Beagle Temperament: What’s it Like Owning One?

Beagles are a super fun dogs to have around. But before getting a dog, people often want to know what its personality is like, which is smart to know whether or not it is the dog for you.

What is the temperament of a Beagle?

Beagles are an active and social dog that is curious and sweet. They love companionship and can be great watchdogs because they bark anytime an unfamiliar person walks by. They have an amazing sense of smell which can get them into trouble because once their nose switches on, their ears turn off!

Beagles are a wonderful, active companion to have and they are one of the most loving dogs you will ever be around. They make great pets and excellent family dogs. Keep reading to learn more about beagles to figure out if it is the dog for you!

Personality

Beagles are an overly sweet, compassionate, lovable breed of dog that has a sincere desire to love everyone in sight. They don’t really have an angry bone in their body due to how sweet of a dog they are! They just have a sincere love for everyone they meet and are super easy to get along with.

They are also a super smart and curious breed of dog. They pick up on things very quickly and even can be quite cunning to possibly get what they want. Dogs like Snoopy, Mr. Peabody, Gromit, and so many smart, popular cartoon pups are all beagles! They know how to figure out situations all while being as sweet as can be.

The beagle breed of dog can pick up scents super easy as well. If there is a scent, such as a rodent or food especially, these pooches can pick it up quicker than you can even process it and say “What’s that smell?” This breed of dog used to be utilized for assistance in hunting rabbits and similar small game because of their super keen sense of smell. This may not be the case for their use nowadays, but they still keep their exceptional sense of smell.

Another trait this breed of dog is known for is their high energy levels. These dogs are almost as active as it gets. They have lots of energy and need a good amount of exercise to maintain a healthy weight. Most beagles are often on the obese side because they do not get the amount of exercise and activity that they need every day.

These dogs need daily walks and are great exercise buddies because they will keep you going and help keep you in shape as well. When these dogs aren’t exercising, they are often using the rest of that energy to play as much as they can.

Beagles also make great watchdogs. I do not mean guard dogs, because to be completely honest, beagles are too sweet to be guard dogs. If someone were to break into your house, they just might lick the burglar to death with floods of excitement, love, and affection because they are such sweet, social dogs.

No, I mean watch dog. If your beagle sees an unfamiliar person walking by or walking towards your house, they will bark and alert you of it. They are great at alerting you of unfamiliar people which will help to give you time to prepare for an emergency if necessary.

Personality Traits to Be Cautious About

Despite beagles being a super lovable and energetic breed of dog, there are some common traits in these dogs that you will need to be aware of before getting your own.

These dogs are noisy. Like I stated earlier with them being great watchdogs because they will bark to alert you of any suspicious activity, this trait can come in the extreme dose. They will bark a lot!

They will bark at people walking by, door knocks or doorbell rings, squirrels or birds outside the window, whenever they want something, etc. They will bark at everything!

This trait may be able to suppress some of the excessive barking with training, but it will never go away. Beagles are social dogs and with the social trait comes verbal communication as well.

These dogs, despite how adorable they may be, are very easily distracted. They will get completely distracted from their current activities by a scent they pick up, a noise they hear, or even a person walking by.

It is hard to keep their attention due to how keen their hunting instincts are because once they pick up on something they are pretty dedicated to finding the source and acknowledging its existence.

They are a super stubborn breed of dog. Beagles will give you a run for your money if they want something you have. They will also use their stubbornness with their determination to find sources of senses they pick up to ignore anything else in existence complete that task.

These dogs naturally have an amazing sense of smell due to their natural hunting instincts, but this awesome trait can also be not so awesome to have to deal with. They will pick up the scent of any creature near and will be completely determined to find that creature.

Once they pick up a scent, they turn on their selective hearing and legit will not hear you calling for them because they will be so focused on finding the source.

Beagles, as I stated earlier, are a super loveable, social breed of dog. However, because of how social and attached to you they are, they tend to get separation anxiety when you leave them. These dogs don’t do well alone and love any company they can get.

This can be remedied possibly by getting them a friend, another dog in your house, or even working them out hard before leaving. This will leave them exhausted and they will probably nap while you are gone.

Another trait to look out for that can be common in beagles is destructiveness. This trait can even be a symptom of their separation anxiety. When you leave the house, they will get into and know over anything they can and even tear different things up.

Trash not hidden in a cabinet? They will string it across the house. Enticing throw pillows on the couch? Those will probably get shredded. Shoes stored by the door or easily accessible for the dog? It will find them and use them as chew toys most likely.

Make sure your dog has it’s own enticing chew toys to play with while you are gone instead. Exercising them before you go will help to wear them out so that they don’t have the energy to be so destructive as well.

As I stated earlier, beagles are a super curious breed as well. Due to their high levels of curiosity, they will have to be monitored when they are outside to ensure they don’t get into any trouble.

Make sure your yard has a good fence that your beagle can’t get through, under, over, or around in any way. If they have the will to get out, they will find any way possible too especially if their interest is peeked by something.

You might want to consider a tether for your dog as well for those extra curious and adventurous dogs to help give you a break from constantly supervising them.

