If you have recently got a beagle puppy, then I am sure you can’t wait to start with his training. There are so many things to teach your new four-legged family member. But when to start training your beagle puppy?
Owners can start training their beagle puppies when they are as young as eight weeks old. Basic obedience training and socialization of the puppy should begin as soon as you get it home. However, puppies have a short attention span, so formal dog training should not start before they are six months old.
Decoding Experts Advice
There two contradicting advice from experts regarding when to start training a puppy.
Quite a few popular authors of Dog training books suggest that training should not start until the puppy is six months old. The logic behind this is to let them enjoy their puppyhood at the fullest.
While modern dog trainers suggest that the owner should start training their puppy when they are eight weeks old, this will strengthen the bond as well as make the pooch more obedient.
Two entirely different advice puts all the beagle parents on a confusing spot for deciding: 8 weeks or 6 Months! Well, to make things easy, I put a lot of time researching and finding out the correct age.
If you don’t know this already, beagles were used as hunting companions. Their traditional training included running on fields, tracking small animals, and substantial collar corrections. That’s why experts recommended waiting until the beagle is six months old, as such training can be hard of a pup.
However, the situation has changed now. Beagles are regarded more like family pets than hunting dogs. It makes sense to start with light obedience training when they are eight weeks old, whereas other formal training should wait until they are six months old.
Puppies younger than eight weeks old
A beagle puppy should be with his mother and littermates until he is at least eight weeks old. A responsible owner should not even consider getting home a puppy younger than eight weeks.
Puppies younger than eight weeks should spend most of their time with the mother and littermates. There they learn basic skills like:
- Bite inhibition
- Dog communication
- Safe playful behavior
- Basic Socialization
Training 8 Weeks old Beagle Puppy
Eight weeks is usually when breeders allow owners to take a beagle puppy home.
When you get the puppy home, he is a clean slate and knows nothing. Keep one thing in mind, at this age, whatever you do, how you react, how you interact, new experiences, everything will have an impact on your puppy’s behavior. Everything will in someway train your puppy.
It will be easier to teach him good behaviors and train basic skills at this age than later in his life.
You will have to be patient with them and not expect a lot of things. Start training them, but don’t be too tough on them. The training should be playful and a good experience for your pup.
They do have a short attention span, but they are totally capable of learning new things. Keep the training session to no more than 2 minutes. And when you cannot have their attention, don’t force them, try it after some time.
Beagle Puppy Training Schedule
Well, you cannot just start every training all at once, especially when your beagle is a puppy. Young puppies have a shorter attention span, and they can get frustrated quickly. You should always start with easy and basic training and gradually increase the difficulty as the puppy grows.
Having a well-planned training schedule according to his age, is necessary. Let’s have a look at what training should start when.
Potty Training
Of course, teaching a puppy where to poop and pee is most essential and has to start as early as possible. This training may take a few weeks, so be patient. Here’s how to it in 5 simple steps:
- Young puppies can poop multiple times a day. Note down your puppy’s pooping schedule. And by note down, I literally mean to note it down on a piece of paper. Notice how many hours after a meal does your puppy poops.
- During the pooping time, take your puppy out or at the spot where he is supposed to poop.
- Reward him with praise and treat every time he poops on the right spot.
- If you notice your pup spoiling in a wrong spot, then calmly interrupt him. Never scold at your pup, even if he accidentally poops on his bed.
- Try to avoid accidents by keeping your pup under supervision all the time.
Basic Obedience Training
You can start teaching your beagle puppy some basic obedience commands like ‘sit’ and ‘no.’
Here is a list of 7 necessary commands that you should teach your beagle puppy.
Do not overload by teaching all the commands at once. Start with one and do not switch until he masters it.
Before beginning with obedience training, allow your pup to get comfortable and confident in the house.
Crate Training
A crate provides a safe place for a beagle to rest and sleep. Apart from that, when you are busy and cannot leave your beagle unattained, then you can simply put him inside the crate and keep him safe.
Crate training can take months and lots of patience, but it’s quite essential. If not done correctly, your puppy can become fearful of his crate. You can refer to this article on crate training a beagle puppy.
Give your pup a week to settle down and get comfortable in his new house before crate training him.
Mouthing
Puppies don’t know the correct way to interact with others. They use their small but pointy teeth to say ‘hello.’ They even bite when they are in a playful mood. It might not be that painful yet, but it can become a dangerous habit once they grow up.
To stop this behavior, your pup needs to realize that biting is not a good thing. One training that works the best is the redirection method. Every time your beagle attempts to bite you, redirect him to a toy. Doing it consistently will most definitely stop this behavior. Begin with this from the first day. For more, you can refer to this article to train your beagle puppy to stop biting.
Socialization
A beagle needs to be comfortable around different people and animals. No one wants a dog who barks at every new face he sees. That’s why early socialization is necessary.
Once your beagle has completed all his vaccinations, take him to dog parks and allow him to interact with other dogs with the permission of their owners.
A beagle needs to see and interact with new people from an early age. Ask your extended family members and friends to visit your pup regularly.
Tricks and Commands
Once your beagle is two to three months old, you can start teaching him various tricks and commands. Here are a few tricks you can teach your beagle.
Formal Training
Formal training, like teaching a beagle to hunt, behave better, be disciplined, or prepare for dog shows, can start once he is six months old.
Final Thoughts
Never be hard on your beagle puppy, no matter what. Let him enjoy his puppyhood. It is totally fine for a puppy to misbehave or ignore a command. Don’t scold them for that.
Training can be a great bonding exercise if you make it fun for your beagle.