Why Do Beagles Bark So Much? What You Need To Know!
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If you’ve got a new Beagle in your home, you might be surprised at how much noise there is! Even long-time dog owners often aren’t prepared for the amount this breed barks and howls a Beagle might use on a daily basis. Beagles don’t generally mean to annoy you with their barking. They are just barking to communicate. Because of their hunting ancestors, these dogs naturally want to bark and howl much more than other dogs. That’s because in hunting, clear communication is key.
The only problem is that today, most owners don’t want a piercing howl to let them know about an exciting curtain or a moving squirrel. Luckily, training can help cut down on excess chatter, although it won’t ever eliminate it entirely.
Types of Beagle Barks
Barking is a broad category, and Beagles, in particular, have a larger “vocabulary” than most dogs. We can group Beagle barks into three types—barks, howls, and bays.
1. Barks
Barks are the stereotypical noises you hear from most dog breeds. They generally are lower pitched and short, but they might be repeated again and again. Dogs use barking to communicate in lots of different messages depending on the tone, pitch, and circumstances.
2. Howls
Beagles also are frequent howlers. These are long, drawn-out, higher-pitched noises. Usually, dogs will tip their snout upwards as they howl, and howls generally come one at a time, separated by several seconds or minutes. Howls are “long distance communicators” that catch human attention faster and can be heard from farther away.
3. Bays
Beagles also have a unique call that’s called a “bay.” Bays are halfway between a bark and a howl. These sound more like elongated barks than your traditional howl.
All of these barks can be annoying, but paying attention to the different kinds of barks can help you learn what your Beagle is trying to tell you faster. Every dog has its own language and learning why your Beagle barks when it does will help you understand your dog better. Many Beagles begin with barking and then bay and howl to get your attention if you don’t respond right away. Others use bays and howls to alert you to specific cues—especially things your Beagle finds exciting or scary.
Reasons for Barking
Beagles have a lot of reasons for barking. For the most part, these are the same as other dogs. Your dog might be trying to tell you that it is hungry, lonely, or bored. It might also be a sign of fear or anxiety. Finally, many Beagles bark from excitement. This might include “alerting” on things that your Beagle finds interesting or noteworthy—like passing people and animals or movement that triggers hunting instincts. Even a tree fluttering in the wind might trigger this excitement.
Minimizing Unwanted Barking
There isn’t one way to minimize barking, but a few things can help. First, assess whether your Beagle is barking because of an unmet need (like food, water, or toilet needs), because of fear and anxiety, for attention, or because of excitement. Each of these has a different solution.
If your dog is barking to communicate that it needs something from you, training can help replace that barking with a less annoying cue. For example, many dogs can be trained to ring a bell when they need to be let outside.
Dogs that are barking from fear, anxiety, or loneliness won’t respond as well to simple training. Instead, it’s important to get to the root cause. You want to comfort and distract your dog so that they forget about their anxiety. If that anxiety has specific triggers—like a fear of stormy weather—you can work on helping your dog overcome those fears.
If your dog is barking because of excitement or to get attention, a good way to start is by ramping up exercise and playtime. Giving your dog some space to let off steam will help tire them out for the rest of the day. Some owners also choose to teach their dogs a command like “Quiet” that helps them stop barking and calm down. This is most successful if you can teach your dog to bark on command first.
Conclusion
Before you bring a Beagle into your home, it’s best to be prepared for some extra noise. These dogs bark more than most breeds, and it is unrealistic and unkind to expect silence from them. However, if your dog is barking excessively, you can often find ways to train them to be a little less quiet and communicate in other ways.
Featured Image Credit: mrnok, Shutterstock
