Beagles dogs are active intelligent and fun-loving dogs, who loves the company of humans they have strong instincts to
- Sniff
- Track
- Remain active
Most of the times they are small to medium-sized breed and are considered as scent hounds, they were used for hunting rabbits, hair etc.
1. Feeding a Beagle:
Beagles are very active and energetic dogs and that is the reason they need proper diet and nutrition, the kind of food your beagle consumes will determine his weight, energy level, mental and physical growth.
Choosing Food:
Commercially-available dry food is normally fine, you can also mix some canned food with dry. Buy from a good and reputed brand and don't go for cheap brands. You need to take care of few things while buying food from the market.
1. A main and first thing on the ingredients list should be meat in the form of poultry chicken, fish, beef etc.
2. Cereals and meat byproducts are less nutritional and hard for your beagle to digest.
3. Protein fats and digestible carbs should be included in the list of beagle food ingredients.
How much to be fed:
Beagle’s age, weight an activity level defines a lot how much they need to be fed. In a day a beagle puppy before the age of 12 weeks needs to be fed four times a day, at 3 months of age cut the meals into three times in a day. After six months of age cut it again into two times per day. When your beagle puppy becomes one-year-old switch its food type from puppy to adult dog.
2. Exercise a beagle:
Regular exercise is necessary for your beagle to use his energy in right way and to remain fit and healthy exercise also prevents certain problems such as obesity, anxiety, and laziness. Do not take your beagle puppy for exercise etc until he is done with all puppy shots.
Some Exercises:
Walking:
Walking or taking him with you for running is a great exercise for your beagle, it helps to stretch their muscles balance, metabolism and make them familiar with outside environment.
Yard Playing:
If you cannot take your beagle for walking let him play in your yard, release him in your yard three times a day for about half an hour
Play Fetch:
Play fetch it is another great activity to interact and exercise with your beagle while sitting on a chair beagles are hunting dogs and they love this classical game to sniff and find objects and bring them back to you.
Some Advice:
Beagle’s skeletal system is not completely developed until the age of 18 months. Don't over exercise him until the age of 18 months or it will disturb the development of his bones. Don't exercise your beagle in extreme weather conditions.
3. Training a Beagle:
Training your beagle to actively use his energy and skills 8 to 14 weeks of ages the time when Beagle is trying to learn new things and they can be easily molded into the desired personality
Basic Obedience Commands:
Start teaching basic commands to your beagle puppy, the day you bring him home don't start it if they are less than eight weeks of age. Some important basic commands are “sit”, “stay”, “come”, “drop” etc. Beagles also do a lot of jumping, train them not to jump on everyone.
Biting => Reasons:
When a new pup is born one of the first things they learn is nipping and biting when your beagle is afraid and doesn't trust a person he will bite. It is a natural behavior of dogs, biting doesn't mean they are aggressive.
Biting => How to Stop:
If your beagle bites you during play, stop playing to make him understand the consequences when he bites you make a Yelp sound and show grief on your face if your beagle is biting a lot consult a dog trainer or admit him in dog training classes.
House-Breaking:
Choose one specific place and take your beagle to that place every time he wants to eliminate, give him meals at almost specific times so the urge to take to potty comes at the same time. Take him for potty at specific times in the morning 20 minutes after meals before bed.
Barking => Reasons:
Your beagle may start barking when seeing new people, places or other dogs. When they want to play, when they get excited about something, when something recurring occurs like a doorbell.
Barking => How to Stop:
When your beagle is about to bark distract him by giving his favorite toy. When he barks say quietly and then walk away to let him follow you.
Some Advice:
Do training sessions throughout the day. Don't make them boring; keep them short using food and verbal or physical praise will help you in achieving targets early. Be the leader of packs so your beagle will know your position and will follow your commands. Do several repetitions of same commands, be consistent and patient.
4. Grooming a Beagle:
Beagles are kind of breed that is easy to groom, regular grooming builds a bond between both of you and it also gives you a chance to spot your beagle for any skin problem.
Brushing:
Beagles have short thick coats and they normally shed a lot brushing their coat at least twice a week is usually recommended, brushing stimulates the blood supply to hair follicles and spreads natural oils to coat it, also removes dead loose hairs giving your beagle a shiny look brush in the direction of hair growth to gain maximum results.
Bath:
Bathing a beagle is necessary to keep his skin healthy and to remove any dirt from him; it also prevents any bad smell from his coat. Bath your beagle usually once a month if your beagle is playing in mud you can do it twice but don't do it so much. Use dog supplies like dog shampoo towels cotton balls.
Ear Care:
For ears etc and bath him with lukewarm water beagles floppy ears can trap moisture. So it is good to cover them with cotton balls, a beagles long floppy ears need to be checked weekly for any kind of infections or wax accumulation clean them using an ear cleaner specially formulated for dogs and recommended by a vet q-tip damages your beagles eardrum and pushes the wax deep inside so don't use them constant ear scratching fluid discharge and bad smell from ears are indications of ear problems.
Nail Care:
Trim your beagle’s nails twice a month or you can trim their nails when it makes a clicking sound by walking on floor cut their nails using a dog nail trimmer cut carefully and don't trim the quick portion of dog's nail.
Teeth Care:
Brush their teeth almost every second day using a dog toothbrush and paste, don't use human supplies.
Fleas & Ticks Control:
Fleas and ticks are a problem if your beagle spends a lot of time in grassy or brushy areas, use a fine-tooth comb and brush against the direction of hair growth to check your beagles coat for any ticks and fleas use a flea-killing shampoo and flea comb to remove the fleas in case of ticks use gloves and tweezers to pull away the ticks.
5. Health Care of Beagle:
Beagles are generally healthy dogs and they have relatively long lives of 12 to 15 years but there are some general health problems which can be easily prevented.
Vaccinations:
Vaccinations usually start at 8 weeks of age. Early vaccines are given to your beagle after that they need booster shots. There are also some vaccines given to your beagle according to specific diseases in your area.
Check-Ups:
Regular visits to an event will help to spot early health issues, taking your beagle to a vet for a checkup at least once in a sixth month is best.