Having owned a couple of beagles over my lifetime, I always get asked, “what are the pros and cons of owning a beagle?” The truth is, there’s A LOT.
In this article, we’ll discuss my top 6 pros and cons of owning a beagle that’ll help you make an informed decision as to whether you want to own one!
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Pros
- They’re very lovable and loyal
- Beagles are great with other pets & kids
- Beagle’s are easy to groom
Cons
- They don’t know what personal space is
- Beagles are hard to train
- They love food
With that said, let’s jump right in with the Pros.
The Pros of Owning a Beagle
There are loads of pros to owning a beagle, too many to list in just this article alone, but here’s a few of my favourite pros of owning a beagle.
They’re very lovable and loyal
You won’t find many breeds as loveable and loyal as Beagle’s, it’s my personal favourite trait about them. They love a cuddle and get sad when you’re not around.
My beagle Bella always wants to be with you and will rarely be seen in a different room to us.
Provided they know, understand and trust you, Beagles can be one of the most loyal dog breeds around.
Beagles are great with other pets & kids
Beagles, unlike some other breeds, are brilliant with other pets and kids. Most beagle want to be friends with everyone. Because they’re so gentle and friendly, the beagle makes for a brilliant family pet, even if you’ve got babies, children or other pets, such as cats!
Beagles are also incredibly tolerant and typically won’t lash out when provoked by boisterous children – although they aren’t afraid to use their voice!
Beagle’s are easy to groom
Another key benefit to owning a beagle is their slick short hair coat – this makes them super easy to keep tidy, especially when compared to breeds like cocker spaniels (a good friend of the beagle). Their short, manageable coat will save you lots of money on trips to the groomers.
Despite having a short coat that’s easy to maintain, they will malt, and I mean a lot, you’ll want to invest in a good hoover if you own a beagle, as their hair will get everywhere!
Just brush them regularly to stem the flow of hair that they will inevitably malt and you’re all good!
We recommend this brush for effectively grooming your beagle at home.
The Cons of Owning a Beagle
Whilst there are tons of pros to owning a beagle, there are, unfortunately a few things you should know about before owning one of these preppy pups.
They don’t know what personal space is
In the winter, you’ll likely have a layer of beagle hair coating your clothes. This is because they absolutely love a cuddle. As stated earlier, they’re extremely loving dogs, and my Bella will often be seen on top of one of us or using us as a head rest!
Keep this in mind if you’re thinking of owning one!
Beagles are hard to train
There’s no beating around the bush, Beagles are hard work when it comes to training, as put by the kennel club, their essential function is to hunt and were bred that way. Unfortunately that doe mean that they have an amazing sense of smell – between 1-10,000 more sensitive than humans.
Although they are loyal as mentioned earlier, they don’t listen and can run off! Which is why I recommend investing in a good harness over a collar as this won’t hurt when they inevitably pull.
Beagles love food
Beagle’s are, like most dogs, food lovers – they will beg and howl for their food, your food or anyone else’s, unless you can train this out of them. This trait seems to affect beagles more than other breeds. Couple this with their difficulty to train and you might have a recipe for disaster.
Another downside of this is that beagles are a scent hound, so they will constantly have their nose to the ground whilst out on a walk and they will pick things up, rabbit poo, food you name it, they’ll have it!
This is alright if it’s nothing nasty, but we had a scare once with our beagle with rat poison, so keep an eye on them whilst walking!
Final thoughts
Overall, there are many pros and cons to owning a beagle, however, in my opinion, the pros far outweigh the cons and many of them aren’t really even cons at all!
The main con is their stubbornness and ability to eat just about anything, which can cause real problems. Despite this, their loyalty, affection and desire to cuddle makes them my favourite breed around.