Beagle Training
Some Invaluable Information About Beagle Training
Anyone familiar with this fascinating breed will attest to the prevailing stress associated with beagle training. This breed is excruciatingly intelligent, yet is born of deep seated instincts which often render him unable to please their humans on a regular basis. Instinct, particularly that of an avid hunter, is a powerful force to be reckoned with when attempting beagle training, and you will need to keep your wits and patience about you as you consistently pull the best behavior out of your faithful little friend.
Corporal punishment is never recommended as a beagle training technique, as physically harming him will do none other than to make him fearful of you, confusing his delicate pride and often causing him to become despondent. The key to proper obedience training is a stress free reward system, wherein we use his devout desire to please us as a tool for the displacement of undesirable behaviors. This is done by redirecting unwanted behavior in place of what is acceptable. In example, you would distract your dog from digging beneath a fence by using a firm tone toward that behavior, and then immediately giving him a favorable alternative, such as a squeaky toy, and rewarding him joyously for playing with it.
The most important element of beagle training is realizing that your beagle really does wish to please you. He lives to make you happy, and wants this more than anything else. If you can maintain a consistently positive redirection of his instinctual habits, your chances of coming out ahead of the game are much higher. He senses your moods probably better than you do. He knows if you are frustrated or just too tired to get up and do something about his antics. Obedience classes are a great tool to embrace, but the bulk of the work in beagle training will be done best at home, on a routine basis.
The “come” command is basic obedience technique which is often employed for the wrong reasons. Come should be a word that means good things to your dog. It should mean praise, attention, an exiting ride in the car, a tasty little tidbit of dried liver, and safety. When your beagle hears “come”, you want him to hurry back quickly and await his treasures. There are a great many instances, therefore, when the “come” command should not be used. If your dog is about to have treatments which he dreads, such as nail trimming, bathing, medications, and scolding, then the “come” command is not appropriate for obvious reasons. If he comes as he is told to do, and then receives unwelcome treatment once he has done so, he will no longer eagerly await that word. He will come to fear it, and for a beagle, that most likely means that he will ignore it ever hence.