I have seen on many web sites that beagles bark a lot. I do know
that beagle barks are "loud" barks, because they have a big voice.
But our beagles don't bark "a lot" or "all the time" as people seem to think.
In fact, they rarely bark at all unless certain conditions are true:
- New people arrive. For about 5 minutes, it will be noisy because we have 5
different fenced-in areas, so the dogs that we have not yet petted bark until
we reach their enclosure.
- If a wild animal is in the yard or garden.
- The cats sit outside the dogs' fence and tease the dogs. You know how cats
are...they sit there and twitch their tails and take their baths as slowly as
they can, as long as they can get a rise out of the dogs. When the dogs stop
barking, the cats get bored and move on.
This barking would not be nearly as bad if our dogs weren't in fenced-in
areas. But since we can't let our dogs leave the property (because they might
return with germs or pregnant by an unknown dog), we have to keep them fenced
in. Being held back from investigating or reaching the visitors causes them to
bark.
House beagles are not nearly as bad, because they become very hound-like
(lazy) during times when their people aren't home to watch or to play. Beagles
are hounds, and do enjoy lengthy naps.
To control barking is easiest done with electronic devices. We have a
birdhouse from Wal-Mart that we hung on the dog fence. When dogs bark, it emits
a sound that we can't hear to help teach the dog to not bark. Some people use
bark collars (very effective, but watch to be sure they don't cause sores on the
side of the neck).
Compared to terriers and many toy breeds, I think beagles are FAR quieter. I
have never heard louder dogs than my neighbor's Yorkies. Goodness! Ear piercing.
But cute. :-)
Hope that helps. Beagles DO have loud voices, and they also do bark for a
week or two after leaving their littermates. But they soon learn, especially if
they are house dogs, that barking doesn't get any results, and that it's far
easier to take a nap. :-)
