1. When either I or my wife come home after work, our 5 yr old beagle howls from time he hears car until about 30 seconds after we enter the house. It is ear splitting and very annoying. Behavior started about 3 months ago. We've owned him 1 and 1/2 years and he came from an abusive situation. He was silent for months but now he seems comfortable. How do we stop this.
2. When he is starting to approach meal time, (twice per day-1/2 cup of dried food each time. He is 27 lbs. Feel free to comment on this diet) he starts to ??cry?? a very high pitched one toned sound, not too loud, but most annoying. He doesn't seem to connect making this noise to any punishment or reward we have tried.
Thank you for help on one or both of these.
Jim..
2 Behaviors we can't solve
Moderators: Pike Ridge Beagles, Aaron Bartlett
-
show dog
-
New York Hillbilly
- Posts: 687
- Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 11:54 pm
- Location: Soldotna, Alaska
Jaaime,
Maybe I'm off base but I think I would be flattered. The fact that your beagle is vocal at meal time and when you come home leaves me thinking he identifies both as something that makes him/her happy. If the poor thing came from an abusive situation to a loving home like yours it is probably "Howling Happy"
Think of your beagle as welcoming the leaders of the pack home after they have been off hunting and with them comes the kill to be shared. Your beagle unable to assist in the hunt now feels it only proper to "sing for his supper". 
While it may be an annoyance it sounds like a well meant one. I would be curious if your little hound also howls while you are away. Good luck in turning your beagle into a "Hush Puppy"! Maybe in time with lots of love and assurance it will calm down.
Peace ( and quiet),
NYH
Maybe I'm off base but I think I would be flattered. The fact that your beagle is vocal at meal time and when you come home leaves me thinking he identifies both as something that makes him/her happy. If the poor thing came from an abusive situation to a loving home like yours it is probably "Howling Happy"
Think of your beagle as welcoming the leaders of the pack home after they have been off hunting and with them comes the kill to be shared. Your beagle unable to assist in the hunt now feels it only proper to "sing for his supper". While it may be an annoyance it sounds like a well meant one. I would be curious if your little hound also howls while you are away. Good luck in turning your beagle into a "Hush Puppy"! Maybe in time with lots of love and assurance it will calm down.Peace ( and quiet),
NYH
When my life on earth is ended....this is all I'm gonna say...Lord I've been a hard working pilgrim on the way!
For the barking when you come home, I think the best thing to do is to mostly ignore him for the first 10-15 minutes after you get home. Right now, he's focusing a lot of emotion and energy on a short period of time. If your arrival is less of a spectacle, he may learn to remain calm. You can give him plenty of playtime and love when he's calm and quiet.
With mealtime, the best I can suggest is to leave his prepared food bowl sitting on the counter for a little while. Don't feed him until he's calm and quiet, and just basically ignore him (read the paper, watch TV, etc). As for 1/2 cup twice daily...that depends on the food you give him and how many treats he gets. It doesn't sound unreasonable for a 27 lb dog if you're feeding a rich food like Eukanuba, but if you're giving him something that has a lot of filler, then it's probably too little. For most dogs at an ideal weight, you can easily feel the ribs with your hand, but you shouldn't be able to see them.
Our dogs do the same things your dog does. Frankly, I find it amusing. I like coming home to it, and I like how feisty our dogs get when dinner is being prepared. It doesn't seem to matter how much you feed them, either. They're still hungry at mealtime. Many of them seem to expect mealtime earlier and earlier each evening, too.
With mealtime, the best I can suggest is to leave his prepared food bowl sitting on the counter for a little while. Don't feed him until he's calm and quiet, and just basically ignore him (read the paper, watch TV, etc). As for 1/2 cup twice daily...that depends on the food you give him and how many treats he gets. It doesn't sound unreasonable for a 27 lb dog if you're feeding a rich food like Eukanuba, but if you're giving him something that has a lot of filler, then it's probably too little. For most dogs at an ideal weight, you can easily feel the ribs with your hand, but you shouldn't be able to see them.
Our dogs do the same things your dog does. Frankly, I find it amusing. I like coming home to it, and I like how feisty our dogs get when dinner is being prepared. It doesn't seem to matter how much you feed them, either. They're still hungry at mealtime. Many of them seem to expect mealtime earlier and earlier each evening, too.