You are here:

Beagles/indoor beagles?

Advertisement

Expert: - 7/29/2002


Question
Dear Have4Paws,

My wife and I live in Texas and we have no dogs -- only a white cat.  Our newly built home has only a small back yard, so we will have to have an indoor dog.  My mother-in-law has a pregnant beagle and wants us to take one of the puppies. I have my doubts about beagles being good "indoor" dogs.  We would appreciate any tips and/or advice that a confirmed "Beagleholic" such as yourself might provide.  Thanks in advance for your help!

,JPM

Answer
HI, thanks for writing to me!

To be honest I agree with your suspicions that it may be tough for a beagle to have no yard to run around in and sniff in. It isn't that it cannot be done however if you were willing to be a faithful twice a day walker. Beagles are very active dogs, crave exercise and companionship due to their genetics as hound dogs who live in a pack as hunters.

More concerning to me is the cat thing. I have yet to see a beagle that didn't spend all it's time chasing a resident cat. It will always be trying to stick its nose in personal places and just be all around pesty and a pain in the butt to a cat because of its hunting instinct. It isn't that a beagle would ever hurt the cat, they are very docile but they have a tough time seeing anything moving and not pursuing it or smelling anything foreign that moves and not pursuing it!! No one I know has succeeded with this nor have I. My first beagle was brought in at 6 weeks with the comment from the vet that if I got a puppy the cat (only like 2 at the time) would be able to establish easily its dominance. UH, NO, didnt work....... he chased that cat for years until it finally got to where she didnt want to even come in the house anymore. My second beagle got to where she could lie on the same couch with the cat as long as she didnt get up and move or the chase was on with them too.

So........... I don't know what to tell you other than if it were up to me and there were other options I would probably not recommend a beagle in your situation.

Hope this gave you some help.
Have4Paws

Beagles

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

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.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.