Puppy dog

Beagles are like Bassets in that respect - stubborn! They take more notice of their own kind than humans, but they can be trained. My dog thinks I am the one who has to be trained (true!) but we have an understanding, and she knows if I say it, I mean it. Collies, poodles and German shepherds are so easy to train, but the Beagles and Bassets of this world are great dogs. Mine is fantastic about barking when she hears noises or someone comes to the door - she has a deep, rumbling bark that would deter any burglar.

I was a kennel maid for a beagle breeder for a couple of years. Lovely dogs but stupid and hard to train.

My mum and dad had a beagle (bitch) for almost 16 years. She hardly ever barked (until she became senile at around 14-15 and then she never stopped) so would not have made a good guard dog.

If he has been burgled he will need a dog that barks. We sold a Jack Russell terrier to a family who had been burgled twice......Not any more!!

I'm not clear on whether your son is living with you or in student accommodation or a mixture of the two.

Sounds as though he would make the ideal dog owner!

This looks like a comprehensive breeders' site, ga

www.beaglepuppybreeders.co.uk

My basset was crate trained for the first nine months and it worked well because she was a chewer and piddler when on the loose. She loved her crate and went in there voluntarily. I was glad to see the back of it, though. If I'm going out, I'll give her a couple of little treats when she sits in her basket, as she learned to do this going in her crate.

We bought a crate for our pup - the plan was that he should go into it at night - gave it to the RSPCA within a fortnight

Clicker training is very effective, but I soon found out that my Basset is more responsive to tiny dog treats for training. It depends what sort of dog you have, I suppose. Mixed breed dogs tend not to have the health problems of pure bred dogs, and most are bright and biddable, but many people want to choose the temperament and look of their dog. If he goes through the Beagle Breeders associations that can be found on the internet, he'll be able to contact breeders with puppies around the country. Be wary about pedigrees that have the same sire showing up in the generations because of the risk of genetically repeated health issues - some kennels try to breed in particular features by using the same stud dog over again, because they're looking for prospective show winners.

There are some lovely puppy training websites which address so much, that books often tend to get left on the shelf.

I believe crate training is very popular these days. Plenty of info available if you Google.

Sounds like he is not actually living with you ga because I am wondering how this will work.
Sounds like grannyactivist might be the one who gets lumbered with the toilet training for instance? Some puppies train very easily and some are an ongoing incontinence problem for months. I know someone who got a puppy several months ago and now everytime she goes out she is worried about going home to puddles if she is more than an hour or two.
Also - is he going to be living in rented accommodation for the foreseeable 5 years or more? Because most landlords do not allow pets. So you could be lumbered long term.
And finally - has he looked at the cost of pedigree dogs? Looking at thick end of £1000 quid by the time you factor in a few vets bills.
And finally finally, how is it going to solve his burglary problem if the dog is living with you?