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Smart Dogs

by David Lockard :: Featured: April, 2003

A disconcerting item that I find in the dog training literature is, that my beagle is considered by many to be difficult to train.  You need to be careful about telling someone that their dog is stupid.  Just the same, many dog training books rank hounds as being low on trainability and obedience training.  Justification for this assessment is given by the poor showing that hounds make in obedience competitions.

Having owned several beagles, this peaked my interest because I have been impressed by how smart my dogs were.  I have not had much desire to enter my dog in to a show.  I am interested in a dog that meets the breed standards.  I am interested in having a dog that responds to my commands, and I seek out breeders that produce these qualities when I buy a puppy.  My real interest is in a hunting companion and an excellent pet, a quality that I have found in this breed.  So why is it that my smart dog has difficulty performing well in obedience training?   It is because my dog is not oriented towards the qualities that are sought after in these competitions.  Years ago during the origination of the breed, the beagle was favored for his nose and his enthusiasm for the hunt, which is exactly what I want.  Today with an increasingly urbanized population, dogs are asked to be obedient above all other qualities.  Since my dogs orientation is towards the hunt first he is inclined to satisfy this desire before any others.  Teaching these other qualities becomes a secondary concern to my hunting buddy.  So, when I call my dog to come and midway on his path toward me he finds a scent of a fresh rabbit trail, he is torn between his desire to please me and his natural instinct to check out this interesting trail, which creates a dilemma for both of us.  He and I want him to continue coming toward me.  He and I desire that he not miss a thing when it comes to trailing rabbits.  The question becomes which should be addressed first.  For beagle, instinct will likely take over and he will pause to check out the trail.  If you correct him for his action and insist that he obey your command, which is the proper thing to do to have a well trained dog, you can discourage him from his hunting ability.  Hunting skill, however, is a quality I also desire him to have.  Taken to the extreme you can end up with a dog that listens but doesn't hunt or hunts but doesn't listen.

Another element to consider is the thinking ability of the dog.  Bird dogs are very popular these days.  They listen to the hunter's commands and they point out the query, waiting for further instruction before flushing the bird.  Their thinking processes are aligned with the hunters.  A beagle, on the other hand, is on a mission of it own design and is often not listening for instructions from the hunter.

Now, to my mind, if you where to consult an expert in a field for assistance, would you dictate to him how to perform his job?  Not if you trusted him to know more than you do about the subject at hand.  In the world of scents and trailing, your dog is the expert.  It is nice to have your dog stop and wait for your further instruction to proceed but, for a slow moving dog like a beagle, it is not like you are that far behind the action anyway and he will usually bring the rabbit back around to you.

It is this independent action and thinking on the part of a beagle that sometimes limits their popularity among the modern day hunter and earns it a reputation for not being so smart.  My contention, however, is that this natural tendency to be independent and creative is exactly what makes them so smart.  A beagle does not perform well in a programmed manner because they think too much for themselves.  A beagle will question why you want them to do this same trick for the umpteenth time for no logical reason and will therefore blow the whole thing off.  I had a beagle that I determined was becoming hard of hearing and took him to the veterinarian only to be told that it was not the case at all. Barney was guilty of selective hearing which he learned to use to his advantage. Beagles can train their owner if you are not careful.

I had a cooker spaniel once that was easy to train.  I taught her to climb a step ladder which she would do anytime I instructed her, but would not ever do it without being told.  On the other hand I had a beagle that I could not keep in his kennel because he learned how to climb a six foot high wire fence all by himself.  Before he learned to climb he tried digging under the fence but having owned beagles before I knew to bury the fencing or pour a concert footing to counter this strategy.  This creative thinking is a good thing in a hunting dog.  They solve problems associated scent trailing, which makes them excellent hunters, and I think, extremely intelligent.  Being intelligent they require a lot of stimulation to keep them from becoming bored.  To help keep my dog engaged I have located his kennel where he can observe activities in our yard and the surrounding neighborhood.  I have constructed a platform on which he can climb to give him a better view of the surrounding world.  I take him on walks of several miles three or more times a week and undertake daily training exercises.  When you and your dog work together with daily interaction and you work at communication and understanding, a true working relationship develops which benefits both of you.  Stay on your toes, because your dog is thinking more then most dogs do.  If you watch his tail, face, and ears he will communicate to you what is passing through is mind and you can react accordingly.