beagle/springer cross

UKTigerlily

garom wrote: »

Ok so never in my wildest dream did i think DH would agree but springer no 2 arrives on boxing day i am soooo excited to be bringing him home makes all these night shifts worth it.

Awww congrats! What's his name/colour/age??? Where're pics? Is he from a rewscue or breeders (Suprised you got one Boxing Day!) You must be excited, Merry Xmas all on the pets board!

shirlgirl2004

garom wrote: »

Ok so never in my wildest dream did i think DH would agree but springer no 2 arrives on boxing day i am soooo excited to be bringing him home makes all these night shifts worth it.

Congratulations on the new family member.

I hope OP didn't get the pup. As a beagle "owner" (well she belongs to the OH) I wouldn't advise them for anyone. They are very noisy dogs. Most can't be let off the lead. Ours can but only because her training began as soon as we got her home at 8 weeks. We are experienced dog owners and found her hard work, especially when she ate the arm chair one day when let alone for 10 minutes! They need so much exercise. We did 4 hours a day when she was younger and she still had energy to spare.

foreign_correspondent

UKTigerlily wrote: »

Awww congrats! What's his name/colour/age??? Where're pics? Is he from a rescue or breeders (Suprised you got one Boxing Day!) You must be excited, Merry Xmas all on the pets board!

lets hope he is from a rescue, because no responsible breeder would be having litters that are ready at christmas.

MrsTinks

FC nor would 99.9% of reputable rescues... Some will make exceptions but very rarely for puppies...

shirlgirl2004

I've taken on puppies on more than one occassion over the Christmas period. For me it always worked well. We did (pre toddlers) have a fairly quiet house at Xmas and so with the extra time off work it was an ideal time to be at home and settle the pup in. Some people can see the benefits of this but admittedly you would need to be sure that the pup was not a whim present. I bought my DS a pup for xmas one year but she'll be with us for life and she's 8 now.

If you want a litter from a female then you don't have that many opportunities. My girls only come in season every 8 months and don't fall easily so time of year doesn't come into it. If they are ready then we try. There are only about 4 or 5 years in which you would want a dog to have its first litter so you can't afford to wait until the "right" time of year.

UKTigerlily

I wish right now people would stop breeding these poor animals with so many thousands in rescue but I guess it'll never happen :!!

foreign_correspondent

UKTigerlily wrote: »

I wish right now people would stop breeding these poor animals with so many thousands in rescue but I guess it'll never happen :!!

...not whilst there is money to be made... but maybe the credit crunch will slow them down a bit, after a litter or two have not been cost effective when they fail to sell them.

Henry020604

We have a beagle cross springer pup (5 mths). We purchased him as a working dog, so he has a kennel outside with a run, but he does spend lots of time with us in the house. He's not destructive, doesn't bark alot (only at teatime) but he does have endless energy though. As we also have a Dalmatian (endless engery again) they get lots of exercise (on and off lead). He picked up the basic sit command at about 11 weeks old, the stay is proving more difficult. We have noticed he is getting more headstrong as he gets older - selective hearing is his speciality! Food bowl - yes, Whistle - not just yet!!
I wouldn't really recommend them for someone who has little dog experience, or who doesn't have access to open ground for exercise.
We are very pleased with him though and wouldn't swap him for the world even if he doesn't turn out to be the working dog we hoped.

no1sales11

I just lost my Springer Beagle Mix after 17 years. She was the best dog I ever owned. She was a handful as a puppy. As all hounds, she loved to run. Onced she matured she was intelligent, obedient (except when she was on the run) and a fantastic family pet. She would swim with us and was faithful and protective. Loved attention. Very jealous. Couldn't hug my husband without her wanting to get into the act. I had always had hounds growing up but this cross was perfect. If you can deal with the puppy stage, with strict training, you should have a great pet.

nosbod

Hi, we have got two beagle/springer spaniel cross dogs - brother and sister and they are now 6 years old. The girl is very intelligent, learns very quickly, but very greedy! The boy is not as intelligent and has a single minded determination - to ignore you. He also ate an armchair as a pup and use to destroy any soft toy he could get hold of, but luckily, he's grown out of that now. He still loves his soft toys (teddies) but likes to sleep with them now. They both have a lovely temperment, are very loving (like to lay close to you on the sofa and on the bed), love all dogs (but not cats!) and love children. They were very hard work as puppies as lead training them was impossible. We even hired a dog trainer but the boy dog just wasn't having it - he'll do what he wants when he wants. The girl dog will do anything for a treat (or two or three!). Even now, walking them on the lead at the same time is very difficult - they both want to be in the lead and keep swapping sides so their leads constantly get tangled - with me in the middle. However, once off the lead, they like to run and run and if they do get a scent of anything (cat, hedgehog, rabbit) that's it - they're off and getting them back is quite difficult. Also, they are very nosey. When I bring in the shopping bags from the car, they have to have their nose in every bag. However, I love them to bits and would certainly have them again. However, as others have said, if you are first time dog owners or have timid children, I would suggest a much calmer breed.