NEED HELP in S.E. PA

[boomer72]

Im a total newb to running beagles and could use a seasoned vet to help me get a pup started and answer all the questions you thought you would never have to answer again. I have a 16 week old male with a pretty good pedigree and we are working, all be it slowly, on his obedience around the house. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Jon Shea]

Let him get out in the woods and explore at his own pace at least once a week. Get another to keep each other company and out of trouble while your at work ( keeps them quite in the kennel too ).
Work on the basic commands for now and keep putting him in rabbity areas he'll start when he's ready, have fun!

[boomer72]

is it really that easy? should i just let em run? how do i get him back if he takes off? should i wait til he is older 6mo. or what? sorry for the lack of knowledge but i gotta start somewhere.

[likeemfast]

This works great for me, i use a certain whistle to call all my hounds when afield and when feeding time as a pup (same whistle) They learn to associate the whistle with feeding time and also as your calling them to come in. Take your pup for a walk. Let him start exploring and whistle him back in every once in a while and call him by name, after a couple times of that, when he goes off, hide behind a tree and let him look for you. He either will track you down by scent, or if he starts whining and cant find you, then whistle and call for him and make a big fuss over him when he comes in. This works like a charm on pups for them to know to come look for you every once in a while instead of you having to go look for them. I always like a hound that checks back in from time to time while hunting, and i feel this is part of what teaches them to do so. JMO.

[fatboy]

Get a tame rabbit and a shock collar. Teach him basic commands. Start him on the tame rabbit, correct bad behavior with the collar as needed. Look for a beagle club in your area to learn more. You don't need to wait till he is 6 months old.

[boomer72]

Thanks everyone, all the info is a help. i appreciate it

[gun runner]

I would not call myself a seasoned vet but the basic commands is were you start imo.Take a bag of dog treats with you and every time he does good give him one.You should be able to let the dog out any where and he should come to you.That is about the worse feeling a dog 20 yards away and stand there or go the other way while you are calling him.Ever thing else will fall in place when he is ready,but there is nothing wrong getting a couple of tame rabbit for him,i use a cat harness and a fishing rod,take him to a fence in ball field and trun him loose with the rabbit,it is in there blood to track and chase.Good luck but make it enjoyable for you both,never try to leave on a bad note.JMO

[mundellm]

Where in SE PA are you located.

[adirondackjoe]

i am a seasoned vet but i still get good advice from this board. you're gonna learn with your pup and you can always come here for help and you will have a great time doing it. the best advice i can give you after almost 50 years of this is the FIRST thing you should buy is a garmin alpha. its got the training collar and tracker all in one. opinions vary here on some things but i bet most of us can agree on that. good luck.

[Househounds]

I have posted this several times. I do not think anyone has ever done it. Find this book and use it. It works.

Beagle Basics by Bill Bennet


http://www.amazon.com/Beagle-Training-B ... 0944875335

This book covers everything except shock collars and trash breaking. You can learn that when you are ready to buy your collar (before you go the field very much). They come with a training book and a manual.

Training your own dog is very rewarding, but you will have this dog for several years, so be careful and make it into one you will like.

Good Luck

[Remmy]

boomer,

My pair of females are 14 weeks. Once they got their rabies shot at 12 weeks, I started walking them off lead in some rabbit cover. They stayed close to me than I would have expected as opposed to running off. YMMV.

I see you keep them inside. How is your potty training going? If you are having good success, please share.

Thanks.
Brian