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indoor beagles?

19 15:04:07

Question
Dear Have4Paws,

My wife and I live in Texas and we have no dogs -- only a white cat.  Our newly built home has only a small back yard, so we will have to have an indoor dog.  My mother-in-law has a pregnant beagle and wants us to take one of the puppies. I have my doubts about beagles being good "indoor" dogs.  We would appreciate any tips and/or advice that a confirmed "Beagleholic" such as yourself might provide.  Thanks in advance for your help!

,JPM

Answer
HI, thanks for writing to me!

To be honest I agree with your suspicions that it may be tough for a beagle to have no yard to run around in and sniff in. It isn't that it cannot be done however if you were willing to be a faithful twice a day walker. Beagles are very active dogs, crave exercise and companionship due to their genetics as hound dogs who live in a pack as hunters.

More concerning to me is the cat thing. I have yet to see a beagle that didn't spend all it's time chasing a resident cat. It will always be trying to stick its nose in personal places and just be all around pesty and a pain in the butt to a cat because of its hunting instinct. It isn't that a beagle would ever hurt the cat, they are very docile but they have a tough time seeing anything moving and not pursuing it or smelling anything foreign that moves and not pursuing it!! No one I know has succeeded with this nor have I. My first beagle was brought in at 6 weeks with the comment from the vet that if I got a puppy the cat (only like 2 at the time) would be able to establish easily its dominance. UH, NO, didnt work....... he chased that cat for years until it finally got to where she didnt want to even come in the house anymore. My second beagle got to where she could lie on the same couch with the cat as long as she didnt get up and move or the chase was on with them too.

So........... I don't know what to tell you other than if it were up to me and there were other options I would probably not recommend a beagle in your situation.

Hope this gave you some help.
Have4Paws