Adopting a Beagle?

[fishoholic]

I know a few doggy daycares that are pretty good if you're interested in that route, the idea of doggy daycare is that the dogs gets it's energy out at daycare instead of taking it out on your carpets/furniture etc.

My dogs are left for 9-10 hours (WOW when I did the math, I leave for work around 8am and get back home around 6pm, I hadn't realized it was that long I was leaving them for ) but that being said they are usually pretty good. However if I leave anything on the table within their reach, forget to hide my pillows under the blanket, leave shoes out etc. it's basically considered fair game and it will be ripped up/destroyed by the time I get home.

When we just had the one dog (Oreo) she would pretty much always find something to destroy on a daily basis from being left alone for so long. After we got our other dogs it helped a lot, for the most part they keep each other company. It also helps to walk them everyday, I know when I miss taking them for a walk they usually will find something (mostly paper ie: fliers left on the table) to rip up.

Most dogs, as long as they are potty trained, will not mess in the house and will hold it for up to 10 hours before they would defecate inside the house.

As for crate training I think 8 hours is too long to leave a dog in a create for on a regular basis and you are right, with Edmonton weather, leaving a dog outside for an extended period of time (especially a short hair dog) is a bad idea.

This is just my experiences and my opinion but I hope it helps. Feel free to pm me or call me etc. if you have any questions, and I'll try to help answer them.

[Leah]

I would be leary of the fact that they leave the dog in the basement.
Dogs are great, but a huge responsibilty.

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

If he's crate trained, not really an issue. If not, ya, 8 hours is a lot of time to lounge around eating furniture. 5 yrs old is still plenty young to re-train something if needed.

Originally Posted by megs_clark

I just thought id mention, our Beagle is crate trained. But theirs a limit on how long he can be in their before going nuts, lol. And 8 hours would by far be exceeding that with a Beagle i think. They really are high energy dogs.

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.

[Ian]

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

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by fishytime

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.

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.

[Aquattro]

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/

[Leah]

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

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Leah

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

[fishoholic]

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

[megs_clark]

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.