As many of you may know, 10 days ago I rehomed a beautiful Beagle from the RSPCA. She is adorable and is settling in well, she gets on well with all the other dogs and has been accepted as part of the gang. I had her checked by my own vet and she agrees she is around 4 years and she has had at least 2 and probably 3 litters. She is just beginning to accept food from a bowl as she has been more comfortable eating kibble from the floor. Everything points to PF unfortunately. Her recall is much better although she gallops back but stops around 6ft away from me and cowers down as if expecting a beating, but we are working on the trust issues and she is very loved, so we will get her over these fears eventually.
My question is, are Beagles little thieves. Ok. if all the dogs have a bone, two blinks later she has them all in her bed sitting on top like a mother hen, I don't think the other dogs realise she has taken their bone as they are daft enough to be sniffing around looking for it, completely unaware that it is in her bed.
But she has a special large clump of ornamental grass in the garden which is her hidy hole. I checked there last night and found 1 sneaker, 1 sock, 1 notepad, 1 address book, 1 pen and a small torch. Nothing had been chewed, unless of course she had it stashed to go back for a good chew another day. It's unbelievable how she gets all these things without us knowing.
It is a long time since we have had a puppy but it looks like we are going to have to lift everything up high where she can't reach even though she is 4ish, is this a Beagle 'thing' or is it just this little monkey

I've only experience of one beagle, but he didn't hide things :) :) She sounds a real sweetie tho' :)

Sounds like my Bog ( male rescue Lab ) ! Just loves to pinch things but he is very stupid and does it in front if us but thinks if he stands very still when we catch him that we can't see him !!

She does sound like a very sweet girl who has got her paws under the table!

I've no experience of Beagles but I did have a large breed bitch years ago that used to steal everything from socks to kitchen cutlery and stash it in her bed or in other 'hide-outs' as symptoms of her phantom pregnancies.  She used to take phantoms approx. 6-9 weeks after every season and this was her behaviour, no other physical symptoms or anything.  I used to just keep her extra busy and keep as many things out of reach as possible, and it passed.

So perhaps it could be that?

Your new Beagle sounds lovely anyway, well done :-)

could be she cant believe her luck and is frightened it will all go away. I know thast abit anthromorphic but couldnt think how to explain any other way :)

The Beagle I used to look after, Rhum, was an awful thief , I found it rather endearing, Id always know when he was thinking about nicking something as he'd get this sort of, practised nonchalance , to his walk, it was so funny, I just used to let him ,and go and retrieve what ever he'd taken once he'd gone home. Most of his booty would be hidden in my bed, squirrelled away under the duvet .

Sounds like she is going through puppy hood, having not had a decent life before, probably little in the way of stimulation etc. My pups at around 4 - 5 months (or even older) loved to hoard 'stuff'.

If you were not careful you'd see a tea towel or whatever disappear into her favourite stashing place.

Of course it could be that she never had enough of anything in the past and so storing food items makes sense.

As for personal items the smell of them may be reassuring as they smell of you.

not a beagle but a rescue GSD used to take food (dog food) out of cupboards to 'store' it... I used to find packs of chews etc all over the garden, in corners of the rooms, I think it's a rescue thing, she had been half starved and couldn't really get her head around never being hungry again, but eventually it did stop :-)

Id always know when he was thinking about nicking something as he'd get this sort of, practised nonchalance , to his walk, it was so funny

Exactly, this is how she is when she wants to nick the other dogs bones. She pretends she is not looking, gets up, yawns , stretches and just happens to pick their bone up without them seeing and strolls off with it. The other household goods I don't see going at all, she is really quite clever and usually adorable. She has just been found with my daughters fishnet stocking that she intended to wear to the Rocky Horror show she is going to next week, it now has no foot left in it - oh dear I had better get a replacement pair !!!!

She is still so cuddly and worth it..... It makes me realise how good all the other dogs are and how out of practice I am with 'puppy' type dogs

I have a soft spot for Beagles,many yrs ago I used to walk one for my local vicar, he never stole anything but he was hopeless at coming back when his owner called him. I never had any bother with him though. My own little spaniel was however a roaring kleptomaniac lol I could have made a fortune if I had taken her into shops as she could take stuff right from under your nose without you knowing!!

Lol, I think you'll need to rename her the Klepto Kid !

Rhum tended not to hoard food, he just ate that, it was things like brushes, remote controllers, socks, knickers, if there was nothing to hand he'd nose the washing machine door open and take stuff from there lol.

