Hello, I am genuinely curious if Beagles need a fenced in yard or a leash at all times. I have heard their nose predicts where they go. My current dog has a wonderful recall and hasn't needed a leash for some time. We do not have a fence. We do have a sizable plot of land but part of it borders a busy road. How is their recall or does this depend on the dog? Thanks for any advice/input. I have always been intrigued by these little hounds.
Hmm. The short answer is, it depends. Whenever a Beagle's nose is deeply onto a trail, he is likely to be deaf. They do not intend to be disobedient, it is just that their instinctive drives take precedence, so in controlled conditions, they can have a really good recall, but when the foxes are laying their trails, (which is at the moment in the UK), less so. There are always more Beagles reported as missing at this time of year, though the majority are not lost for long. Both my Beags are rehomes. Eddie came at 17 weeks, and started obedience and working trial training straight away. He learned to track on both human and aniseed scent, and has never shown more than a passing interest in wildlife. On the other hand, Merry was almost six when she came here, and had previously lived in a pack environment. I have had her almost two years, and it breaks my heart that she can only be trusted off lead in a garden, or a sheep-fenced field. Once she has checked the boundaries, her recall is great, but she is far too rabbit, and dog, obsessed to ever be allowed to run free on open ground, even though she is the most loving dog in the world.
Thanks for the answer. My uncle had Beagles when I was a kid and they were the friendliest little wiggle butts I ever did meet. His dogs were of hunting stock.
A trainer acquaintance had two beagles who were successful in obedience (quite a few years ago). During one competition, she was working one of her dogs in the ring when he took it into his head to bolt. They found him three days later. Not a breed you can be complacent with. He'd never done it before, or since.
Yes @Chris B, I have a friend who is working Test A with her two, but even they have what I regard as scary lapses. Eddie will occasionally duck under a ring rope if he thinks he spots a stay tit bit, but he is too much of a mummy's boy, (ie. Wimp), to run away without being pursued by lions. To be fair, Merry wouldn't go far, but she will only return at her own speed, and we are getting too old to clamber up hills after her. There is currently a lot of interest in the Tractive tracers for hounds, but there are too many roads and railway lines in this neck of the woods for us to feel comfortable taking chances. Far safer to hire a Dog Friendly Field.
