killer beagle

[ewyourpoor]

ive always known my 1 year old beagle had a really strong hunting instinct, when she was 3 months old she made her first kill, a small bird. since then shes moved on to other prey like mice, shrews and now today she killed and devoured a baby bunny's nest. she got 3, i managed to get one baby bunny with a net and relocate it out of my yard.
my yard is totally fenced in with a 6 foot vinyl privacy fence but the rabbits dug a tiny hole under the fence and made a nest near my pond.
how can i stop this gruesome behavior? she doesnt want to stay in the house all she wants to do it go outside and hunt in the yard. she sniffs the ground and yelps as she does this, its fun to watch her, but i really wish i can stop her from killing, its so sad, my yard is a half eaten grave site.
her belly is actually full tonight after eating so many baby rabbits.
what can i do? there must be something i can do to stop this masacre?

 

[~Tucker&Me~]

*Shudders*
Poor bunnies .
I would just keep her on a leash. It was what she was bred to do, and it would be unfair to correct her or get angry at her for that.

~Tucker

 

[darkchild16]

that is what hounds do. you will just have to have her on a leash or watch her at all times and call her off when she goes after them. you can also try to exercise her more and only let her out after she is good and tired but that is what they are bred to do. you signed up for it when you got a beagle.

 

[imissmydog]

I have 2 beagles that are 5 years old. Boy likes to chill and rest a lot. He 41 pounds which is fat. He loves my mom the most and follows her all the time. Darcy, who we got 3 days ago is a lot smaller and loves to play tug of war and chew toys. I dunno how that's relevant but I love my beagles.

As for yard behavior, they are good. The most Boy tries to do is eat bugs. Darcy tries to dig her way out sometimes so we keep an eye on her.

 

[ewyourpoor]

i cant leash her in the yard, its a 1/4 acre fenced in she will freak out on a leash, and possibly strangle herself.
i cant be out there with her all day since i have a toddler to watch.
im going to try a beagle resuce group to see if i can find a home for her.
i enjoy wildlife and i setup my yard to encourage wildlife, when i saw her at the mall in the petshop i never would have dreamed this adorable puppy would even think of killing.
ive known plenty of people with beagles before and not one of them every had this happen to them. my aunt had a beagle for 16 years hers never did this either.
i tried to limit her yard play and the other night she nearly went through the family room window to get to her yard. shes terribly hyper and really cant be kept in without her taking a fit, and she will go to the bathroom in the house if i dont let her out.
anyone know of a good beagle rescue?

 

[princess_poppy]

if shes from a petshopthen then her parents wouldnt have been tested and proberly came mfrom a puppy farm, please dont ever bye a pup from a pet shop again.

 

[ewyourpoor]

yes i have learned my lesson no more petshop puppies
i got my pekingese from a breeder and hes wonderful
i emailed a few beagle rescue groups telling them about her and if they can help me place her.
she and a hunter would be a perfect pair

 

[Fran27]

It's what they were bred for. If your dog killing things bothers you so much, I strongly suggest researching the breed careful next time before you get a dog. That, and coming from a petstore she was probably poorly bred in the first place, so you never really know what you're getting.

Or maybe she's just bored.

 

[Dizzy]

Are there other issues and you feel you cannot cope, or is it JUST the killing, that makes you want to rehome her?

If you genuinely can't cope, and do not have the energy or time for a beagle, then it will be in her best interests for her to go.

Otherwise, I am sure there are things you can do to help.

When you take on an animal, you have a responsibility to them, and for the rest of their lives (even if that means finding them a new home - a GOOD one).

I would hate to see this dog given up just because of what comes naturally to it.

I think it can probably be curbed. If you have the time to teach between working time (hunting - even for toys etc) and leisure time somehow? Hunting dogs are not supposed to kill and EAT their prey, so your beagle could be taught to leave somehow....

Dogs are not a disposable commodity, and it is only right you work on it, instead of giving up immediately..

Of course, if you are at your wits end, and truely can't cope, then rehoming the dog is best all round..

