If you just brought home a beagle puppy that needs to be potty trained or are struggling with an adult beagle dog that still isn’t housebroken, this article is for you.
You should house train your beagle as soon as possible for two simple reasons. First is quite obvious – you don’t want to clean up the mess and deal with the smell that comes with it. The second reason to housetrain your beagle sooner than later is so that the dog doesn’t make peeing or pooping indoors a habit.
Frequently Walk Your Beagle When Housetraining
When you potty train a puppy, it’s important that you walk him as often as you can. The more time your beagle spends outside, the more likely it is that he will go potty outside instead of peeing on your kitchen floor.
Whenever your dog does his business outside, reward him by saying “Good Boy”, or you can use your own rewarding phrase. You can even carry around a bag with small treats in your pocket when you go out for walks. The more obvious the reward, the better your beagle will understand what he is being praised for doing something good.
You won’t always have to walk him six times a day, but it’s helpful during the learning stage. Once your beagle is house trained, he will try to hold in the urge to potty until his next walk. This means less walks for you and no mess to clean up when you get home.
Don’t get Mad at Your Beagle over Accidents
beagleguiltyA lot of dog owners get mad at their dogs when they come home and discover that their beagle left a surprise for them. Shouting at your beagle over these accidents won’t help you with potty training. If anything, it’s counterproductive.
Beagles understand that they are a part of the family and they want to keep their owners happy… at least for the most part. So this kind of accident wasn’t done to spite you or to make you mad. Your beagle either didn’t know he can’t pee or poop indoors, or he wasn’t able to hold it anymore. The best thing you can do in a situation like that is just to clean up the mess.
If however you catch your beagle in the act, then you can use that moment as a learning tool. Quickly get his attention with a clear and firm “No” to interrupt him and then take him outside to finish. Once he finishes, praise him for doing his business outside.