Seeing a bond between me and my two beagles, one of my friends decided to get a beagle too. But she lives in an apartment with cranky neighbors, so before getting a pooch, she called me to ask, do beagles bark a lot?
Beagles are vocally expressive, and they do bark a lot. Just like every dog, barking is their way of communicating their feelings. However, this behavior can be minimized with consistent training of the beagle.
We will further look into various reasons which cause beagles to bark excessively and things you can do to minimize it.
Reasons Behind Beagle’s Barking
You might wonder, why do beagles bark so much? Beagles are more vocally expressive than other dogs. They like to express their feelings by barking and howling. A beagle may bark out of excitement, anger, to gain attention, or even when under stress.
Excitement
While returning home after a long day at your office, if your beagle sees you coming, he is likely to start barking out of joy and excitement. This is quite normal among beagles. It’s just their way to say hello to you.
A beagle may start barking on other occasions that make him excited, like when you take out his walking leash or when you bring his food.
However, in most cases, the beagle’s barking out of excitement is not that loud.
Attention
Beagles will bark at the top of their voice to gain attention. This is the primary reason why beagles bark.
Maybe you are playing a game, or watching a movie and your beagle is bored. He will bark continuously until you stop whatever you are doing and start playing with him.
This behavior can become problematic and get out of hand. We will talk about dealing with it later on in this article.
When he wants something
A beagle might bark if he wants something. For instance, if your beagle wants to go out, then he might stand at the door and start barking.
Well, this type of barking is more of a whining. Groot, my younger beagle, barks, and whines every time he wants to come down. Here is a video:
Out of Hunger
Just like humans, beagles don’t like to be hungry. They are smart enough to know when is their mealtime.
Beagles may start barking to remind their owners that it’s time for their meal.
Fear
When a beagle is in fear, he will bark in a high pitched matured voice. It will be different than his usual barks, and you can easily distinguish it.
Few common reasons that can cause fear are loud noises, strangers, or some unknown object.
Quite a few beagle parents have reported that their pooch is afraid of large objects like an umbrella, stool, etc.
Stress
Stress can also be a reason for barking. It can be difficult to say and suspect what causes stress to a beagle. This is more commonly seen in rescue dogs who have some unpleasant past experiences.
Along with barking, few other signs of stress in beagles can be cowering, whale eyes, whining, and unwillingness to eat.
Separation Anxiety
Beagles are prone to separation anxiety. They don’t do well when left alone. A beagle may get anxiety when left alone for a longer time, and this can cause him to bark excessively.
It is more severe than you think. If left alone for a more extended period, the beagle suffering from separation anxiety will bark until he has exhausted. If you feel your beagle has this, then consult a vet and get proper guidance to deal with it.
Poor Socialization
A poorly socialized beagle will bark on other people and animals. He can even get anxiety when in a room with lots of people.
A beagle should be taught to socialize right from his puppyhood.
Aggression
Beagles are super friendly, and it is rare for them to bark out of aggression.
However, if you find your beagle in one of these situations, then it is advised just to take him away from it.
Aggression should be handled with care and love rather than screaming at your pooch.
What other Beagle Parents have to say
I have already shared a few of my personal beagle barking stories in this article. Now lets what other beagle parents around the world have to say. We took things to a Reddit community with over 30 thousand beagle parents and asked them to share some of their beagle barking stories.
Ronald from New Mexico: My beagle is crazy for attention. After his long nap, he would bark until I, or my wife comes and plays with him for some time. He is just like a baby.
Harry from the USA: When we adopted Micky, she used to bark a lot. But with patience and training, we have successfully managed to minimize her barking. Now she is the most adorable and obedient dog in our neighborhood.
PinkPank09 from Cannada: I won’t say my beagle barks a lot, he has always been a little calm. However, he does whines a lot.
Mark from France: Beagles have so many different voices. They have different voices for every situation. I live in an apartment, and my beagle barks every now and then, but it has never been excessive.
Ashe Man from India: I live in a society, and my neighbors are not that great. And my beagle is very expressive, he barks, whines, bays, and whatnot. But it has neven been a problem in my society. Beagles do bark, and they also have a high tone voice, but they don’t usually use it. Mostly beagles bark in a low pitch voice to communicate.
How to Stop your beagle from barking
Humans talk, and dogs bark. Barking is just the beagles’ way of communication. You should not attempt to stop a beagle from barking completely. Instead, you should try to minimize unnecessary barking.
You need to differentiate your pooch’s barking between what’s okay and what’s not. Beagle barking because he is hungry or in stress and fear, it’s okay. Beagle barking at strangers or because he wants something, or to gain your attention, not okay.
Socialize your beagle
A poorly socialized beagle will bark at new faces, strangers, dogs, and even birds. The most crucial step of beagle care is to socialize him with the surrounding.
You need to keep introducing new people to your beagle. Allow them to play with him, if possible, even teach him a trick or two. The more interaction your beagle has with different people, the more comfortable he will be. You can ask your distant family members and friends to visit your pooch every once in a while.
You don’t want your beagle to bark at other dogs when you are on a walk, do you? So introduce new animals, allow your pooch to make new friends. Take him to a nearby dog park every week. If one of your friends has a dog, ask him to bring it home.
I would also recommend socializing your pooch with cats too.
Socialization should be done right from the puppyhood. Adult beagles usually take a little longer to learn socialization skills.
Never Reward barking
If your beagle barks for your attention and you give it to him, it will just motivate this lousy behavior. Beagles are quick when it comes to picking up bad behaviors.
If he barks for something and you give him that, he will remember that barking gets him what he wants. And next time he will bark even longer until he gets what he wants.
So never fuel this behavior. If your beagle wants your attention and starts barking, do not react at all until he stops barking. Play with him once he is calm for some time.
Teach ‘Quiet’ Command
Teaching a quiet command can help your beagle to stop barking on your command.
This may sound crazy but the first step is to make your beagle bark. Do something that usually makes your beagle bark. Usually, beagles bark when they see their food coming, so what you can do is hold the dog bowl full of his meal in front of him.
Just when your beagle starts barking, say ‘Quiet’ and put a treat near his nose. Your beagle will stop barking to sniff the treat. Once he stops barking, praise him and give him the treat.
Practice this daily. Of course, it won’t show results overnight, you will need to be persistent and patient with this training.
Final Thoughts
Beagles do bark, so do most of the dog breeds. They are vocally expressive, and they make many types of different sounds, and barking is one of them. With proper training and patience, you can stop your beagle from barking unnecessarily.