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Dear Nanny Fran,
What do you think of a beagle as a
pet?
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Beagles are beautiful, smart and often require a great deal of attention. Consider adopting an adult dog from a “rescue” group.
photo for Tropical Breeze courtesy of Francene Mattucci
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I love beagles. I used to have a very
sweet little girl. I have cared for beagles as a pet sitter and I
was raised with a beagle whose name was Timmy. The beagle I grew up
with was a true hunting beagle. You might ask, what does that mean?
That means that when my grandfather wanted to go rabbit hunting he
took Timmy along to flush out the rabbits. Since the hunting
instinct was so strong in Timmy and because he was left to run
loose on our farm, he would often return to our homestead with a
dead baby rabbit in his mouth.
One family in this area with two beagles
told of a mother rabbit nesting in their back yard. Unfortunately,
one or both of their beagles found the nest and killed the rabbits.
It is unfortunate; however, that kind of behavior in a beagle is
instinctual.
Did you know that the white tip on the
tail of a beagle was purposely bred into the breed for a specific
purpose. When the beagle runs through tall grass he is easily
spotted because of the white tip on the end of his tail. Beagles
are voracious hunters and sniffing every square inch of turf on a
walk is proof positive. When you walk a beagle you walk at their
pace. Their pace is inch by inch, sniff, sniff, sniff! When a dog
is walking with you he/she is "Reading Pee Mail and Sending Pee
Mail!" A long time ago I heard that a dog can tell the age, sex,
size and breed of the dog or dogs who had recently passed by and
urinated on a tree trunk, bush, fire hydrant, etc. I also heard
that they can also tell how long ago the previous dog walked by as
well.
Enough about the nose. Whoops! Not so
fast! Their nose is also exceptional at ferreting out food and
other substances. Have you noticed how many beagles are used at
airports to sniff contraband?
I have also found that, like Uno, the
beagle who won the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, that they can
be vocal as well. They have a distinctive, "Ahrooo." They usually
are very happy little souls and like to let you know that they are
happy!
Another factor that seems fairly prevalent
is the fact that they are diggers. I have known a few families who
had an adored beagle and that little one would dig under a fence
and slip out of a back yard.
Of course, I want to caution everyone to
not stereotype any breed of dog. Not every beagle will be a digger,
or baby rabbit killer, or a "happy howler." We should never
stereotype anyone, with two legs or four. I have known a calm Jack
Russell. I know a calm chihuahua... yes, one who is NOT over
protective of the owner. This little one loves everyone on the
planet.
I hope that any person or family
considering adopting a beagle do their research to see if this
bundle of sweetness is appropriate for their lifestyle. I also
recommend that anyone considering adopting a beagle do the adopting
through a beagle rescue group. For every purebred we have on the
planet there is also a "breed rescue" group. Also, I suggest
adopting a dog that has already been toilet trained and is through
the chewing stage. The small bladder of any puppy means toilet
training and some of us parents are not very patient with this
process. Do yourself and a bundle of sweetness a huge favor, adopt
an older dog.
© 2008 Francene Mattucci. All Rights
Reserved.
Francene Mattucci founded Never Say Good
Bye Pet Sitting Service in 1994. Call 727-512-3206, visit
www.TampaBayPetCare.com or email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
with
questions for this column.
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