Hi all, will be a proud owner of a Beagle puppy in a few weeks time.  Any tips for house training and which sorts of toys/games are best.  Also, is it necessary to use flea treatments at this early age?

hya,cant help you on that sorry.but im sure some1 will be able to help.:) welcome to champ dogs its a cool site your sure to get good advise. theres a few beagle owners on here so theyle be able to tell you more.
sarah x

I would crate train and clicker train pup.

Get him used to the clicker first of all.

From pup's view:

Click = I've done something right and I'm going to get a treat!! :)

*Take pup in garden to the place you want him to go, and when he does, click (when he's doing his business!) tasty treat and then lots of praise afterwards. You can also use a word if you like! I use 'Weewee's'!!!*

Take pup out several times a day, especially after meals and after he's woken up.

Use the crate to shut him in at night. The theory behind the crate is, dog's won't (well shouldn't) eliminate in their own bedroom, so they will wait until the morning until you let them out. That's why it's important to take them STRAIGHT out in the garden when they've woken up.

Hope this helps

Ana x

<Use the crate to shut him in at night. The theory behind the crate is, dog's won't (well shouldn't) eliminate in their own bedroom,>

but that only works if the pup is old enough to be able to hold bladder and bowels til morning. My 4mth pup can now do this but at 2mths old was peeing and pooing in the night because he couldnt hold it, so had no choice. he has learnt now that if he really needs to go in the night he gives a whine to wake me and i take him out otherwise he will hold on til morning . so be prepared for accidents in the early days, but they do get the hang of it in the end :-)

Hmmm, I would not click and treat self rewarding behaviour such as urinating or defecating!

A treat is fine, but dogs do not need a click for stuff like that!

Bear in mind that dogs will do anything to earn a click you might find the dog offering this behaviour in inappropriate locations!

True, but if they don't click for elimination indoors (and correct for it, of course) but do click for it outdoors, I would think pup would catch on pretty fast.

But surely this is two criteria therefore how will the puppy understand what exactly it is being clicked for, ie action or location.

Also, not only is the click superfluous but bear in mind that if the owner is a beginner, they have enough to think about just getting the puppy outside to eliminate it the first place and giving a treat; introducing a click presupposes that the owner will always have a clicker to hand at the EXACT moment...................

Why introduce this level of difficulty?

FWIW my dogs are clicker trained but I never use it for toilet training.

However, each to their own.

Thanks, didn't think of that!!

I'm not getting my new pup til next year, so I'm also paying attention :)