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Beagles/getting a 2nd dog

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Expert: - 4/6/2010


Question
We have a 5 year old female beagle. Is bringing home a rescue dog for companionship a good idea? She whines at the dogs next door through the fence to run with her. But she doesn't have very good social skills. I don't want to make a wrong decision. Any advice would be deeply appreciated.

Answer
Hi, having a companion for your beagle is a good idea mainly because they are what we call "pack" oriented. They do not like to be alone. They will readily adapt to a human pack as well but if you arent home a lot, say because you work or whatever, they can develop destructive habits from boredom and become quite out of hand. Beagles definitely crave companionship! My concern is what you mean by she doesnt have very good social skills? Is she aggressive? Does she not like other dogs? If there is aggression (to humans or other animals) then that needs to be curbed before bringing any other animal into the house with a qualified trainer who provides one one training at your home. Otherwise you are setting up a recipe for disaster. Since I do not know what you mean by this I cannot really answer to it at this point in more detail. I am going out of town for a while and return on 4-20, if you can wait until then and email me back the details maybe I can assist further. In the meantime if there is any aggression whatsoever do NOT bring another animal in until this is fixed.  

Beagles

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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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