try to give them your complete attention, and engage them in basic tasks.
Socialize with other dogs
As you may know, beagles have gentle and friendly personalities. Introducing them to other dogs can be excellent mental and physical training for them. Take them out to places like dog parks or even normal parks.
Meeting new dogs can enhance your puppy’s communication skills. Moreover, getting familiar with different people and environments is also necessary to boost up your puppy’s confidence.
Challenge them
Somewhere around 10-12 weeks, your puppy’s mind starts to develop and learn new things. At this point, you should start giving them small tasks to do. Playing interactive games or introducing them to new toys can be a good mental exercise.
With easy training and fun games, you can teach your pup to enjoy challenges. This is another way to boost their confidence.
Teach about chewing the right things
Just like babies start chewing random things, puppies also like to chew absolutely anything they find! It is not an issue to worry about since it’s their teething period.
However, keep the puppy under your supervision. Try to teach them about what things they should and shouldn’t chew. You can get teething toys to distract them from chewing other things.
Bite Inhibition Training
Young puppies do not have the sense of what they should or shouldn’t bite. While playing, you can let your puppy chew around your hand. When it bites hard enough to inflict pain, make a noise. Say something like “ouch” or simply scream and stop playing for a while.
This way, the puppy will understand where it should be gentle and not cause any harm.
By 6 Months
By the time your beagle is six months old, it should have a sense of understanding basic commands. Beagles are intelligent dogs, which makes it easier to set boundaries with them. However, your supervision is still required. Some of the training goals you should focus on are:
Basic Commands and Boundaries
You often see people commanding their dogs to sit or stand and the dogs simply obey. To establish this, continuous training should be given to them from a young age. Train them with easy commands like “sit” or “stay.” Teach them “leave it” to stop them from chewing unnecessary things.
Some other essential commands include: down, wait, heel, come, off, no, and speak.
Building boundaries is equally necessary as teaching basic commands. It teaches your dog to know where to stay and which room to leave. Start with leash training and positive reinforcements if the dog obeys the boundary set by you.
Crate and Potty Training
Crate training is not something a lot of people know about. It is an important part of training your puppy. When your pup is not under your supervision, you should keep it under confinement i.e., in a crate. It does not harm the puppy, rather it trains him to stay calm and not create a mess when left alone.
Another important part is potty training. By the age of 6 months, your pup must know about not creating a mess inside the home. To train them, you should take them out often to the same spot. This will condition them to get used to their spot and do their business.
Crate training and potty training go hand-in-hand at times. Since the puppy considers the crate to be its safe space, it will not make it dirty and will let you know once it gets the urge to go.
In short, it is okay to crate train your puppies as it only holds benefits for them.
Exercise and Training
Exercise, playing, and training are vital parts of every dog’s life. Light exercises and outdoor games can help your beagle in developing its core muscles. However, you should avoid any kind of harsh or pressurizing exercises.
Beagles carry out their growth process for a whole year. Thus, you should supervise while they are playing and ensure they don’t get injured while getting too excited.
Some easy games you can play out with your pup are kibble hunt, hide and seek, sniffing games, and more.
By 1 Year
By the time your puppy completes its first year, it should have completed many milestones. It should be well-trained with basic exercises and commands.
Tracking, Obedience, and Agility
By the age of one, beagles gain more abilities to carry out outdoor activities. You should try engaging them in skills like tracking and obedience. Since beagles tend to have excellent hunting skills, tracking activities are well-suitable for them.
The one-year mark is also excellent for beginning agility training for your beagle. Now that there is no risk factor in carrying out heavy exercises, your beagle will love carrying out energetic tasks along with you. Teach tricks like spinning and jumping to generate flexibility in the beagle’s body. This will give it a sense of familiarity with other training exercises.
Outdoor leash training
While engaging in tracking activities, always keep your beagle on a leash. Beagles have a sharp sense of smell, and thus, they can easily get distracted if left without a leash.
Leash training also teaches them obedience. Outdoor games while on a leash can prove to be fun for your beagle. It will only require you to match up with their energy level!
Final Thoughts
Beagles are curious dogs and a powerhouse of energy since birth. With their friendly nature, they expect you to be equally engaging with them. Thus, you must know the basics of training a beagle puppy before you decide to bring one to your home.
Certain training goals are required to be accomplished since your puppy comes to you like a clean slate. It will learn whatever you decide to teach it. So, be careful with a happy and cozy environment for your pup.
We hope you got all the necessary details through our detailed tips and tricks for training a beagle puppy. Do share this piece of information with your fellow beagle lovers!
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.