People want to know if Beagles like water or not. If you’re asking if they are natural swimmers then the short answer is no. However lets take a second to break this down.
Beagles are not afraid to get their paws dirty. They will make tracks through dirt, mud, and water in a heart beat. Registered beagles, for the most part, love water. As long as they do not have to swim.
As you grew up, you probably heard the old saying, all dogs can swim. I want to straighten this out here and now. All dogs cannot swim! So get that lie out of your head.
Watching a dog, Beagles in our case, struggling to keep their nose above the water is not them swimming. It is them trying to keep from drowning.
If there is terror in a dog’s eyes once they are in the water, it’s because they know they are in danger of losing their life. People often mistake doggie paddling for swimming. Doggie paddle is not swimming, its just not drowning. There is a difference.
Lets take a second to watch a puppy that loves water. This puppy is a wirehaired pointing griffon from Snake River Griffons:
If you took the time to watch the video, you should have noticed a few things. First of all, you should have noticed how comfortable the pup is in water.
It is as if he is walking in the water. His head is well above the water, his butt is up and he is in complete control the whole time. There is no fear or terror found in his eyes. Hence, he has no fear of losing his life. To make it simple, this dog can swim so this dog will naturally love water.
Unless a Beagle, or any dog for that matter, can swim they will not like water. Beagles are not bred to be natural swimmers. Therefore Beagles will not like water.
Can You Train Beagles to Like Water?
Can you train Beagles to like water? The answer is maybe, it depends on how much patience and time you have.
In order to train a Beagle to like water, the first thing you need to do is help them feel safe once they are in the water. I have never trained a Beagle to like water, because I have had no desire to try.
My cousin, Gabe, had to train one of his Vizslas to like water. He found out that one of his Vizslas would stay away from water and he thought he was just being shy so he threw him in. It did not take long for him to discover the reason why the dog did not like water, it could not swim. He jumped in to save the dog, and once the dog was safe he apologized to his dog.
With training and time, he did manage to teach his dog to swim and to like water. He did so by buying a dog life jacket. If you go this route to train your Beagle, I would suggest getting your Beagle used to the vest before you ever put them in the water.
You want to start out small. Find a place where you can be in the water with the dog. Remember it might take a few days to get your Beagle to relax once they are in the water.
Getting them to like water will not happen over night, however, once they understand that they are not in danger of drowning with the vest on, things should progress much quicker.
Once your dog is comfortable in water and can swim, then you can try with the vest off. However, I do not know if a beagle will ever be comfortable without a vest on. Like I said, I have never tried it on a Beagle before.
Training a Beagle to like water, I believe can be done. It will require time and patience on your part. Remember do not push your Beagle beyond his limits. Be patient and show them love and reassurance.