House dogs

[Tom Dunn]

OK, I'm fully aware that I'm somewhat of an "odd duck" here(lots of other places too I suppose ) in that my beagles live indoors with me, and I don't trial(yet). Can't even tell ya the bloodlines of my dogs, sorry.
Still in all, I'm curious about who might keed their hunting beagle/trial beagle in the house to whatever degree?
I belonged to a LPOH club at one time and a member kept SIX in the house, trialed and hunted them all the time.
A wife, three kids and six beagles, can ya imagine?

[crewchf]

You ain't odd brother, lots of us got em indoors!!!! Me and the Wife have 5 in the living room right now, those folks who don't like it can leave as fast as they came in!!! They all have their own crates and they hunt just fine on the weekends for us.. You ain't lived till you got 5 of em cutting laps around the house!!! It is funny to watch.. Ole Savannah is the first one out of the crates at night and she greets the rest of em with a firm growl just to remind em all who's the Boss!!!! The Wolf within!!!!!

Crew Chief

[S.R.Patch]

I fully believe a hound is at it's "best" when full acclimated to conditions ie..weather/outside temp. and environment ie..terrain and country hunted.
Hounds can be kept inside, but for me, that is only for the very young or very old...jmho...

[mo. beagler]

I think sr has something on the acclimation part. I keep a heat lamp in my dog house and I wonder if sometimes it doing a negitive.

[crewchf]

Patch,, I can understand where you're a comin from.. If I lived as close to the ARCTIC CIRCLE as you I'd leave mine outside too!!!! Plus your hounds gotta be in tip top shape to get away from them dad gum wolves!!!

Crew Chief

[D.Gross]

I have two females now. They are in the house for a couple of hours each night, then outside in kennel. I've have always done this. They handle great. Come to whistle, mind well, hunt close. Never had a problem.

[Greg H]

Well I went and married a woman with the softest heart (toward dogs anyway) you'll ever see. For the past 9 years we have had at least one beagle in the house. I am a firm believer in socializing pups by letting them stay inside. Along with the house breaking they learn alot of important things while they live with us. But, by the time I am ready to start taking them to the wild, they are demoted to the humble life of the kennels. All save one, "LUCY". This little gyp knew excatly what she was doing when she was kissing up to MaMa son. I'll have to live in the kennels before she will.

[Gbeagle]

I have 2 that live in the house and it doesn't slow them down one bit. They get in there and mix it up and hunt just hard as the other hounds that they happen to be with at any given time.

[S.R.Patch]

Patch,, I can understand where you're a comin from.. If I lived as close to the ARCTIC CIRCLE as you I'd leave mine outside too!!!! Plus your hounds gotta be in tip top shape to get away from them dad gum wolves!!!

Crew Chief

And Chief, If I didn't hunt my hounds, I'd see nothing wrong in doing as you do...
People up north are in shirt sleeves when it's 50 degs. It was barely cool enough for me to hunt in La. in Feb. and I got bit by a mosquito.
I think having to adapt to the temp is just another distraction to a hound tring to hunt...jmho
If I threw you out of your 80 deg. bed and into the 20 deg. air and said, "huntum up Chief" how would you feel?...now being a hound, you can't put any more clothes on or take any off...I'm ready for you to hunt and you better get with it...

[SilverZuk]

Mine come in and visit on a regular basis, but don't and won't live inside.
We are all happier with them in the kennel (25'x25' ground pen).

I have an inside dog and he is the last when he is gone. I like the indoor/outdoor dogs the best.
That way if I go somewhere overnight I don't have to worry about them being let out of the house. Just pay the neighbor kid to make sure they have food and water.

[crewchf]

Patch,, Don't you know the dad gum Oil Co execs are a having a FIT over all this warm weather through out the country!!! We're expectng almost 70 in metro Atlanta this Sat... Hey them patch hounds of yours,, are they part Dalmation,, they sure are cool lookin???

My Flak Jacket and Helmit's On!!!
Crew Chief........

[kybriarbuster]

tom i keep two males 2yrs and 8yrs old in the house. they are a b last for company and run 3-6 times a week year round. i see no adverse affects and they handle the best. as far as artic cold we dont have here but we see plenty of teens and twentys here. the biggest pain is a bath every time they are ran. as far as trialing goes the old dog has been in 6 akc midwest trials. 2 first and 2 seconds. not bad for a nobody handler and a branko dog to boot! i say have fun you wont regret it. sam

[Beagled1]

I've got seven in the house. They spend a good deal of time indoors but the males get kenneled when bitches are in heat. You do have to make sure they are spending several hours daily outside so that when you run them, they have enough coat/resistance to the cold weather. Also, all my pups are whelped indoors and with the several litters I've had over the years, have not lost a one ...
Keeping hounds in the house is all a personal preference, but if you do, better make sure they're well trained/mannered. Especially with those leg liftin' males! lol

[TOUCHSTONEBGLS]

I like to have my dogs in with me. Beau is a truly great rabbit dog. I have rabbit hunted over 35 years. He is my first Competition Hunting Beagle. In UKC he was the Natl. GrandCh hunt winner twice, #1 all-age male in the country 2 years, Overall Winner once,...... Living in the house with me did not hurt him any for hunting or competition hunts. The only negative I found was in the outside bench show competitions when it was very cold out. He shivered standing still on those benches. He still made it to #7 show dog in the country one year and #2 show dog another year. He worked so hard in the field that he never had much chance of getting cold. If a dog lives inside in a cold climate but needs to be kept outside for long periods of time he will need a warm, draft free, area to rest in. It is not healthy to crate dogs inside for long periods of time (other than to sleep through the nite). Some dogs are more trainable/smarter and make better house pets. I have a few that don't get a lot of time in the house. The worst one is a female. She knows it is wrong to pee in the house but will sneak behind the couch, etc. I will not tollerate that! Another one that doesn't get much house time tends to roll in every stinkin thing he finds. I have 3 that are great house pets. The joy I get from my beagles around the house is as valuable to me as their worth rabbit hunting or in competitions. Dan M

[Honey Pot Hounds]

I know my dogs don't hunt and are considered "pampered" by you guys, but if anyone needs any tips on how to live with dogs in the house I know that Leah, myself and several others of us will be happy to share what works for us.

My guys spend most of the day OUTSIDE in runs with doghouses so that they are acclimated to the cold and heat too. In winter I minimize my show grooming as much as possible so they can handle the cold weather. They get muddy, wet, gross. They are BEAGLES and they are often looked down on as smelly hound dogs by the Poodle people, etc., even though they are clean and gorgeous at the shows.

We put the Beagles each in their own crates at night...they are just too active and dirty to have sleep in bed with us. I'd let Honey sleep with us but hubby says NO and she IS a bed hog. We've tried but she makes a dirty spot real fast even though she is a "pampered show dog" (Yeah right!). She also prefers to sleep sideways or butt first and has sneezing attacks every morning.....so we are all just happy in our own beds (& crates).
Now if I could just get hubby to sleep in his own crate (bed) so I could have that a bed to myself, LOL without the snoring and various other "lovely" noises that man makes!!!