> Lol, I think you'll need to rename her the Klepto Kid !
>
>

I called her far worse things lol. She was absolutely ace at stealing things,you could watch her like a hawk but the first time you took your eyes off her she'd nicked something else! She used to sneak upstairs to raid the laundry basket as well. Little madam would pinch the others dogs big knuckle bones and take them back to her bed. My poor big boys and girls were all terrified of her!!

Lola is the most loving dog I have ever known when it suits.  She is so cuddly and sweet.  When we are out she does her own thing but my heart absolutely bursts every time she comes back at a sprint from wherever.  The only reason she comes back is because she wants to.  Never ever managed to instil much recall in training terms lol.

She does steal though, food especially but that gets eaten immediately (including my breakfast toast this morning)  So the house is permanently puppy proofed.

She can and does jump on to my dining table (not that I eat off it) and will sleep on there, knock off balls for the other dogs entertainment (she is not interested at all in them)  eat my shoes and cds and generally be slightly destructive.

She can open both the kitchen door and the freezer door (and my kitchen cupboards) She can clear the babygate and also my 4 foot fence on one side and regularly goes visiting the neighbours. 

She once stole a "treat pot" at training from someone else and ran off to open it and scoff the contents.  In short she is hell on 4 legs but everyone loves her.

Our elder BH came to us at 9 months, having lived in an shed. Fantastic nature but anything, edible or clothing within reach was appropriated & BH's can uncoil like zebedee. Short legs they might have but with long necks & an even longer tongues no kitchen surface is safe, thankfully has never raided cupboards but have had to give up drying clothes on radiators as underwear constantly disappeared. Living with such abundance he has improved, but even now anything edible has to be put away. Can be fast asleep in the garden or other end of the house but leave an apple core or mug of tea unguarded for 10 seconds, it's gone. Like Lola he's loved at training, to him it's called picnic afternoon for if he sits long enough looking sad someone is going to feed him, & similarly my heart sings every time he chooses to look in my direction when out. Hounds are not for everyone but can't imagine the house without their stubborn loving nature. Enjoy.

When we are out she does her own thing but my heart absolutely bursts every time she comes back at a sprint from wherever.  The only reason she comes back is because she wants to.  Never ever managed to instil much recall in training terms lol.

I think the one thing I would not let a Beagle do is go self-employed as it may not take her long to realise how interesting the rest of the world is (especially if she starts using her nose) and the recall will become 'when I'm ready to come back, however long that takes.....'

> I think the one thing I would not let a Beagle do is go self-employed

I've always said with scent hounds that you have to stay with them mentally, but 'go self-employed' is much better!

I never had a bother with recall with Rhum, his owner did, he quite often bogged off, I had the trump card of my own dog Louie, who Rhum idolised, what ever Louie did, Rhum followed suit, and Louie was very well trained.

When Rhum was dropped off on the mornings I would know he was coming, as soon as his owner drove into our  street ,he would start baying like the hound of the Baskervilles, he was such a character.

I have heard it said that when you see a person walking with a lead in their hand and no dog, they must be a Beagle owner lol.

She is better than I make out really.  She is rarely out of sight.  She does use her nose but I have had to develop a little faith and trust in her (my previous 2 dogs were collies!!!) as she does come back.  To be honest her worst recall is inevitably in full view when she has found something to eat.  I could peck her head and try to have her on my heels the whole time but we just get fed up with each other like that.  I have tried all sorts of things but this works for us.

> try to have her on my heels the whole time

That just would not be a hound it isn't in their nature to trot at yoru heels as they are a hunting dog.

I was always quite happy with them trotting 30 - 50 feet ahead (elkhyounds), when called back too often it was like 'well what do you want now?'.

That's my girl, the more I try and keep her coming back the less likely she is to come back. 

At the moment my new girl is so food orientated that she is not too bad on recall, either because she knows she will get a treat, or possible because she is still unsure of herself and a little nervous, so she is scared of losing sight of me. I am not silly enough to think this will continue when she realises that I will always be there for her ( God willing ) and she finds other things more interesting to do. She is still finding her way round and is only offlead in our own fully fenced woods and field, I wouldn't dream of her being free out on open public land.
She is running at the other side of the field but she can always see me and where I go, if I walk off through the trees she is suddenly at my side. I really must enjoy the company while it lasts.

Use this time to get the recall so it becomes habit. 

To often people keep pups of independent breeds on lead when they are still unsure and want to stay close to safety, and then are surprised when they are older and bolder that they have no recall, as they have waited until they are nearly at puberty to start trying them off lead. 

That in fact is the time they often should go back onto lead/long line to get past the rebellious stage.

Or sometimes they think great puppy is realy good and don't continue or escalate the training.