PREPARING FOR THAT NEW PUPPY
AND GENERAL BEAGLE CARE
Is a beagle the right breed for you? Their size, floppy ears, and pleading eyes are so hard to resist; but cuteness is not the entirety of the breed, and there may be another breed that suits you better.
One of my friends Samantha Lengyel - a beagle breeder in Ontario, Canada, - has an excellent page on some of the pros and cons of beagle ownership. She graciously allowed me to share it:
Feeding your beagle! I'm putting this first because it's so important. I can't stress it enough the importance of keeping your beagles a healthy weight. Beagles follow the wild dog instinct to load up on food while they can. They'll eat as much as physically possible if allowed. Unlike wild dogs, however, there's always the promise of another meal. Because of beagles' seemingly unending hunger, pleading eyes, and begging ways, many beagles are overweight because their dedicated loving owners (slaves) can't say no. Overweight beagles are not happy beagles, not as happy as they could be if they could freely move and run without that added weight. It's not just physical appearance, obesity can hamper their health in more ways than one. By the time my beagles hit maturity, none of them eat more than two cups a day, and some only eat one cup. Their portions are divided between two feedings or sometimes used in a training session as a substitute for multiple extra treats. I feed my beagles 4-Health, Royal Canin, or Purina kibble. More information in the link:
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Another important part of beagle care is keeping their nails trimmed. It helps keep their feet pretty, healthy, and safe. Long nails can cause pain and discomfort because it can prevent them from walking properly. And don't forget to trim their dewclaws. Our beagles only have front dewclaws. For a number of reasons, we no longer remove our puppies dewclaws. Most of our adults ave them, and we have never had a problem.
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We do not condone spaying or neutering your dog before 12 months, and preferably 18 months. I'm sharing this from Zazuri Beagles in Washington. I'm privileged to co-own a beagle from her, Jewel, and I highly respect her. In this article she briefly summarizes some things about neutering and spaying as well as shares some links for more detailed articles.
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House breaking can be difficult for some beagles. We do our best to give them a head start. When they begin to take their first steps, we introduce them to a litter box. They are also used to using a dog door to go outside to go potty.
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I'll add Xylitol to the list of household poisons below. Very toxic to dogs and cats, it's found in quite a few products including some peanut butter and toothpaste. Make sure to check ingredients, and keep products that may contain it in a safe place.
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