Beagles are affectionate, friendly, fun loving dogs. Their hunting lineage gives them the quality of persistence and ability to often work things out for themselves. They also have a propensity to be stubborn, but can easily be motivated with food.
Beagles are one of the many dogs breeds that can be perpetually hungry and capable of eating food whenever it is available. Beagles seem to be ready to eat all day and can devour virtually any kind of food if they’re interested in it.
For this reason, food is an effective motivator for beagles and can be used as a part of reward-based training. But eating a large amount of food can also lead to obesity and other health problems down the line.
In this article, I’ll get into the pros and cons of using food to motivate beagles in training.
Does Food Motivate Beagles?
All dogs are inherently food motivated. However, some dogs are more food motivated than others.
Beagles are naturally driven by food and can easily be motivated through food to do certain tasks.
Because of their sensitive nature, beagles are more likely to respond to praise and rewards when training, and that includes the reward of food.
During training, treats can be used to facilitate both learning and obedience commands. But this type of training should be done within reason and moderation, as beagles are extremely prone to overeating that can make them obese and develop other health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
Therefore they need nutritious food and moderate amount of exercise to keep them from putting on too much weight. Fortunately, beagles can be motivated through nutritious food like vegetables and fruits, as well as simply small pieces of normal, healthy dog food when training.
You can play with different types of foods to get your beagle motivated to learn something new and challenging. Initially, learning a new behavior can be hard for your dog, and food motivation can go a long way for their progress.
However there is a line of diminishing returns. If overfed, beagles may begin to show less interest in food training, and may even start to misbehave as a result of it. You should try to time your training hours separate from their normal feeding hours, so that they get the full benefit of these treats.
How to Avoid Overfeeding Your Beagle When Training
Overfeeding your beagle while training them can lead to an overweight dog, health complications, and intestinal difficulties.
A tasty treat sends a clear message to a dog that they are doing the right thing, but all it takes is a small treat, a few times in a row to help your dog form an association when training.
Using food can also help your dog stay focused on their learning, and is a good way to teach them patience for their reward. If you reward them too easily and too frequently, you’ll risk overfeeding them.
There are several methods to avoid overfeeding your beagle so that he can enjoy a healthy life.
Firstly, you can use the treats to replace some of your beagle’s daily food. Keep a track of the food your beagle eats during a training session, and adjust the rest of the meals accordingly.
Instead of giving unhealthy fillers during training, you can switch to low calorie treats. Also, avoid giving a lot of treats to your dog after compliance with a single command. Use smaller portions less frequently to hone their patience and avoid unnecessary calories.
Some examples of healthy, low calorie treats for dog training include apple slices, green beans, carrots, and celery.
If you are concerned about the weight of your dog, try incorporating more vigorous exercise into your training, so that they’re at least burning calories at the same time.
Eventually, you’ll want to transition from food training to just praise, as you won’t want to give your dog treats every single time they perform a task. So it’s important to slowly taper down the amount of treats you give them once they start to show mastery over whatever lesson you are working on.
Non-Food Methods For Training Beagles
Beagles can be pretty difficult to train, because they are particularly stubborn. However you don’t have to just use food to motivate them. There are a few other ways that work as well.
You can use praise and toys as a pretty effective way of rewarding good behavior, and playing with your beagle during training will make them feel great anyway, because they naturally crave one on one attention.
Scent work training is another effective way to teach your beagle to follow directions without relying on food. Beagle’s are naturally scent driven as they were bred to be hunting dogs. You can learn more about scent work training and other techniques from the American Kennel Club (AKC) right here.
If your dog simply isn’t food motivated at all, you can also check out this video below for some additional tips.
How to Curb Excessive Hunger in Beagles
Beagle is one breed that does not waste time when it comes to food. No matter how much food they have eaten, they are always looking for more.
They are adept at sourcing food in different unusual places. Because beagles as a breed struggle with limits on food, it is imperative to monitor the diet of these canine food opportunists to prevent them from gaining extra pounds.
A beagle’s digestive system is quite different from ours. It takes a longer time for them to feel satiated from the last meal they ate, resulting in excessive amounts of overeating.
If your beagle inhales food at an alarming rate, then having a slow feeding bowl can be an extremely useful tool to stop them from eating too fast.
Slow feeders are designed for the speedy eaters. Slowing down and chewing the food slowly can improve your beagle’s digestion considerably, resulting in less gas, less bloating, and better gut health overall.
A slow feeding bowl can increase the amount of time your beagle takes to finish their meal almost up to 10 times, which can be a great way to mentally engage your beagle and help them pass time as well.
Another reason behind your beagle’s overeating could be an existing medical condition. Your beagle may have worms inside their body, which absorb almost all the nutrients from the food taken into their body, leaving them continuously hungry. For this reason, it is recommended to visit your veterinarian for an examination to rule out the possibility of any medical condition causing gluttonous behavior in your beagle, especially if monitoring and slow feeding bowls aren’t working.
If the medical issues are ruled out, there could be behavioral problems with your beagle. This is important to start working on correcting them as young as possible. Beagles can very quickly become obese, especially the seniors, so it is essential to feed scheduled meals. Reserve treats for puppies for training and for older ones who need reinforcement for good behaviors.
Try to avoid giving extra treats, even if your beagle seems starved or acts that way to obtain more food. Feed your beagle at regular times, and do not miss those times. Ensure that you feed healthy snacks to your beagle instead of the cheap treats. Try giving zucchini slices, baby carrots, and other crunchy vegetables and fruits.
Final Thoughts
You might be tempted to share some of your food when your beagle looks at you with those beautiful puppy eyes, but you should try your best to refrain from doing so.
Beagles are opportunity eaters and will eat whenever and whatever they will get, whether they are full or not. That is a normal dog behavior for most breeds, but you, as a dog owner, have to control how much food your beagle is allowed to eat, especially during training sessions.
If you are giving a lot of treats to your beagle every day, then you should consider the calorie count and cut down your dog’s meal portions to accommodate the treats.
Use high-quality food during training that do not pack too many calories. Training beagles with food is the quicker and easier way to guarantee that they will repeat the behavior you want. But the food used for training should be part of their ration of calories and not an extra addition.