How to Train Your Beagle Dog to Be Obedient

Once again, you're going to use the Beagle's never-full stomach as a way of motivating him to want to please you. This is done by teaching the dog that the click of a clicker is an IOU for a treat. The dog then works hard to make you click, so he can get that scrumptious morsel.

Throw a small treat on the floor. As the Beagle gobbles it up, press the clicker. Repeat. The dog will quickly link the click to getting a reward. Try clicking, before throwing the treat. If the dog's head immediately goes to the floor, you'll know he's made the link and can move on.

Watch for the dog sitting of his own accord. Click the instant his butt hits the ground. The dog knows a click means a reward. Repeat this. The dog will quickly realize that a simple action such as sitting has the potential to earn a treat. Hey presto, he starts sitting with the intention of pleasing you.

With the Beagle going all out to make you press that clicker, start adding the cue word, "sit" as his butt goes down. This teaches the dog that this butt-lowering action is called "sit" and when he does it on command, he gets a scrumptious reward.

Clicker training is a great way to 'capture' small actions such as a turning the head or placing a paw on an object. The ability to immediately label an action as something to be rewarded is a great way of teaching your Beagle obedience.

The Beagle is a high energy dog that is easily distracted by his nose. If you attempt to train a Beagle that is bursting with energy, this makes things unnecessarily hard. Basic things like taking burning off some excess energy ahead of training should help him to concentrate during a training session.

It may well be your Beagle has an appalling recall and is likely to run off and follow his nose. This makes it difficult to give the dog a good run around, and is one of the reasons you wanted to train him. Don't risk losing the dog, but instead attach a longline to his collar. This gives you control over the dog should he go too far, but without restricting the dog's movements too much. Use a longline rather than a flexi-lead, as the latter teaches a dog to pull on the lead.

As a breed, the Beagle was bred as a hunting dog capable of running all day. A simple walk round the block is unlikely to cut it for your beagley friend. Games such as ball or fetch are excellent ways of tiring your fur-friend but without having to put the full distance in yourself.

Bored Beagles don't score highly in the concentration stakes. Be sure to give him plenty of opportunity for mental stimulation. This includes strategies such as using puzzle feeders or scattering his food over the yard, so that he has to sniff it out. This has him using his senses and mimics foraging behaviors that are highly satisfying for a scent-driven breed like the Beagle.

If your train in a field crisscrossed with animal tracks, it's going to be hard (if not impossible) for the Beagle to focus on you. During those early training sessions, work in a room or a space with few distractions so that you can sow the idea of listening to you, and therefore better cope when distractions are around.

You may think you are up against it, training a Beagle, but their natural love of food can actually work in your favor. Beagles are highly food-motivated dogs and all you need do is harness this food obsession in order to get the dog listening to you.

Teach basic commands such as 'sit' by luring the dog with a food treat. Simply hold the treat in front of the dog's nose to get his full attention, and then move the treat in a low arc up and over his back. In order to follow the treat, the dog's butt will drop to the floor, at which point you say "Yes" in a happy voice and give the treat.

When your Beagle behaves well, such as walking without pulling or staying put, say "Yes" in an enthusiastic voice and then give him a treat.

The Beagle mind is such that he'll soon realize that simple actions such as sitting can earn him a much-desired treat. When the dog starts sitting early on in the arc, you can add the label "sit" and put the action on cue.

Once the dog has learned the command, stop rewarding him every time he cooperates. Instead, reward every-other 'sit'. This focuses the dog's mind and has him wondering if he sat too slowly last time, and that's why he didn't get the treat. By slowly increasing the gap between rewards, the dog will actually make more progress then giving a treat every time.