How to get Beagles to Calm Down

Are you the owner of an energetic pet Beagle? Most Beagle owners have a hard time understanding why they can’t seem to help their dog understand when it’s time to start calming down. As a Beagle owner myself, I have learned how to deal with this problem head on.

In the end, it all comes down to your Beagle’s age and activity requirements.

Tips for Calming Down a Beagle Puppy

If your Beagle is a young puppy, you may notice that your dog is way more hyper than your friend’s older pet Beagle. This is totally normal. Your Beagle is still a baby and need to learn how and when to calm down.

Teaching Commands

Commands are something that you will want to start off early with your Beagle. As he or she gets older, they will start to bark more and more. This is a behavior that most Beagle owners see as undesirable.

You can do one of two things in this situation:

Ignore your puppy’s need to bark or teach them a command to stop barking.

Let’s start with the first option.

Ignoring your puppy when they start barking a lot may actually be a success for you. I know it sounds cruel. Ignoring your puppy? But really what you are doing is using negative reinforcement on your puppy.

When a Beagle is barking, they are really looking to receive attention from the people who surround them.

So, when you are busy scolding your puppy for barking, you are actually providing them with the exact attention and (in their minds) positive reinforcement that will make them keep barking in the future.

Now, let’s explore the second option.

Beagles are an incredibly intelligent breed of dog. They are, however, a little stubborn. With the proper effort and experimentation, you can start to understand what your Beagle does and does not respond to.

If negative reinforcement did not stop your Beagle puppy from barking at all the wrong moments, then maybe you need to change things up.

I have heard of some owners teaching their puppies phrases such as “time out” when their Beagle is acting up.

Having a designated spot and amount of time for “time out” can help your Beagle understand that this behavior is undesirable and that it is time for them to calm down.

Other phrases such as “speak” can help you to control your puppy’s barking even further. By limiting the way your puppy is allowed to bark, they will begin to understand that there are proper times and places for barking.

Just be careful that you don’t overuse this command, or you may be back where you initially started.

Playtime

As mentioned earlier, Beagles are incredibly intelligent. However, with this incredible intelligence comes the need for your puppy to receive mental stimulation.

As Beagles are a scent dog. This means that they will get a whiff of a scent and not be able to let it go, which causes them to get into everything in and around the house until the source of the scent has been located.

An easy way to avoid this situation from happening is setting up a hunt and retrieve game for your puppy.

You will find that your puppy is easily food-motivated. So, by hiding some of their favorite treats around the yard or underneath of things in your yard, you can exercise the puppy’s need to search without it causing mayhem.

This is a very simple way to help keep your puppy from digging around in your home in the future.

Also during playtime, you should be allowing your Beagle periods of time to rest and relax.

This means that you should have a set amount of time that you are willing to play with your Beagle and get them riled up (but also let them get some energy out) before it’s time for them to calm down.

Have a designated area of the house, one that is comfortable for your puppy, that you can use for this relaxation time. Spend your relaxation time together.

This is a technique that should go well into your Beagle’s adult years. It is a great way for them to understand that not every moment is the right time for play.

Tips for Calming Down an Adult Beagle

In most cases, Beagles will mellow out with age. However, the way a Beagle mellows out may be different than the average dog, and they will remain relatively active for a good long while.

Quality Time

As your Beagle begins to get older and you have begun to enforce your own variations of the tips above, it is time for you to start spending more quality time with your Beagle.

Quality time can be anything, really. But, whatever it may be, you want your quality time with your Beagle to be a time to kick back and relax.

This can be as easy as making time to sit with your Beagle and groom them. During grooming, you are not only talking to your Beagle and acting in a calm manner, but this provides mental stimulation for your dog as you are physically interacting with them in a gentle way.

This is going to be time well spent in a different way than playtime, which is your designated time for the both of you to get your energy out.

Exercise

As you probably already know, Beagles are a high-energy breed. This dog needs at least an hour of regular exercise every day.

If you want to take your Beagle outside in your backyard, just make sure that they do not have an escape route. They have a habit of being able to get around small fences.

An easy way for your Beagle to meet their exercise requirements is by going on daily walks. Maybe even twice a day.

Walks are allowing your Beagle to get a whole ton of the mental stimulation they need too. They are both exploring and getting the opportunity to spend quality time with and bond with their owner – which they love.

If you are planning on taking your Beagle for a walk, make sure that you are keeping them on a leash for at least the first year of their life.

This will train your Beagle to stay close to you and not run off at a moment’s notice when they catch the scent of something that excites them.

Other Information

Overall, the main takeaway from all of this should be that Beagles take time and effort to help them become calm.

They need mental stimulation and help from you to keep them from getting out of control and from following their natural instincts as a scent dog.

Training should start when your Beagle is just a puppy. Remember to play with them often, but to also not be afraid to cut them off and make it clear that it is now time for the two of you to relax. Eventually, your puppy will start to get this down on his own if you keep it up consistently.

Remember that your Beagle requires constant mental stimulation, and spending quality bonding time with you – the owner – will help them to get there.

By regularly exercising your dog, you will meet their requirements for bonding time as well as their instinct to hunt and retrieve.

Overall, just have patience with your Beagle. With time and effort, they should begin to mellow out and calm down.

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