Dog (Beagle) for Luke.

[Alice]

We are still thinking about getting a dog for Luke.
A friend of us says that Beagle is very good for children.
Does any one had an experience with Beagle?
Thanks,
Alice

[amyzimoski]

HEY THERE! MY STEP MOM HAD A BEAGLE AND WAS VERY GOOD WITH MY DAUGHTER. SHE BELIEVED I THINK THAT NATALIE WAS HER BABY! SHE WAS VERY SWEET TO HER AND VERY PROTECTIVE. THEY SEEM TO BE PRETTY CALM DOGS. I WOULD SUGGEST A BEAGLE.

I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST A FEMALE..THEY TEND TO BE A BIT MORE CALM THAN A MALE.

GOOD LUCK!

AMY

[ourangelalicia]

Oh do I ever. We got a Beagle puppy when Ali was a month old and they are the BEST of friends. They get along so well, and that dog is SO protective of both babies. If Ali even gets near the stairs, even though they are blocked off the dog grabs her pants and pulls her back! LOL.. Both babies can pull on her ears, chew on her tail, ect and that dog just moves if it's bothering her...most of the time she just sits there and takes it. She gives them kisses and would sleep in their cribs if we'd let her. She actually did sleep in Ali's basinette for a while, and cuddled with her in her carseat when she was really little.

Beagles are very very energetic...and more difficult to train than the average dog. It would definitely be quite the undertaking but in my opinion it's definitely worth it. Get a new puppy, so that it is used to be around Luke from day one and I wouldn't think you'd have a problem.

[Emilysmom]

Alice,
Emily's first dog was a beagle and she was a GREAT dog!! The biggest problem, in my opinion, with beagles is that they are "hunters"......they find a scent and follow their noses to continue the hunt, and that can lead to a lost dog! Our beagle dug holes under our back yard fence over and over again. As fast as we'd get the hole fixed, she would dig another one and would run off! Otherwise, she was a really good dog and Emily loved her.
~
Our current dog is a daschund, and I couldn't ask for a better one! She, unlike the beagle, wants nothing more than to stay close to us, wag her tail, and lick us! She is also a bit smaller and Emily can carry her around.
Susan

[christie]

Ohhhh ALICE, I just LOVE Beagles, OMG who couldn't with those cute faces of theirs ;D



I have to agree that Beagles are very very energetic, as was already posted BUT they are hunting dogs so they need lots of area to run, hunt and gather

I think any dog you decide on will be great for Luke, but since you will be the one probably taking care of and training, I would go with the kind of dog you love.

I am a Dog Lover thru and thru except for Boxers as when I was tiny I had one come after me and haven't forgotten that till this day

We ourselves have a Golden Retriever that is WONDERFUL with Chris But the hair Ohhhh My the hair its everywhere

Best of Luck picking your new pup

CC

[momofrussell]

Alice I am NOT a dog lover, but my oldest asks me on occasion if we were ever to get a dog, what would YOU like mommy.. and I say BEAGLE!!!

I have read and heard they are GREAT with children. AND, not too small, not too big. I know some LABS and Golden Retrievers CAN be good too, but they are too big for me...

If I had enough guts.. and time.. I'd get a beagle...

Let me know how it goes!!!

A.

[Robin]

Hi Alice!!!!!
We had a Beagle for a long long time and she was the gentlest thing with Chase!!!! She passed away when she was 9 but a better dog you could not find, except of course for a lab, a big yellow lab, okay, LOL, I am partial. But seriouly, Beagles have tons of great qualities, they stay small, they are ADORABLE, they are very gentle, quiet and LOVE to give and get affection. Keep us posted on what you do. Our dog Bailey has been Chase's best friend for years, when Chase gets in troulbe the first thing he does is run to Bailey to cry to him
hugs, Robin

[meghans_mom]

we had a beagle too...she was abandoned (as she was pregnant, but i didn't know that when i rescued her, YIKES!) and she was a very quiet dog. She had also been abused by whoever owned or dumped her so she was frightened of everything....poor little thing.
My only complaint about her was that she would HOWL...at rabbits, squirrels, the moon....that sort of thing. I don't know if all beagles do that or what.
A great website to look at is
www.dogbreedinfo.com/search.htm
they have a questionaire to take to see which breeds suit your family, and information on all the breeds there are.
And, as alway -- DO NOT BUY FROM A PET STORE! Buy your pet only from a reputable breeder (get referrals!!) or better yet -- rescue one that needs a home.
good luck. laurie

[Alice]

Thank you all so much for your responds!
It is very serious decision for us, because we had never had dogs, but we want it for Luke.
Luke loves dogs! He runs after every dog he meets on the street.
My DH met beagle and he thinks that it is a right dog for Luke while he is a child.
May be later in his(Luke's) life we'll get Golden Retrievers(my favorite).
Now we are getting some books to know how to be good "parents" to a dog. LOL ;D
I hope we'll get a poppy some time this fall (for Luke's b/day). We will get it from our friend's referral. I sure let you all know and even ask you about a name.
Thanks again,
Alice
P.S. I am glad we did not get Shiba (they are not good with kids), but they are so beautiful....

[Alice]

Yesterday we met our friends' dog.
And we did not like Luke's reaction: he was too exited, he copied everything the dog did, that looked very bad.
Now I am not sure if any dog can help with developmental issue (we want him to act as a human, not as a dog)....
I do not know what to do.
Alice

[Emilysmom]

Alice,
Was your friend's dog overly active? Even if it was a beagle, they all act differently....don't be afraid because of your friend's dog's behavior.
This is just my opinion, but if Luke likes dogs and wants a dog...then it makes sense that he was very excited when he was around your friend's dog. I think if you got a dog for him, and the dog was around day after day, he would get used to the dog and would calm down about it. I can't imagine that Luke would act like the dog. He was probably just very excited to see the dog.
Susan

[Robin]

Awwwww Alice, {{{HUGS}}} to you! Luke acting like the dog wont last, I promise and having the dog at home with him, the extreme excitement will wear off, you'll see. I really think having Bailey for Chase has been a great thing. We taught him to help with feeding him (we stuck with the watering ourselves, LOL can you picture Chase with a bowl of water?) and he loves to brush him and if anything it has calmed him but I do remmber what you are talking about, Chase was SOOOO excited at first when we got Bailey and he copied him but it didnt even last a day
hugs, Robin

[updowns]

Alice I wouldn't worry about Luke copying your friend's dog - that was just the excitement and novelty. I think a dog is a great idea and Beagles are so cute. We have a black lab and Sarah adores him and he is such a gentle fool of a dog - when Sarah was 2 or 3 she bit the dog! She bit him on his mouth, drew blood and he just stood up and moved away (as soon as she released her grip that is!) I could not believe my eyes, poor dog. She hasn't tried it since but he has never so much as growled as the kids. Sarah loves to feed him and comb him, hug him and kiss him (yuck!) and she gets mad at him if he takes one of her toys etc. - he has been great for her.

Stella

[christie]

ALICE, my thoughts on your post were LUKE is just a tiny guy that LOVES dogs, as you have mentioned before and was sooo excited to play with the dog and pretend, doesn't sound bad to me at all

I know we have never met, BUT PLEASE believe me, once LUKE gets a dog of his own he will NOT act like the dog. I really think he was just having fun and enjoying the moment and being a little boy actting like the dog.

Hope that made sense

Personally I think sometimes some things can be thought out way too much. Find the pup you guys love and go for it ;D Or not....

CC