Okay, this has to do with training\behavior. When I first got my Beagle two years ago as a puppy he wasn't socialized right and now I'm paying for it. He is absolutely out of control. Whenever I take him out in a park to train, he refuses to eat treats, although he loves them when I give it to him at home. He also seems to forget everything I train him at home too. He won't listen and he is soooooo stubborn. I've had it with the way he acts outside. He just doesn't want to learn. I went to a dog training school last year and he failed the test they mae him do and he also just totally forgot everything he did in the class. I am frustrated and confused in traning my Beagle! I love him and I will never ever get rid of him even if he isn't never trained right, but I would like to have a nice proper little dog. Can anyone of you give me some advice on my untrainable little hound?! I have bought tons of training books and done tons of training methods but he doesn't seem to respond. All he is interest in is playing with other dogs and meeting new people and running free off the leash! Ugh! He is such a handful! Please give my advice as soon as you can! Thanks!

Erika

Hi Erika,
I don't think it is as much him being a Beagle although that won't help, had one of those once they are very much their own person. Mostly age I would say only advice is keep plugging away maybe try long line so you keep some measure of control, try not to get too frustrated as it will make you over react. Here are some positive things at least he likes people and other dogs and as far I as I can see he doesn't go of after scents which mine did. Mine was 16 when he died so I didn't give up on him either, the more I look at what I have written the more it looks as if he is just doing what dogs do at times. This is really helpful isn't it:rolleyes: All I can say is keep trying find another class or arrange to meet people on walks so you can practise with distractions
Anne
Just remembered a funny about my Jal at training class Christmas Party, food refusal comp all dogs ate food but Jal won because he sat up and begged before he ate it.

Well the thing is that I don't really have anyone on my neighborhood around to help me train with them. I do have a friend that has a dog but I don't see her all that much. I'm sort of all by myself on this training thing because there isn't really anyone around to help me. My family try to help at times, but my Beagle still doesn't respond to them. He is just doing what dogs do, I know, but I can't get him to learn although I know he knows it. I have tried a long lead before and done tons of stuff. This is why its so confusing for me....everything anyone tells me to do for my dog is impossible! Someone gives me advice, and when I try it out and do it with him for awhile, it just doesn't work. It is just quite impossible to teach him anything. (sighs) I am not sure what to do with him, but thanks for the advice anyways. Shelby, my beagle, is just one of those dogs... sometimes I feel like giving up, but I know I shouldn't. I will try to find a class or something where I can train him...ugh...I don;t know if I can though. Alot of classes are expensive down where I love. Well I must go, but thanks again! Bye!

Erika

Neither your dog or you failed the test at training school.
The training school, any training school, should first make an assessment before taking anyone on as a fee paying client.
An assessment is to asses whether or not they can train someone and their dog to a certain level of obedience which should be outlined and described to a client before they accept a client, it is then up to the potential client whether they do or do not want the contract as described to them and with the results as stated.
The assessment is not as some people think an assessment of the dog, it is an assessment of the dog, the owner and the trainers ability to train you to the level and goals, within the time frame, ( nine weeks max) they should have described to you.
If the trainer is professional they will know full well if they can achieve these goals with you and your dog or otherwise. They might decline to take you because some people are not suitable for training or they ( the trainer) have never successfully trained that specific breed successfully and various other reasons.
In your case they had assessed that their course was suitable for you and they had the skills to provide you with the service they claimed to provide and to ensure you achieved the stated goals, which as I understand it culminated in a test of their skills, not just yours.
The test was not failed by your dog or you, it was failed in their assessment of their own skills or the training methods used on their course to teach you to achieve the goals via a test.
The course was not suitable for you and your dog and if they were professional they should have realized that at the assessment, which is why assessment exists.
I think the course has done damage because looking at your post you seem to be convinced your dog is difficult and you seem to have given up the idea of training successfully, prior to taking that course you probably did not think like that, you probably thought along the lines “If I go to a training course I will come out the other end with knowledge and my dog at a suitable level of obedience” you did not fail the course, the course failed you.
Your dog is not untrainable, you went to a course which did not have trainers with skills to train you in conjunction with the fact that the method was wrong. Did they describe their course as any particular school of thought?
Ask for a refund and put the refund into a course which uses different methods to the first one.
MAKE SURE that any new course is not just putting your dog through routine excercises but that it also educates you.

What are your specific problems/ It is best to deal with a particular issue at a time.

You say he runs off lead, and obviously must come back, as you still have him, well that is more than a lot of beagle owners can manage.

Make a list of the things that you are happy with, and those you cannot tolerate in order of importance.

For example I am not bothered if my dogs sit, as long as they come! In fact as I show them I tend not to use sit that often prefering my basic control commands to be come, down (as in lie down), Off (for jumping up and furniture), and steady for any OTT behaviour, and pulling on lead.

From your post it is unclear what you are trying to achieve, if it is basic control, then you should be able to manage it, apart from reliable recall in scent filled areas (he is a beagle).

