Beagles are some of the most adorable dogs who are also agile hunters and great family pets. But when we bring them home for the first time, their training must begin so they can learn what we want and which behaviors are acceptable. So, potty training is on the top of the list and this is something many new beagle owners dread.
So, are Beagles easy to potty train? Beagle puppies are not easy to potty train. But within 4-6 months with proper training, you will be able to potty train your Beagle.
That said, it’s important you understand your role in this whole thing because it will determine your dog’s success or failure. Everything is going to rely on you, your patience, schedule, consistency, and observation skills.
Are Beagles Hard Or Easy To Potty Train?
The easiness or difficulty of house training your beagle will depend on you. What makes it difficult at first is that a puppy’s urination and digestive systems are weak and quickly stimulated. To get started you’ll need puppy pads, a crate, and plenty of toilet paper along with wipes.
Then, you want to devise a routine and basic framework. The good news is, beagles have pretty predictable bladders. So, when you understand this, everything else will fall into place. Use the following tips:
- When you first bring the dog home, take it outside every 30 minutes to an hour.
- As soon as the dog wakes up in the morning or from a nap, take it out to the bathroom.
- Take the beagle outside right before you go down to sleep for the night. This will prevent accidents over the course of the evening.
- Once you begin to understand your beagle’s bathroom behaviors, take it outside when you notice the clues.
Monitoring And Controlling Food Intake – The frequency in which you feed your beagle, how often it drinks water and the kinds of food it eats will all come into predicting a beagle’s bathroom breaks. This means you can roughly gauge when your dog will have to go to the toilet in relationship to when it last ate food.
Because of the immature digestive system, any amount of food and water will stimulate their need to go. So, it’s best to not give your dog too much food during mealtimes and feed them three or four times per day.
Crate Training Method- In the early stages of potty training, confine your beagle puppy to a small room or a crate until you are confident they won’t have accidents while roaming the house. So, when you’re sleeping, not home or you have other important things to attend to, it’s best to keep the dog in the crate or small room with puppy pads.
Puppy Pad Training – Do not train your dog on puppy pads; use them for accident control in their special area only. While some dog owners and trainers swear by using these for potty training, the dog will think it’s okay to pee or poo in the house.
Puppy pads are all good and well, but you don’t want to rely on them. Just let the puppy pads be an aid to your training strategies. However, you can take the pad outside in the beginning so the dog understands what’s acceptable and what’s not.
Only keep the pads in the crate and take them outside. Do not put the pads anywhere else like in the kitchen. This will confuse the dog and it won’t learn about acceptable places to go to the bathroom.
Your Consistency – This is where you and being consistent comes into play. A lot of the success of your dog’s potty training program will depend on you and the other household members in charge of the dog’s care.
You must always do and say the same things until the dog has a solid grasp on how you want this potty thing to go. Any diversion from the schedule and routine you set forth will confuse the dog. This will ultimately lead to accidents in the house.
Communication And Patience – Your communication and patience will determine whether this period of potty training with your beagle is easy or difficult. When accidents happen, it’s important to be calm and patient yet firm. Don’t get mad or hit the dog. The only thing this will do is create stress, result in more accidents and force the dog to develop a distrust of you.
When the puppy uses the bathroom right and goes in the right place without any accidents in the house, reward it. It’s always better to use positive reinforcement than negative abuse. It will never know whether you approve of their actions and behavior or not if you don’t offer up some kind of reward.
Also, set basic commands for the bathroom. Something brief and easy that will signal the dog to obey when they hear it. You want to develop a word or phrase within the first week or two of bringing the dog home. Once you figure one out, use it all the time.
Reading the Signs – As time goes on and the dog begins to learn, it will start displaying signs that will tell you it’s time to go. Every dog is different and beagles are no exception. So, how your dog informs you of its need to use the bathroom will vary. However, there are some common things that many beagles do:
- Floor Sniffing
- Circling Around
- Appearing Restless
- Returning to a Previous Bathroom Area
What is the length of time required to potty train a Beagle?
While the potty training process of a beagle can be easy, the length of time is not short. It will take anywhere between four to six months for you to see any noticeable results.
For some puppies, it can take as long as a year before they are fully housebroken. But this is more often the case for rescues and older puppies whose previous owners didn’t bother to potty train them.
When is the best time to potty train a beagle?
The moment you bring your beagle pup home, you should potty train them. But don’t begin a serious undertaking of this until they’re between 12 and 16 weeks old. Before this, it will be difficult for your dog to conceptualize what you’re trying to direct.
Even still, start with consistent training sessions the moment they come home. This will at least begin priming them for the more advanced training techniques soon to come.
Is it possible to potty train a 2-year-old adult beagle?
Beagles that are two years old are going to be a little more difficult to potty train. If their previous owner didn’t do a good job or if the dog is a rescue, you will have to break the dog of its bad habits and replace them with better ones.
This means you will have to exercise even more care and patience than you would a puppy. Plus, it will probably take longer.
Similar Techniques – Follow the directions above but pay attention to any bad habits they’ve incurred over the last two years. Also, take steps to prevent the dog from developing new ones. This means getting creative with rewards.
Also, be even more sparing and judicious with your use of puppy pads. While these are excellent aids, they are soft and pliable like other things in your house. It’s not unheard of for a beagle to mistake carpeting, beds, upholstered furniture, and clothing on the floor to be the same as their puppy pad.
Devise a Different Routine – With older beagles, ensure you take the dog to the bathroom every two hours after eating, drinking, exercising, napping and etc. Do this for the first week and then begin increasing the amount of extra time by 15 minutes every week thereafter.
What are the reasons for Beagles peeing in the house?
Beagles pee in the house when they’re puppies because of their weak urination and digestive processes. Anything can set it off and it’s easily stimulated, even when excited.
For older beagles or ones who should already know better, it could be a means of acting out if there’s been a major change in the household. When in doubt, take it to a vet to rule out medical issues.