Why Do Beagles Bury Things

The Beagle makes a good active companion for adults and children alike. Small, hardy, and compact, they are a fun loving and merry bunch but they can be stubborn and they also require a lot of patience when it comes to training. It is not uncommon for humans who have Beagles as pets to find them scurrying about, digging and burying things. It might seem cute but soon enough you will find some of your things at home missing. The last thing you want is for your expensive jewelry to be gone. Beagles are very lovable but you need to curb this burying behavior before it gets out of control. 

Every Beagle owner must know that digging and burying things is in their blood. It is a learned behavior and a deep-rooted canine instinct. However, there may also be other reasons why your canine is constantly digging and burying things. There are a few reasons why Beagles like to hide or bury things. A Beagle puppy that is teething may feel very uncomfortable they take any objects they can get their mouth on. They might also gather a few objects and hide them a little later. Puppies, and this is not confined only to Beagles, have an overwhelming need to chew on just about anything. Your Beagle understands the fact that they are not supposed to take shoes, so it is common for them to hide these things in order to hide the fact that they did something you disapprove of. Another reason they take and bury things is that they are seeking your attention. This is worsened if you go running after them every time they take your shoe or other things in the household.

In their mind, taking your shoe equates to lots of attention from you. What you can do is to keep all expensive and sentimental objects away from your Beagle’s reach. This way they won’t be able to take it and you won’t have to chase after them. Boredom is another common reason for digging and burying things. Many dogs, in general, dig holes in the yard simply because they have nothing else to do. You can stop this by offering him choices or restricting the area where they can dig and bury things. You might also want to purchase outdoor toys to keep your Beagle busy for hours. Set up a specific digging area for your dog. You can use a child’s sandbox for this purpose and fill it with soil or sand. Prompt your dog to use this space by burying various treats such as treats and safe bones and get him to explore the space.

If you find some of your things missing because your fun-loving Beagle has been stealing and burying them, you clearly need to put a stop to it. One of the easiest things to do in order to prevent your dog from burying things is to limit their access to the things he covets and rotate his toys so that he has variety. You should also take a look at how you give your dog foods and treats. Giving him something which he is unable to finish immediately might lead to him taking that particular food or treat and burying it so that he can consume it later. 

Another possibility is to make your pooch a digging pit and limit his digging and burying to that pit, instead of damaging your favorite flower bed. This is a very good solution if your pooch loves to dig in the sandy dirt. If your dog does not consume something completely, he then has the chance to bury it. However, some Beagles might react aggressively if you try to take something away from him and when this happens you must seek help from a qualified professional. There are a few possible things causing the aggression and the help of an expert is valuable in these situations.

If your dog takes something away that is of importance to you, you cannot engage in a tug-of-war. Refrain from doing this because this will only encourage the dog to continue taking things away and burying them because they know that it will result to a game which they love. What you goal should be is to avoid damage of that valuable object which you want to take back as soon as possible. You can try getting your Beagle to trade for a dog toy or a treat. Do not chase after your dog because this is exactly what he wants you to do. Run from your dog and make him chase you. You can even make the game more challenging by running around furniture and corners. The more difficult it is for him to catch you, the happier he will be when he catches up with you. 

Understanding the personality of your Beagle means more than just doling out rewards every time they do something that pleases you. It also means dealing with some of their less pleasing behaviours such as taking away things and burying them. Doing so will result to a rewarding friendship between the two of you and you will have for yourself a companion for life.