A friend of mine has just got a beagle pup.  Unfortunately she howls constantly and is driving everyone to distraction.  Whenever my friend leaves the house to go shopping the pup starts howling.  I don't think her neighbours will ever speak to her again.  Is there anyway to stop the pup from doing this?

Hello guest,

I'm a real fan of Beagles, but I have to say, they don't normally like to be left alone.  They love company, be it people or other dogs and can be very vocal about being left behind, as your friend has found out. When the pup is left, is it in a crate? does it have toys, kongs etc.  Most pups will eventually settle down to have a good old chew with a tastily filled kong.  I would recommend taking the pup out for a quick walk just before leaving it in its crate (as long as it is old enough to go outside). I would also start to train it to be happier when its left on its own.  By this I mean that I would stop it from always following your friend around the house, by closing the odd door etc. I don't mean that she should shut it away from her, but by showing the pup that it can be happy by itself and confident that its owner is coming back, it should help in the long run.  I always gave my pup a really nice treat inside a kong when I left him, so he looked forward to me going out! 
You don't say how old the pup is, or where it came from which can also be a contributing factor as to why its barking.  Why don't you or your friend join CD and we can advise you further.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Ali :)

Mental Cat has given some good advice like the kongs, and try leaving a radio on and covering the cage.  You can also try leaving something with the smell of the owner on it  (like a nighshirt, t shirt). and try to make leaving as low key as possible,  I have a 6 month boy beagle who has to be left for a few hours and have to for an hour before hand almost ignore him so not to get him hyper and settle him in with a jumbone or kong and dash out the door so he is not looking for me.

Unfortunately some beagles like the sound of their own voices, and some dont.  That the breed and they have that unique ARRROH bark,

Yes beagles can howl alot. My two have both howled whilst getting them used to being left alone. Like everyone else says make sure you leave plenty of things for him/her to play with as they can get bored easily. Also when your in the house with them try shutting them in another room away from you for maybe just 10 minutes at first, this will get your beagle used to being seperated from you, when you return to the room don't make a fuss of your return and also don't make a fuss of your departure. They are very people orientated and some of them don't like being on their own at all, they are a pack animal. You can't really rush the process, the problem will get better over time. My two still howl now and one of them is nearly 2. They are just very vocal creatures and they like the sound of their own howls!!!!!!!!