Question
Bender baby
Hi!!!
My boyfriend and I just saw your website and we really want your advice. I had a dog I loved so much, got him when I was 15 years old. A year ago I had to put him down because he had cancer, and I suffered a lot. After a year of thinking about it a lot, we both decided now as a couple and living together, to buy a new baby dog. After looking for the cute one, we decided to buy a Beagle (Bender). He is soooooooo cute and intelligent, and smart!. He was born on may 23th this year, and we bought him a month ago. Unfortunately, we didn't study the guides of what kind of dog was the right one for having in an apartment and maybe leaving him alone from 9am to 7pm... Right now he has two months and weeks. As I have been working at home, we decided to go for it and get him, but right now I got a good job offer and because of the great opportunity, I decided to take it. The problem is... Bender is a baby, he is very young, and we still can't get him out of the house because he is just getting his vaccines. Next week we will be able to finally get him out of the house to start to discover the world out of our apartment.
Now, I am sad and afraid, because we have troubles with him, I think the normal situations when the dog is getting used to you and your environment. But I will start this job on August 15th, and we will have to leave him alone at the apartment for almost all day (from M to F). So... I don't want to give my dog away, I LOVE HIM SO MUCH ALREADY!!! and we are going to apply some of the training tips you gave in your website. But what do you suggest or what kind of tips can you give to us so Bender doesn't feel alone at all or abandoned? I'm thinking, now he is going to be able to go out, I can take him for a daily ride everyday, and when coming home (approx 7pm) we can walk him out and play outside and try to recover some quality time with him.
I really want us three to work. My boyfriend and I are so willing to keep Bender, I'm attaching you a pic of him =) but also I don't want him to suffer, and want him to adapt to our new lifestyle (boyfriend and me working outside home).
Help!!! please?
AnswerHi, thanks for writing to me. I am so sad to hear about your other dog, I know the heart break that comes from that. It never seems to fully go away. Bender is so cute! I applaud you wanting to try to make this work but you asked my opinion and I feel the need to be honest about it. A beagle is the wrong choice in my opinion, they do not make good apartment dogs as they tend to bark and howl a lot, this is a pretty universal breed trait. They also require a tremendous amount of exercise and things to stimulate their minds, another breed trait. Think about what beagles are bred for.....hunting (mind stimulating and exercise)and alerting (baying and howling when they find the rabbit) Add to that you not being home from 9-7 and personally I see this as a disaster in the making .... I worry what will happen when Bender's behaviors go all wrong and they will! Beagles are pack animals, they CRAVE companionship, they do not do well alone, they are bred to be in packs, they will readily adapt to a human pack if other dogs are not available but you will not be there most of the time with the hours you are going to be working. Having him home for 10 hours alone is not fair to Bender, or any dog for that matter. He will become destructive, lonely and I can pretty much guarantee have separation anxiety issues. The time you will spend with him in the short evenings will not make up for 10 hours of boredom and loneliness. The weekends can be fun and stimulating of course but it will just make it harder for him Mon-Fri when he doesn't get the same attention. Not to mention that at his age he should be getting fed at a minimum of three times a day. Beagles are also challenging to train, not because they are dumb, but because their dominant brain is at the end of their nose (another breed trait) and require constant and repetitive training to learn and be trained, their nose is always in the way of their learning and it is a challenge to say the least, they are extremely smart and when someone gives 100% of their time to training them they can be very obedient however they are for instance NEVER safe to be off leash as their nose will lead them.
SO...... all in all I know and can hear how much you love him and want to make this work however I think this is a mistake and not fair to Bender, he needs to be with a family that is with him at least 70% if the time, not the other way around. I strongly urge you to think about rehoming him for his sake and the frustrations I can guarantee will come for you in the future. I know this isnt what you wanted to hear but unfortunately it is the truth. For what your lifestyle is going to be the best pet would be cat who will be just fine being alone for hours, they are very independent and don't need a lot of companionship and will cherish the time they have with you.
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