Beagles need baths.

My beagles have always loved to come indoors and I have always enjoyed having them come in, but sometimes after a long days hunt they can get a very strong odor. Every smell they come across while outdoors they have to check it out. Dead fish or smelly old animals, they think it as a great opportunity to roll in the smell of it. It is impossible to keep your eye on them every second so they are bound to find something smelly to roll in before its time to go home. I got in the habit of knowing that when we got home it meant bath time. They love baths as long as you take care not to get water in their eyes and ears. They really enjoy drying with the towel and as soon as they can they love to run from one end of the house to the other, finishing it off by rolling in the carpet. Keeping your dog clean will certainly help to keep peace in the family, its is also a good time to check your dog for thorns and cuts. Run you dogs often and bath them to keep them smelling good.

Dogs on chains

The above pictured beagle is not mine, I found it on the Internet.

Tying your dog up on a chain, even for a short time is not a good idea. Many people keep their dogs on a chain, because it is a cheap alternative to fencing. I do not think this is good and I will tell you why. My beagle named Gabrielle, when she was still a puppy was kept on a chain on occasion because I was in the process of building a new home and had not put up a fence yet. One day, while at work I got a call from my wife that she had returned from shopping to find Gabrielle unable to move at the end of her chain. She brought her to me in the car and yes, she was paralyzed. She must have run to the end of her chain and violently come to a sudden stop while chasing after the numerous squirrels in our yard. She had broken her neck. We took her to the vet and it was verified that her neck was broken. She would need to be placed in a dog carrier box with a restrictive cone collar for several months. We would feed and water her in the cage and carry her out to due her duties repeatedly throughout the day. This broke my heart, I was devastated to think that my action of placing her on a chain had left her helpless. The good news is Gabrielle did recover almost completely, she adapted to loss of feeling in her front paws and taught herself to extend her paws so she could walk and eventually run. It was a miracle she was able to do that as she had nearly no feeling at the fronts of her front paws. This past year I had to put Gabrielle down as her life was no longer a joy after nearly 13 years. Once again my heart was broken. I will never again put any dog on a chain and I hope you won't either.

Consider the cold

Beagles make wonderful indoor pets as well as proficient hunters, but try to keep in mind, when taking your indoor dog hunting out in the cold, they get cold too. Your beagle loves to live inside with the family, but when they go out to hunt, they are not wearing a coat to keep them warm, they are like an athlete, as long their out and running on the chase, the cold will not bother them, but when you stop to take a break, keep in mind your dog has been exercising and will chill very quickly when not active. I always make it a point to look out for their well being, as they cannot. In that regard, they are like children. Even dogs that sleep outside will get cold as they are used to the protection offered them by shelter, so either put them together if possible in the dog box or the truck, and if they appear cold pick them up and warm them in your coat. Take good care of your dog and they'll perform better for you.

Rescue

Your dog requires more than just a doghouse, chain and 2 bowls. Three years ago while vacationing and working in Florida, I noticed the next door neighbor had a very large boxer tied up with a rope to a pile of junk. His house was nothing more than a wooden box, which he could not even get in for protection from the hot afternoon sun. Upon further investigation, I realized the dog whose name was Jake, did not have water or food and with his rope so tangled he would not have been able to reach it if he had some. I knocked on the front door to let the neighbor know his dog was tangled and did not appear to have water or food. The neighbor, young, barely out of high school came out to take care of the situation. I asked him if it would be alright with him, that if I happened to see Jake without water if it would be alright to give him some water. He said that would be fine but do not try to approach him as he would definitely bite me. As the days went by, I was giving Jake water several times a day, and approached the neighbor several more times about food for Jake. I spoke to Jake as did my wife throughout the day and Jake responded very well. One day Jake was tangled again, so I went over to let the neighbor know, there was no one at home. I went around and spoke to Jake as I had many times before and he immediately started wagging his tail. I cautiously approached Jake and extended my hand. Jake smelled my hand without so much as a growl, he was pleased to get some attention. I give Jake a pet and untangled the rope, give him some food and water, and spoke to Jake while I was doing it. When the neighbor got home that day, I went over to tell him he had left Jake tangled up without food or water again. I asked him if he would like to sell Jake, and he said that Jake would never go near anyone other than him. I told him about untangling Jake that day and that Jake was a fine dog, he just needed attention. He didn't believe me and asked me to show him, so we walked around the house to see Jake. Jake of course was happy to see me and came right over to me. A couple of more days passed and the neighbor came over and knocked at the front door. He said he really needed the money and would reluctantly sell Jake to me for $75, I paid him the money, because neither my wife or I could not bear to watch Jake live under those conditions any longer. We did not have a place to keep Jake, so I searched the Internet to find a placement home for Jake. We found one that would take him in Orlando and drove him the next day some 150 miles. The home was very well kept, air conditioned for comfort, with fenced in back yard for daily exercise, we left Jake there with the owners promise of finding Jake a good home. It was difficult to do, but Jake's life would be so much better and we did not have a good home for him.

Unconditional Love

Relationships are something we really have to work at to make it successful. Often times they are very frustrating, because we feel unappreciated for what we contribute. So sometimes, we don't contribute at all. Ever been in a relationship where you were giving and giving but never got any- thing back? That kind of relationship never lasts for very long, unless the giver just gives up on ever having a healthy relationship. Fortunately, dogs don't think like humans. They love unconditionally, even when being abused. If people were like dogs in that sense, we would see many less divorces. Have you ever yelled at the dog because you were upset with someone else? I have, then I felt horrible afterwords. The dog will always forgive us though, no matter how much we might yell. They seek to please us, even though we don't deserve it. Don't take your anger out on the dog, he's probably the last one in the house that deserves to be yelled at. They feel bad for us when we are sad, so they try to cheer us up, when we are happy, they are happy with us. They are such emotional creatures, too bad we couldn't all be that way isn't it?

It's that time of year!

Over the next three months men and dogs will embark upon the greatest time of the year, that is if you enjoy rabbit hunting. The warmer months behind us, deer hunting nearly over, the snow is on the ground, thank heavens the football season is almost over if you are a Detroit Lions fan! Time to get out and get some exercise, load up the hounds, we're going rabbit hunting! I can hardly wait to listen to the sweet music of the pack on track. Each one amazingly distinguished by their own unique bark. Some howl or bugle is another term, others are choppers, which is a short choppy bark and others can't seem to make up their mind as to whether bugling or chopping would be better. None in the field will be more excited about the hunt than the beagles themselves. The rabbits, I believe, look forward to the event too. I think they find a thrill in leaving a difficult track to follow. If they get too tired, or just are not in the mood, they often will hole up, which means its time to find another to chase. Once the freezer is full, I prefer to give the rabbits a sporting chance, so I resort to my 22 handgun and eventually to my longbow and arrow, totally instinctive of course. It is after all the chase I really enjoy the most anyway. It is just so much fun to get a pack on track and try to predict where to go to head off the chase, to get positioned for the oncoming rabbit! So get ready! Get out the gear, it's time to go rabbit hunting!

Christmas Beagles