If you have the right crate combined with constant supervision and lots of patience, you can train your Beagle in a week. You need to make sure someone is home with him / her during that week. Beagles are creatures of habit; that means it is important to stick to a schedule. It works best if the whole family is involved.
Young Beagle puppies cannot physically control their bodily functions like an adult can. Even after your burglary appears to be successful, it is important to note that not many four-month-old Beagles can go 8-10 hours without a “potty break.” Getting your young Beagle to go more than a few hours without that break is bad training on your part.
Effective beagle house training begins with a cage and you should purchase one and have it readily available when you bring your new puppy home. Beagles, like all dogs, are burrowing type animals and that’s the key to cage training. The cage will become your dog’s den and will naturally avoid urinating and defecating there. The cage should be small enough that the puppy only has room for one “nest.” Rather than buying a small box, a better strategy is to buy one large enough for when your Beagle is an adult and divide it up. As the puppy grows, the size of the divided area may increase.
Here are some tips for breaking and entering.
1. Don’t leave food for your puppy all day. Feed it only in the morning and at night. You will usually need to relieve yourself within minutes of eating. As soon as he eats, take him outside and when he eliminates, praise him. Take it inside and put it in its box with some toys.
2. During housebreaking, always keep your puppy on a leash while outside so you can better keep track of his activities. This will also be a good time to bond.
3. In addition to taking your puppy out after meals, you should also take him out at regular intervals. For the first two days of your new Beagle’s stay, take him out to do his business every hour. On the third day increase the frequency to 90 minutes; on the fourth day, increase to 2 hours; on day five, go to 2 1/2 hours; on the sixth day, increase it to 3 hours; and the seventh day at 4 o’clock. On the outdoor trip, stay outside for at least 10 minutes. When your puppy eliminates, praise him. If he wants to go back inside, distract him and give him his full 10 minutes. If he doesn’t relieve himself during the “potty break,” put him back in his box until the next break.
4. While you are in the house, if you catch your dog in the act of urinating or defecating, make a loud “No!” and immediately take it outside. Don’t yell at your puppy; a firm “No!” It’s enough. If you find an “accident”, don’t correct your dog; It’s too late. Clean it up and be sure to use a pet deodorant, that way your Beagle puppy won’t smell his waste and will be encouraged to return to that spot.
5. If a scheduled “potty break” is unavoidable, put your puppy in a bathroom or other small room that can be closed until you return. Put down newspaper or puppy pads so you can easily clean up any potential clutter. Make sure to clean and deodorize the dirty area.
6. Beagle puppies under 16 weeks often cannot get through the night without a break. If he wakes up during the night, take him out.
7. The goal is to train your dog not to leave litter in his den and for a puppy his house is too big to look like a den. Limit his access to your home and keep him tied to you when he’s not in his cage. During the training period, it is a good idea to restrict it to just a couple of rooms in your house and always have it in sight.
Make sure you learn the difference between having an accident and urinating nervously. Understanding this behavior is extremely important, because correcting a nervous urinator will make the problem worse. If your Beagle urinates in front of you or a visitor, especially when greeting you, then he has a nervous urination. This phenomenon is a sign of insecurity and can be the result of overcorrection, heredity, or even trauma. Urinating in front of the Alpha dog pack leader (in this case you) is normal behavior for dogs.
We all get frustrated with our pets from time to time and it’s not uncommon for a new Beagle owner to yell at their dog. This is bad behavior on the part of the owner and must be stopped. It may seem counterintuitive, but the way to stop nervous urination is to stop correcting your dog. If he urinates when he greets you, change your demeanor to stop the big homecoming scene. Ignore him when you enter the house, walk past him and go straight to the kitchen to give him a treat. When guests arrive, distract the dog from the time in the kitchen with a treat. With time and following these guidelines, the nonsense should stop. Don’t worry, you won’t have to ignore and distract your dog forever. As you continue to bond with your dog, the nervous urination will stop.
Some male Beagles will choose to raise their legs on every piece of furniture in their home to mark their territory. Here are a couple of tips on how to stop this behavior: Neuter your male Beagle; this often eliminates the need to mark territory. If neutering doesn’t stop the behavior (or you haven’t neutered your Beagle for breeding purposes), try limiting his access. Keep him tied up and in your sight so you can catch him in the act and give him a correction. If you find him walking on his leg, give him a stern “No!” and put it in its box for an hour. When his rest time is over, take him outside and praise him when he urinates there.
If your Beagle appeared to have been housebroken for some time but begins to slip, a visit to the vet is probably necessary. Dogs that begin to relieve themselves in the house after years of being domesticated are most likely ill.
Most experts recommend that you train your Beagle to get out from the moment you bring him home. In the old days, the recommendation was to first train your dog on paper, but this showed that it only delayed the process of breaking and entering. Regardless, there are some situations where paper training may be required. One that I’ve already mentioned is when you can’t get home during the day to care for your puppy. Another is when you have an older Beagle. Your older Beagle may have a more difficult time “holding” him as he ages. In the case of an older dog that is losing bladder control, you may want to try paper training.
Whatever your reason, if you decide to train on paper, choose a room your dog would not normally be in, such as a bathroom. Cover the floor with a thick pile of newspaper or puppy training pads. Every few days, you can reduce the amount of newspapers or pads as you learn where to go, but make sure you have enough to capture all the moisture.