If you are looking for lots of cute trcicks and exactness in formal excersises, then you are probably dealing with the wrong breed, as he would see these as rather pointless.

Hey everyone! Thanks for the replies! Now the things I'm trying to teach my Beagle is to heel with the leash, heel off leash (which I dare not try yet), no jumping, to hold things in his mouth until I say so, no pulling on the lead, having manners with people around, and no stealing things. I don't let him run off-lead unless he is in a secured dog park, because he will take off, but I know he won't go far because he always stops to sniff and mark his territory. (hehehe) Anyways, he doesn't seem to respond to those things I listed up there. Now the test that the dog school had him do was the Canine Good Citizen test, and yes they prepared me and my dog for it, but the reason he failed it just bugs me. He didn't want to sit\stay or down\stay because he wanted to sniff. Sniffing is his thing, and whn I don't let him sniff, he always tries to find a way for it. I was happy with everything the school taught because they had some things that would help his problems, it is just that he forgot everything after the school was over. It wasn't that the school was bad, it was just that everything they taught him was for nothing.
Oh and when I do train, he always expects a treat. I want to try to get him away from the idea that if he is going to do somehting good then he doesn't get a treat, what he gets his my praise and love! But he isn't really interested in my praise and love sometimes.
Well I greatly appreciate all your replies for me, I will try to do some of the things that you recommended. My Beagle is an outside dog because my mom is allergic to pets so I can't train him inside. When guests come over and want to sit outside in the patio, we always lock Shelby up in his cage because he begs for food and jumps. But I don't want to keep locking him up in the cage.
I have taught my Beagle some tricks such as play dead, speak, beg, shake hands, and find a treat or ball when I hide it. But, sometimes during my obedience training, when I tell him to sit or lie down, he automatically thinks I want him to beg or play dead. So he wants the treat so much that he will just do something without my command first.
Well thanks again!

Erika

Hello Beaglelover,

This does sound like a rather confused Post. Training must start and continue in the home. This does not just mean the regular obedience exercises, it means good manners, setting guidelines and sticking to them. If you do not have full control indoors, what chance do you have outside!!

What 'test' did he fail at the Training Club?

Consistency is absolutely necessary when training your dog. If you 'sometimes' allow him to ignore or get away with something, why then should he take you seriously about something that YOU then consider is important. - (You did not mean it last time, why should you mean it now)!!

Another problem is where you say you have tried all sorts of methods! Finding a method of training that makes most sense to you and you feel confident with, plus finding a good Instructor to help guide you, and then sticking with it. You will be confusing your dog by swapping and changing. For instance, my own method and that which I teach is Authority and Praise, this cannot be mixed with the Treat Training phylosophy - they are both completely different!

Try and find a couple of Dog Clubs that you can visit, even if it means going a little further afield, and compare them, they will vary enormously.

Then train if necessary little and often throughout the day, not just once a week. Thereby you will start building a bond with your dog, and he will start to 'listen' to you. Set behaviour guidelines indoors, and start guiding and showing him what you expect. Praise him well when he complies. Do not keep repeating yourself either, you will just be teaching him to ignore you! If he does not do what you know he can, then firmly enforce the required response, then praise.

Be firm, be fun, be consistent, and hopefully find an experienced Club/Trainer.

Good Luck,
Denise.

I am sure you will get loads of detailed & specific training advice from others on this post so I won't attempt to cover all that, but what I will say is that your HOUND is a BEAGLE so why are you so surprised that he sniffs??? This is what beagles have been bred for hundreds of generations to do! You will just have to accept that its the way the breed is, and hopefully learn to base your training around it.I certainly do not think his perfectly natural houndlike behaviour is due to lack of socialising as a puppy. Why not ask your vet to recommend a local training course, they are usually only a few pounds per weekly session. Worth a try?

Well, maybe my post sounded like I was surprised that he does sniff, but I am not. I am only impatient with him. Because, sniffing is all he likes to do and I know he is a Beagle, but so many other Beagles can be trained without being distracted by scents, why can't mine? Yes, he wasn't socialized enough as a puppy which makes it hard for me now. Ugh! I will try asking my vet but I'm not sure if they wil be much help. I have called up many dog schools around here and they either cost too much or they are trainers who come to your home, and I want Shelby to be trained with other dogs.
Well thanks for your help! I'm not sure what I'm going to do with him. I think I might try finding a local hound\beagle\dog club around here that might have some trainers that can help me.
Well, bye!