 

[ewyourpoor]

i did research and no where did it say beagles kill anything in your yard.
lots of people have hunting dogs as pets and dont have this killing behavior.
like i said i know other people with beagles and their dogs dont do this.
my husbands friend has a 3 year old male beagle, he tells him the stories and his friend is in shock.
i think i have one in a million

 

[Fran27]

I think your idea of dogs is a wrong one... Maybe their dogs don't kill things because they were poorly bred, or there just isn't anything to kill in their yard. Or they give them lots of excercise.

I'm quite sure my golden retriever would have played with the bunnies and killed them, too.

 

[ewyourpoor]

look fran you obviously dont understand
ive had dogs all my life and ive never had one kill any living thing
i dont know what your point is, my beagle isnt bad she just has a strong hunting instinct that i cant handle because i have a love for wildlife and get upset when i find pieces of animals in my yard
some people and possibly you, dont mind if their dogs kill. you may not like wildlife or be upset at a masacre in your yard that happends not just once in awhile but several times a week.
so yes i understand, do you?

 

[Angel Chicken]

Look... it seems that YOU are the one that doesn't understand.

They are trying to give you advice, and all you are doing is saying "My friends have beagles that don't kill."

I know I don't mind if my dog brings me a bunny, hunting is also in her blood. Would you get rid of a cat if you saw it eating a wild bird?? It is nature, it happens. There really wouldn't be a whole lot you could do about it, except watch her.

May I also remind you that all dogs are different. Some are harder to train, while others are pieces of cake. All it takes is time.

I really hope you reconsider this dog. She could be a great dog for your home with all the proper training.

 

[Gempress]

Your dog doesn't see wildlife the way you do. He is genetically programmed to eat the animals you are trying to nurture. He's a predator, that's what he does. He can't help it.

It is possible to overcome this with training. But training to overcome that instinct takes time and a lot of patience. Especially with a hound, which was bred specifically to have a strong hunt instinct.

If you rehome him, I can understand. But please keep this in mind when you get any type of predatory pet. At the very least, they need training to keep this from happening again.

 

[Ashlea]

Methinks she should stick with a Pekinese.
Your dog is a hound, they hunt. I wonder if you should rehome your child when it starts getting out of hand.

 

[darkchild16]

My hound does bring home dead animals like every other day. So i do understand and yes i do love wildlife, one of the reasons i live in the wookds. but when you get a hound with a strong hunting instinct you either watch it or deal with it. and if you cant you should either put in teh itme watching and training them or rehome them.

 

[StillandSilent]

My 10yr old beagle got her fist bunny nest this summer. Thank god the babies were no longer in it. She has never been trained to hunt and has been a lazy housepet her entire life, but those instincts were spot on.

 

[Bailey+Ralph]

I think you got what you paid for...............a good huntiing dog!!

 

[ewyourpoor]

the advice here hasnt been in any way to help me.
all i keep hearing is that she is a hunting dog, well i know this and im not blaming her for this behavior just thought someone would know of a way to stop this. seems like there is none
dont matter now i just found a home for her this afternoon
shes gone and now i can start rebuilding my wildlife haven again

thanks for your advice that got me no where
no point in this topic anymore since the dog is elsewhere

 

[whatszmatter]

thanks for your advice that got me no where
no point in this topic anymore since the dog is elsewhere

all I can say to that is GOOD

hmmm a beagle that goes after rabbits, oh the humanity Who would have ever thunk it??

People told you leash it and watch it, you balked and said you couldn't, you have children, you didn't teach her to accpet a leash, etc, your fault, not an instinctual beagles fault.

They told you that it was in their nature, you balked again saying your friends dog doesn't do that, well, not every dog is the same and you had a dog that had instincts to hunt, its what you should have expected when buying a beagle. all dogs are scavengers and predators. If they find dead animals they'll bring them into your yard, and if they find live ones, there's a good chance they'll want to at least chase them, some will want to kill them, and even some more still have the motor patterns to stalk, chase, kill and dissect meaning eat them.

Maybe you're better off with fish.