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Beagles/Gourging Beagle

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Expert: - 9/16/2009


Question
My sons beagle eats everything.  She constantly gets into the pantry and will down a whole loaf of bread or even rummage through the trash.  She gets fed regularly.  Why is this bad behavior happening?  Is she rebelling or just some sort of attention getter ?


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Answer
Hi there, thanks for writing. Ok, first off beagles live to eat, it is absolutely their favorite thing to do in the whole world and will eat until they explode. But the reason your son's beagle is doing what she is doing is because she can. If those things or areas are available to her she will go for it as would nay dog who wasnt trained not to. How does she get into the pantry ? Is there a door, if so it should always be kept shut, if not you may need to put up a baby gate. Trash needs to be up on a counter or  in a compactor which even then isnt fool-proof. I can tell you that my 2 1/2 year old beagle almost died a few months ago because he and my older female beagle figured out how to get the compactor open and he ate the night's before chicken bones and some glass. He was saved miraculously but it cost $5,500 to fix him.... so please get the trash put some where foolproof. Dogs are like babies, you have to dog proof

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Have4Paws

Expertise

I am happy to answer BEAGLE BREED SPECIFIC behavioral questions. Please DO NOT ask CRATE TRAINING OR MEDICAL questions! I am not a vet nor an expert in the use of crates.

Experience

I currently have one beagle, a male age 5, an 12 month old Pit Bull, and a 8 year old min. poodle. I have had to let go of three of my dogs, 2 beagles and 1 whippet/rat terrier mix in the past 5 years, most recently my whippet mix. The two beagles lived to 15 and the whippet mix to 13.5, it has been hard to say goodbye to them. I have done rescue work on and off for years as well as fund-raising for the local animal shelter. I worked for a dog magazine in the past (Southern California Dog Magazine). Being a psychotherapist has encouraged me to do in depth studying of animal behavior as well. I have worked with many people to help curb undesirable behaviors in their dogs (or them!) or to form good behaviors. My life is devoted to and surrounded by my dogs........The picture you see here is Zeppelin but we also call him the "miracle dog". He was hit by a car April 2010 while out with the dog walker and had very serious injuries... 4 surgeries and $17,000 later my boy is whole again and back to loving life. He is so special to me and he weathered a lot of pain and trauma yet is still the sweet boy he always was! I also work to stop Breed Specific Legislation and help to get pit bulls adopted.

Organizations
HSUS, PETA, SPCA DONT SHOP...ADOPT!!

Publications
Dog Fancy

Education/Credentials
I am a Marriage and Family Therapist licensed in the state of CA and am also credentialed as a Certified Addiction Treatment Specialist

Awards and Honors
Honored by the Agoura Animal Shelter for my volunteer work.

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