beagle pups

[thedon28]

I live in london and would like to purchase a beagle puppy for a christmas present for my daughter, I have tried alot of diffrent internet sites and pet shops but no one has been able to help me PLEASE CAN SOME ONE HELP time is now running out only 4 weeks to christmas

[maggie01]

You could get in touch with the Kennel Club or ask your vet.

[annavc]

Apologies if you know this already but you must think carefully about whether a Beagle is the right dog for you - if you live in London it may not be unless you have a large and well fenced garden. Beagles are lovely dogs but they are extremely energetic, need huge amounts of excercise and are very good at escaping - my old one used to be very adept at leaping over a 6 foot high wall! They really need experienced owners. If you are prepared and still want to get one, then I would suggest looking around the dog shelters first. Battersea would be the best place to start if you're in London. Please please please never get a dog from a pet shop. Either go to a shelter or direct to the breeder, and as maggie01 says you will find details of breeders by contacting the Kennel Club. Also I know this a cliche but remember a dog is for life not just for Christmas. My old Beagle lived to the grand old age of 18. Good luck and I hope you find what you're looking for.

[annavc]

P.S. As well as being able to jump high they are also very good at tunneling under fences!!

[Typhoid]

You could try www.champdogs.co.uk they have lists of breeders on here and whether or not they have puppies available.

I would hesitate at giving a puppy as a present for christmas, they do make great companions but would she be better off with a rabbit or something straight away? Then you can get a good idea as to whether she will be ready to look after a puppy or whether it will actually be "your" dog :-) just a suggestion!

A quieter/smaller breed may be better for living in London though ... beagles do "bay" rather than bark and can be VERY loud! This may become a problem with your neighbours?? There are quieter dogs out there which need less exercise, a whippet/greyhound for example, not really known for barking and need a couple of short walks a day but not for miles! There are some breed guides on champ dogs which may help you choose :-)

Good luck either way and hope you have a lovely Christmas :-)

[jake-the-peg]

Just to echo what annavc said. We had a beagle when I was younger and yes they can be quite a handfull and can be very distructive if they don't get enough exercise.

They are also extremely cunning. Ours learnt to hide when it saw my mother washing milk bottles, when she opened the door to put them out it would dart out to escape to the fields opposite.

Trying to recapture an escaped beagle in the mud is like trying to catch a greased pig! - Milk bottles became a battle of wills!

Funny thing despite their intelligence you never seem to see them at obedience trials! Hmmm!

[lankeela]

Please please please don't buy a puppy as a Christmas present. It is the wrong time to bring a puppy of any sort into a busy manic household, with visitors, parties, presents, and general chaos. You need time to socialise and housetrain any new baby and this is not the right time.

Buy only from a reputable breeder, make sure it is kennel club registered, and consider very carefully what you want from a dog. As others have said Beagles are scent hounds, and can go all day following a scent. They do not take any notice of you and you could not let one off in the local park and expect it to come back when called. They also howl like the devil and really are pack animals and one left alone would be very lonely and would find other things to occupy itself - i.e. chewing and generally destroying your property.

Reputable breeders would ask you many questions about your lifestyle and why you want one, and most would not have puppies available 'off the peg'. You should be prepared to wait for a litter and I would insist on all the family meeting my dogs and see how they react to each other. Please don't buy a dog 'without papers' as you have no idea whether it is even the breed it is supposed to be. Champdogs is a good place to start, and the Kennel Club (tel [phone]) will give you a list of clubs and the secretaries of those clubs will let you have a list of reputable club members who occasionally breed.

Please don't be put off - just do it the right way and you will have the support of the breeder (and probably make lifelong friends) and a lifetime of love from a carefully bred and reared puppy.

[maggie01]

Just a suggestion. Perhaps you could buy your daughter a book of different breeds of dogs for Christmas and have a look at it together. See if there is a breed that perhaps suits you better unless of course you really wanted a beagle.

[lankeela]

Why not buy your daughter a stuffed toy dog, then tell her she can help you choose a real breed and you can involve her a and go and view puppies together. This would teach the right way to choose a dog and she would have an investment in having chosen it herself.

[beerbelly]

i bought my son a labrador puppy , when he was 12 , ill take it for a walk dad ,he said . now my son is 18 ,moved out ,and still has not took the dog for a walk !!!
whilst me and MY dog are inseparable , i cant help wondering where i went wrong !!!
must go now ........have to take the dog out ....

[funnywebsite]

Most of the answers here are pretty bad treating thedon28 like they are an idiot. If they want a beagle then it is up to them. If you cannot advise them where to get one, then sometimes it is best to keep your opinions to yourself rather than treating somebody like they are stupid. They might of owned a beagle in the past and know how they behave, did you think of that?

[maggie01]

I don't think anyone was trying to treat thedon28 as an idiot. After all there are 9 replies before the last one, so I am sure thedon could have replied if they have previously owned a beagle. I feel people were just trying to point out the pitfalls. Better to know before you get the dog that after and find that you cannot cope with it and have to find a new home. Also any respectable breeder I am sure would say that the Christmas period is not a good idea to bring a new pet into the home.

[orange-gnome]

Have you tried epupz.co.uk ?
Also just to let you know that if you are going to try a rescue centre like Battersea, they stop rehoming pups close to christmas to stop people getting them as christmas presents, I used to work there.
Just to add that people aren't treating thedon as an idiot but just giving advice, if thedon doesn't feel the advice is needed it can just be ignored. There are hundreds of thousands of unwanted dogs bought on a whim and then thrown out when they realise the dog is harder work than they thought. Having worked at Battersea I know that after christmas is the busiest time when all the unwanted dogs are given away. There is nothing wrong with giving sensible advice about making sure you are making the right decision.

[brachiopod]

Hear! Hear!, my little orange one.

[typhoid2]

I didn't think any of us were treating thedon28 like an idiot ... they asked for help and we gave our opinions ... in any case thedon28 I hope you found our points of view helpful :-)

I'm getting a puppy tomorrow to join our ever growing animal family and if you need any loo training help or anything when you get yours let me know as I will have been there!!!!

[orange-gnome]

Why thank you Brachiopod : )

[lolking]

I live in Londaon and have recently brought a Beagle (November) We had to travel to Scunthorpe though. It was so worth it. We got information from a good website www.epupz.co.uk you type in the breed you want and they show you all the available litters.