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Beagles are truly a high energy breed and a crate for 8 hours may cause huge issues for you when you let it out. Especially if it is not crate trained allready.
They are a terrific family breed as has been mentioned but you have to find a method of using up some of that enery and curiosity every day or you will have a very unhappy dog and you will be unhappy also. If doggy day care is not an option maybe a good dog walker is available to you. He/she could come over mid day and take this puppy for a nice long walk. It would give the pooch a great break in the day whichever way you choose to house it while your away and keep it from having accidents in your house.
I have had great succes with this for a couple of my dogs in the past.

Good luck

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishytime (Post 461773)

If you need to put a dog in a box for any length of time to keep it from chewing things up, then you shouldnt have a dog IMO. Putting a dog in a box is not responsible pet ownership. Way too many people own dogs that probably shouldnt.:sad:

Well, you obviously don't know much about dogs and crates then, because my dogs love their crates. They sleep in them, by their own choosing. A crate trained dog is so much easier to manage, from transport, vet care, and attending sporting events is just not possible if the dog won't sit in a crate.
Now I'll be the first to agree that many people shouldn't have companion animals (pets is such a bad term), but it's not due to crating them. My dogs participate in agility or flyball 2 - 3 times per week, go for 5-10k runs 3-5 times per week, and after all that, they love to go home for a nap in their crates.
In your defense, I used to feel the same way before I understood the benefits of crates, for both me and my dogs.

Here is a link to crate training for anyone that isn't sure why it's a good thing.

http://www.thedogtrainingsecret.com/crate-training/

Crates have their place that is true but not 8-10 hrs a day for 5 days a week.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leah (Post 461803)

Crates have their place that is true but not 8-10 hrs a day for 5 days a week.

Yes, a crate is not a substitute for interacting with your dog. But, my dogs are crated from 8-12, I'm home for lunch, then from 1-5. The few times they were not crated, I ended up with a three poster bed and a chewed lamp cord. If they're left out, they also sleep all day, so whether they sleep on my bed, or their own bed, not much of a difference. Once I get home, they spend the night training, running or wrestling with each other.
Leaving a dog out loose is a sure way for bad things to happen. I understand that some people don't agree with it, so I won't go on about it, but to label someone an irresponsible pet owner because they use a crate simply shows ingnorance.
As an example, one person I know that has a beagle, but does not believe in crates, has had the poor little guy in for surgery 4 times because the dog was unsupervised for a few moments and was allowed to swallow something it shouldn't have. I'm happy to admit I do not subject my dogs to such cruelty.

Ok, I'm done :)

I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about crates. Crates can be a good thing as long as they are not misused. If a crate is not being misused the crate usually will become a safe private space that most dogs enjoy retreating to, especially at bed time or when they need/want alone time.

Although there are some dogs (like mine) who absolutely hate the mere thought of a crate, and trying to keep them in one (while they are literally flipping out) is just mean. I know as tried once with Oreo and she freaked out so bad that she somehow manged to flip the whole crate over and kept rolling around in it until she got it to pop open, and it only took her about ten minutes to do so. Needless to say that was my 1st and last attempt at crate training :redface:

I think that all dog breeds are different. Some breeds of dogs are more active, some need more companion ship, dogs who are pack dogs have more anxiety issues often. Of course their are times when an exception is made. But often they can be predictable when looking at breeds. And as someone who owns a Beagle (this is the breed in topic) I can say that i dont think it would be good for him to be alone in a room, crate or anything else where he will be alone for 8 hours. Even a single walk in the eight hours will not make for a happy Beagle. In my opinion anyways. Beagles are highly active, and need company. They hate being alone generaly. They can become deppressed easily, and being alone pent up is going to drive a Beagle crazy. We used our crate training more for potty training at night, when he was a puppy (worked awsome) and as a spot he can go if he needs to be alone, LOL. It doesnt get used much, because he NEVER wants to be alone. We are lucky that i work from home so am home all day and so are my kids. When i would leave him to go out for an hour if he is locked up, by the time i were to get home he is going nuts. So i think putting him in your fish room for 8 hours would be leading to behaviour issues. Its not the worry of having accedents, its the dog trying to get out of the room, and wrecking things. Beagles aim to please, so i find they only misbehave if not happy or fallowing their nose. They are prone to getting fat if they dont get adaquite exercize which can lead to health problems. I found before buying our Beagle that they need a little more attension then some other dogs. They are not independent dogs. Im assuming if the dog your thinking of aqddopting is being locked up in the basement when they go to work, its because its misbehaving when alone. Sooooo if its doing that for them, its going to do it to you if in the same situation!!! A fish room typicaly (i dont have one myself unfortunetly) has alot of pipes and such that i bet will become a chewing post to vent frustrations after a few long days of being holed up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by megs_clark (Post 461818)

I think that all dog breeds are different. Some breeds of dogs are more active, some need more companion ship, dogs who are pack dogs have more anxiety issues often. Of course their are times when an exception is made. But often they can be predictable when looking at breeds. And as someone who owns a Beagle (this is the breed in topic) I can say that i don't think it would be good for him to be alone in a room, crate or anything else where he will be alone for 8 hours. Even a single walk in the eight hours will not make for a happy Beagle. In my opinion anyways. Beagles are highly active, and need company. They hate being alone generally. They can become depressed easily, and being alone pent up is going to drive a Beagle crazy. We used our crate training more for potty training at night, when he was a puppy (worked awesome) and as a spot he can go if he needs to be alone, LOL. It doesn't get used much, because he NEVER wants to be alone. We are lucky that i work from home so am home all day and so are my kids. When i would leave him to go out for an hour if he is locked up, by the time i were to get home he is going nuts. So i think putting him in your fish room for 8 hours would be leading to behaviour issues. Its not the worry of having accidents, its the dog trying to get out of the room, and wrecking things. Beagles aim to please, so i find they only misbehave if not happy or fallowing their nose. They are prone to getting fat if they don't get adequate exercise which can lead to health problems. I found before buying our Beagle that they need a little more attention then some other dogs. They are not independent dogs. I'm assuming if the dog your thinking of adopting is being locked up in the basement when they go to work, its because its misbehaving when alone. Sooooo if its doing that for them, its going to do it to you if in the same situation!!! A fish room typically (i don't have one myself unfortunately) has a lot of pipes and such that i bet will become a chewing post to vent frustrations after a few long days of being holed up.

+1 well said.

Trust me when I say do not get a dog unless you are willing to except that chewing up of things not meant to be chewed up might happen (like pillows and baseboards) pee and poo indoors might happen, holes in your yard might happen. Some dogs are better trained then others and some make more messes then others but even a well trained dog can get into mischief and have accidents every now and then. As long as you're willing to live with that then go for it as the companionship a dogs gives is a wonderful thing.

Have we scared you enough yet?

Crate training is the best thing for any dog, unless it is going to be with you 100% of the time, but they should be confined nolonger than 4hours at a time, Brad has good luck as they are in there crate for 4 hours and then out for 1/2 to 1 hour then back in for another 4 hours.

I am working on getting mine trained, and it is a slow process, but we don't know any of the history as it was tied to the fence at the SPCA when they came into work. we do think it was a res dog, no real issues just no real training either. so the only time she is crated is when I have to run out the odd time when I don't take her with me. they look at it as there den and there place to escape if they feel there is to much going on.

but being gone for 8 hours solid is to long, unless you have some one to stop by and let them out for a bathroom break and to play for a bit befor going back in.

Steve