TRAINING

It is strongly recommended with the Beagle breed or any puppy for that matter that you start the training process early, the day you bring them into your home would be a good time to start because it is very difficult to train once they get older, but once they get it, they get it and never forget it. The first and foremost training to start with, along with crate training of course, is eye contact… you must train your dog to make eye contact with you, therefore making the rest of the training process a lot easier for both of you.

 Once the eye contact is perfected you will see your dog pays a lot more attention to you and your commands rather than getting distracted. Eye contact is a technique that will work with older dogs and puppies. If you're having trouble with an older dog, it's usually because he views himself as the Alpha. One way to change things around, fast, is to practice making eye contact with your would be head honcho hound. There's a world of difference between making eye contact and just looking at one another and that difference can determine who's top dog in your household. When your dog looks at you, it's on his terms, not yours. But when you force the dog to look at you, it's on your terms, a move that immediately places him at a disadvantage and he knows it.

 When you wish to practice eye contact with a puppy or an older dog, first place a collar and leash on him. Then sit the dog down. Gently pull upward on the leash. Bend down and touch him on the muzzle. Now bring your hand up to your eyes. While you're doing this, make a clucking sound followed by a sentence like: "Rover, look at me!" Be sure to stand up after touching your dog so he has to look up at you. Once he does, wait a moment, then tell him what a good dog he is, and leave him sitting there. After enough repetitions of this, he'll start making eye contact with you more naturally.

In regards to crate training, that will probably be the toughest of all to get through, more so for you than your dog, the reason being is, it’s heart wrenching to hear the cries from the crate begging you to let them out, but that’s when you must remain strong and not give in. Eventually your dog will find comfort going into their crate, like a sanctuary, a place to call their own. You also want to start incorporating the basic commands such as sit, stay, come… I personally use sign language along with verbal commands, this way if your dog ever goes deaf for one reason or another, you will still have a way of communicating with them and they will still understand. It was a saving grace for me after my dog went deaf in his eleventh year, it was like nothing was different and it didn’t make my dog feel inferior because he couldn’t hear.