Men Love Dogs Too: If I had a dollar…

If I had a dollar for every time I found myself repeating the following phrases:

Yes… Luna is a Beagle… No… She is not stupid… Yes… She is trained and can do tricks… Yes… She does get a little frustrated with me, but only when I’m not fast enough with her training… No… She doesn’t try to escape… Yes.. You can train your Beagle, you just need to spend time doing it and be committed to it.

I’d be rich by now…

I’m not sure how it is in other countries, but Beagles in Australia are often given a bad rap. They are, according to many people: Stupid, un-trainable, escapists, stubborn, obsessed with food, and prone to be fat. Here is the thing, not all of these rumors are true.

I, in fact, believed them myself at one point, I would have loved a Cavalier or a Border Collie, but Antonio had his heart set on a Beagle, so I surfed the web and did some research. Every website has a different story, every person has had a Beagle, or their friend had a Beagle, or their Aunty/sister/cousin/father in law on their mother’s side had a Beagle and they were of course, naughty, un-trainable Beagles. They are often described as difficult to train; stubborn and head strong, sometimes, even by Beagle Breeders…

How can that possibly true though? I know when I’m at the airport I usually see at least one sniffer dog that’s a Beagle, Beagle’s are used for Hunting, Tracking, Search and Rescue… Surely these Beagles’ have been trained to do this. I only have to look to my left to see my own Beagle (who, mind you, is currently barking at her toys, hoping that one of them will come out of the basket) to know that this is untrue.

Whenever I meet another Beagle owner who is a bit antsy about their Beagle being impossible to train, I first get Luna to sit, and then wave. Their reaction is generally one of shock and surprise. “Wait? There is hope? You can train a Beagle?” Yes! It takes time and commitment, but that’s like any dog! The good thing about Beagle’s is that they are obsessed with food so lots of treats will work. Luna is only 8 months old, but yet she knows more tricks than a lot of other ‘trainable dogs’ that I know.

Training isn’t always easy, she does have her tantrums, and sometimes pulling her nose off the ground is hard to do, but with the right reward, time, and a little bit of patience, she can do anything. If anything, Beagles are a lot smarter than we give them credit for, a friend at the Park once said “Luna, look another Beagle! Go say hello!” as a Beagle puppy entered the gate, and sure enough, she ran over to the pup to say hi… I swear, sometimes I think she even knows English.

Meet Kevin our Men Love Dogs Too! Contributor

Kevin is 24, from Melbourne, Australia and a guy who loves dogs! Kevin lives with his partner Antonio and their puppy Luna who has her own blog at . He has been a dog person for as long as he can remember, he is allergic to cats, and now works for The Lost Dogs’ Home in Melbourne. When he’s not writing or blogging he is also an Actor