Erika

over the years everytime i hear or read of someone with a beagle that wont come back etc------i remember, i think it was mike stockman, commentating at crufts- he said as the beagle owner came on--the beagle, everyone knows a beagle owner as hes the one in the park with a lead in his hand and the dog nowhere to be seen :D , its the way theyre bred----cats and dogs the film has a beagle in doing allsorts-but its not real,it has a body double :D :D :D

Hi Beaglelover,
As a fellow hound owner- mine is a Whippet, so instead of running off sniffing, my dog chases after anything that moves!- I have come to the conclusion that hound breeds seem to learn differently, more slowly, and are very good at acting dumb just when you thought they'd picked up what you have taught them!
You said that you have taught your Beagle to shake hands, beg, roll over etc- so he is obviously not impossible to train! The difference is probably that when you are teaching tricks, it is in a much more relaxed situation, and you practice each move in a fun way, with a treat each time he gets nearer to the behaviour that you are looking for. You are probably happy, smiling at him, and really go overboard with praise when he gets it right. This makes it so much more fun for him to learn tricks than be drilled over and over in heelwork, stays etc.
Why don't you try teaching the obedience commands like you would tricks, lots of fun and praise, small steps at a time, with being allowed to go sniff as a treat at the end?
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Liz

alfie, dont you think whatever it learns in the house it is only cos theres nothing better at the time, no distrasctions etc, also no chance of running off,--how many times do we here folk saying that it will do allsorts in the house and garden etc then its deaf when away from home-it has much more going on when its away, new smells etc, im not sure it would ever be as good outside as in :(

I agree Dizzy, my Whippet is very obedient, in fact is a member of the Whippet Obedience team, has a perfect recall............unless he sees a rabbit in the distance, when all the calling, treats and frantic arm waving in the world won't get him back until he's finished chasing!!
It's just that, having taken him to a 'traditional' training class, where we all marched around with a loud mouthed trainer shouting 'about TURN' etc at us, I realised that he doesn't respond well to drill training. He learns much better and more happily when I use lots of treats, praise and a stupid girly voice with him!
Liz

trust me, taking a sharpei out is just the same, id never let mine off a flexi, they too go deaf if something looks more exciting elsewhere-but at least they give everyone a laugh :D

LOL Liz - I was at a Lurcher & Terrier show today, where there were a lot of nice well behaved whippets because a pair of whippet ladies were organising the racing. Well behaved until an exceptionally dim rabbit got up in the corner of the field where they were setting up the lure that is :D!

Completely agree with you about sighthounds and 'traditional training class' drill methods. Praise, treats, sensitivity, flexibility, very short sessions and stupid girly voices work much better with them, along with (in the big ones anyway), the very occassional firm correction on absolute "must nots" like sheep.

My 'traditional' training club, celebrating its 40th year this year, teaches people to use lots of treats, praise and a stupid girly voice.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Joan, you're very fortunate, but it isn't always easy to find a class that suits sighthounds. Over the years hounds I've bred or become involved with in one way or another have run into more problems caused by training classes than solved by them.

I've gotten to the point that I'd probably sign up for a class just so my dogs can "socialize" and meet others of their species, but I'll do my own training, thank you very much-- sigh :rolleyes:

Sorry Joan, didn't mean to criticise all 'traditional' training classes, our trainer was an old school GSD trainer, who thought it was OK to pull your dog off its feet with its choke chain when it pulled on the lead!
He would stand in the middle of the hall while we marched around, and made us about turn, left turn, right turn about every 5 paces! We did every exercise in the same order every week, with a 15 minute down stay at the end. One week our trainer was away so one of the more experienced class members took over the class and change the order of the exercises. The dogs went to pieces, as they were all so used to doing things in a particular order!
In the end I told him that I didn't think my dog was learning anything new in that atmosphere and didn't go again.
Liz

No, I realise you didn't mean to criticise all traditional training classes and I didn't take it that way. The one you went to sounds terrible, I wouldn't have lasted long there.

I think the point I would like to make is that it is worth checking out all the training classes before deciding which one suits you, the age of the club doesn't mean a thing. Some new ones are rubbish just as some old ones are good, and vice versa.

Incidentally we have a sight hound owner as one of our trainers and her Borzois have always done well in the past, as do her Greyhounds now. Between us our trainers and committee members have:
Elkhounds, Greyhounds, Boxers, GSDs, Griffon Bruxellois, Border Collies, Flat Coated retrievers, a Chesapeake Bay retriever, Hovawarts, a Cairn Terrier, Italian Spinoni and a selection of mongrels. One is about to get a Pug puppy. As a result between us we have experience of almost every group or type of dog.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Joan,
Who has the Hovies, I have a friend who breeds them and know some others down South
Anne

2 different lots Anne, Julie Condron who writes the breed notes in Our Dogs, and Ann Travis.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Hi Joan,
Have met Julie with my friend Min on several occassions know Ann Travis by name but don't think I have met her
Anne

Wow! I guess that makes alot of sense Liz. But yeah, the only thing that will take forever for him to learn is to listen to me outside in public. He will do well in my front yard, but then when I take him to a park he won't listen. I do train at leats 5 times a week or more,if I can manage. Shelby likes to act dumb ALOT! Hehehe! He does extremely well with heel in the backyard (maybe he will sometimes walk a little fast when I want him to slow down but that is all) but when I go up front he chokes and gags because he is always pushing. He is very silly. I like to use a chain collar because it helps control him more and plus I like the training method that trainer, Matthew Margolis, used. He is a professional trainer and I watched all his tapes and has helped Shelby a little bit.
Well thanks for the advice! Bye!

Erika