Charlie, my new 8 month old beagle...

Question
He's my baby and he's cute as heck, but we're having some major problems with him.  I realize that he is still a baby and that training does take patience (as with any dog), but I'm not sure HOW to train.  Right now, I am having the most trouble getting him to come when I call him.  He'll either sit there and stare at me or he's too occupied trying to sniff around to listen.  I haven't punnished him for this because I don't want to make him timid or afraid of me by any means, but I am unsure as to what I should be doing to get him to listen.  Also, he's about 5 times bigger than my other baby (chihuahua/beagle, female) and it's almost like he thinks he's her size.  He plays WAY too rough and I don't know what to do to break him of that..  And finally, the chewing..  I know this is normal for most puppies, but he does it right in front of us and when I point and tell him no, put him outside, he stops for a while, but then within a half hour, he's right back to the chewing..  I mean, the rug, my shoes, he pulls stuff out of the trash can (which we moved to stop the problem), he even chews on twigs and sticks from outdoors.  He is not neutered yet and I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it...  I'm sure the fact that he's only 8 months old does... So, I just need some guidance or maybe some tips of ways I can train without making him afraid of me...  I've heard of people hitting thier dogs to get them to listen, and I've seen it work but then the dogs are afraid of people and really timid..  Besides that, I could never bring myself to hit either one of my pets, but what I am doing now is not working..  (using one syllabol words and pointing with the finger..  I even crawled through the dog door to show him how to use it)..  I would take him to obedience classes or hire a trainer but that is SO expensive and I'd kinda rather do that myself anyway..  I'm sorry this is so long, but I need help before he destroys my entire house!  :)  Thank you for reading all of this and I look forward to hearing what you have to say!!..

Answer
Hello Meredith!
It perfectly alright that it is long (which it isn't)! I love helping people. Now to the problem. From a study, beagles are the hardest dog to train. First go to a wal-mart and buy some of the cheap rubber very squeaky toys. It will occupy him very VERY much to where he won't chew on the wrong things. Also he could be teething if he seems angry then probably so. Rawhides and plush toys are good with that, and so are ice cubes. Now to obedience training. After a few weeks after he has found that one toy that he loves more than anyone. You take it and him into a room with no distractions (open blinds to see outside, tv, radio, cell phone, etc.). You hold the toy up and keep saying sit, and while you say sit take your hand and put it on his behind and push it down to where he is sitting if he sits give him a treat. Continue to keep doing this for a while, but don't reward with treats every single time, they love a pat on the head. Some people hit their dogs to punish them, and I'm with you I could never do it. There are two ways to do that. Both work in very different ways. Just a light pat on the behind, which will tell them that something they did was not right and that is where that one syllable NO! firmly comes in handy with pointing the index finger. The second way is animal abuse which is wrong all it teaches is a dog to fear the human. Which is very wrong. the first way I mentioned is ok, but like I said I could never do it. To get him to come to you. Go to petsmart and but a dog whistle, it lets off a high pitched screech that will make him come to you, if he comes give him a treat. Another way to punish that isn't bad, but will teach them is to get a spray bottle fill it with water and when he does something wrong spray him, it will irate him enough that he will stop. There is always the kennel and crate method too. I hope I have helped. If you would like me answer anything else please don't hesitate to ask! Good luck and I hope for the best!