Wonder beagle is really annoying when she is showing we have trouble keeping her head up.  I know this is normal for hounds but has anyone got any suggestions on how to stop her doing it.  My daughter has a annoying habit of stringing her up and the poor dog finds itself halfway through the air and I hate seeing dogs strung up.  We were also told to walk along with food in her hand but this makes her skip.
Any suggestions please.

If it is while moving then get the dogs attention with the titbit, then move off too briskly for the dog to sniff. 

If using a half check give little checks when the dog tries to get it's head down.  Talking in a bright and breezy fashoion may help also.

We have the same problem with our breed, the food is the only thing that is of more interest (usually ) than the smells on the grass :D

Welcome to the world of working dogs :d  My dogs are very food orientated so Brainless' advice is good but unfortunately some dogs aren't.

I think you have hit the nail on the head I have got the only beagle who is not governed by food.  We have actually been using a fine chokechain do you think that is the problem.  We usually use the half choke for the dallies but we thought the fine chain looked better on beagle.

I know that you say your dog isn't food orientated but have you tried the liver cake recipe?  I do mine slightly different and it comes up lovely not too dry and not crumbly.

Liver, 1 egg, break up bread into small pieces and a clove of garlic all ithrown into the blender, then on a high heat in the oven.  Don't ask me how long for I just keep an eye on it :d  I don't know whether it's because my breed is Euroopean but they love the smell of garlic :d  YUCK

Hi TTS,

The finer the link the harder the chain - I'd not use one on a puppy I'm afraid.  Use a half check made of fine rolled leather.  When mine are older I use slip collars or slip leads made of 4mm rolled leather and they look nice :)  However when you see what other Beagle owners are using on their adults it's probably best to go with that - yours don't have a big fluffy coat after all to hide the tackle :)

Re sniffing :rolleyes: can't add to Brainless' advice I'm afraid :(  When they really want to do it it's on a wing and a prayer getting their heads up :P

regards, Teri  

Hi there,

A lady who breeds bassets once told me that a bit of perfume under the dog's chin to mask other smells does the trick. This could be worth a try but obviously you would need to be careful about allergies and things and try only a tiny bit at first.

Jen

i was told to put a dab of tea tree oil above the dogs nose to keep the dogs head up, now i cant go to shows without a bottle of tea tree!!!

karen

Well she didnt do it yesterday so that was a relief and ALL the exhibitors use fine choke chains so unless they are wrong then at least we know we used the correct one for beagles.

Come on TTS how did your daughter do.  How many in ehr class and did she manage to get placed????

Hi Brainless

We didnt do well we got a 5th in puppy out of 7 and thrown in the other two classes.  But more importantly she got a 5th in Junior handling a very large class.  :) She missed the YKC stakes for both Tigger and Lucky so she was a bit dissappointed.  Never mind we shall return again on Friday where hopefully the day will not be quite so chaotic.

Karen

Well she could easily have been unplaced beating two is still beating two.

Exactly what we said.  Congratulations on your big win you must be very proud :)

Seems a bit unreal :D