Though this breed of dog is short-haired and you may think you are free from having to deal with shedding and dog hair messes, you are wrong.

Beagles shed a lot more than you think and their hair can tend to get everywhere. They will need to be brushed often to reduce their shedding.

Considering all of these not so great traits of beagles as pets, this next one won’t surprise you all that much. This breed of dog is quite hard to train sometimes. Due to their over-curiosity, stubbornness, selective hearing, intelligence, and easily distracted behavior, they are very difficult to train.

All of these negative traits all play in together when trying to train these dogs and it is super hard to train them as a result. I would suggest getting a good trainer, training your beagle as a puppy, and being very distinct and not lenient with your rules with your dog to have the easiest time training them as you’ll get.

8 Preparation Tips for Getting a New Beagle as a Pet

If you are really considering getting a beagle, you will want to make sure you are up for the following:

#1 Be prepared to exercise a lot.

You will need to be prepared to be very active with your dog. Hikes, runs, walks, playing in the yard, etc. All of it will be necessary to keep your beagle well exercised and healthy.

They require a high activity level but will be fun companions to have on your exercise adventures, as long as they are well-trained and on-leash.

#2 Be prepared to be social and never ever be alone again.

You will need to be very social with your dog. You will need to give your dog lots of attention and affection to satisfy their social needs. You guy may also want to start doing doggy play dates or get another dog if you don’t have another already so that your beagle always has a friend to be social and play with. The more social contact your beagle has, the better!

Along with seeing lots of other dogs and people, your beagle will need to give your beagle lots of love and affection and attentnion to satisfy their needs. You won’t have a moment to yourself anymore. Your beagle will be around you wanting attention and affection of any sort always.

#3 Be prepared to live a healthy lifestyle.

You and your beagle will need to live a healthy lifestyle. Aside from being very active, your beagle will also need help controlling it’s eating habits so that it doesn’t over-eat.

Beagles also require a high protein and fresh-ingredient diet so you will need to make sure that your beagle’s food is one that is very high in protein and full of natural ingredients to give them the necessary healthy nutrients.

If you are looking into getting in better shape or staying in good shape, your beagle can help to motivate you and the two of you can push through this goal together!

#4 Be prepared to never have a quiet house again except when everyone is sleeping.

You will need to not mind a noisy pet. Beagles are a very outspoken, noisy animal, partially due to their natural hunting instincts. Some of this noise can be suppressed and controlled with training, but beagles are just naturally a noisy dog so you won’t be able to completely get rid of their noisy behavior.

#5 Be prepared to constantly keep an eye on your beagle to keep them out of trouble.

You will need to keep a close eye on your beagl due to their over-curiosity. This curiosity can get them into a lot of trouble especially if they find a way to get out of the yard to follow a scent they pick up.

They have selective hearing that turns off their ears the second they pick up a scent and they are completely dedicated to finding the source of the scent when they pick it up.

#6 Be prepared to not have an open yard anymore.

You will need to have a completely fenced in yard with a beagle and ensure that they can’t get or dig under the fence, climb or hop over, or even squeeze through or around the fence anywhere. They are major escape artists and will find a way outside the fenced yard if there is a way to get out.

You will need to leave nothing against the fence that the dog could climb up and get over with. You may consider an electric fence inside your yard for your beagle or even a tether so that you won’t have to supervise quite as much.

If your dog has a reason to get out of the yard, there is a good chance they will find a way, especially if you leave a way for them to get out.

#7 Be prepared to put a lot of work into training.

Beagles are not an easy breed to train for a multitude of reasons I listed earlier. If you really want a beagle, get one from the shelter that is well-behaved and well-trained.

Or, if you want a beagle you can raise yourself, you will need to be prepared to dedicate yourself to training them for a while. They are a difficult breed and can be trained, but it takes a LOT of work and time and discipline.

#8 Be prepared to have a house with known rules and enforce them.

Along with training beagles, after they are trained they will need you to keep those expectations and rules going in order for them to continue to be obedient.

If you let loose on the rules right after you finish training them, they will push boundaries until they are misbehaving again and you will have to completely retrain them. By enforcing the trained rules, you won’t have behavioral or disciplinary problems with your dog.

Ultimately, if you are looking for a dog that will want to always be with you and be the most compassionate and loving companion ever, an intense workout buddy that will help motivate you to push it to the next level, a diet buddy that will work on eating super healthy with you, a companion to help fill those empty noise gaps in your home, and someone to be your constant companion so that you never have to be alone again, then a beagle is the perfect dog for you!

This loving and energetic breed of dogs makes for great companions if you are willing to put in the work and a time to be the unstoppable duo together.

Related Questions:

Are Beagles aggressive? Beagles are not aggressive dogs. If someone broke into your house, they would bark to let you know which makes them a great watchdog, but they are not good guard dogs because they just might lick the person to death while wagging their sweet little tail. They have a super sweet and unaggressive temperament.

Do Beagles bite a lot? Beagles are not aggressive dogs.They are in fact quite an affectionate and playful breed! However, they do tend to bite, nip, and chew quite a bit which is a common trait in Beagles. This can be fixed with some training, though, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it unless it is a severe case.