I've been reading about Beagles. I've learned that Steve needs to sniff and to hunt. Had the rescue not listed Steve as a Corgi/Chihuahua cross I'd probably not looked at him. Had they listed him as a beagle cross, I definitely wouldn't have looked at him. We had a beagle cross back in 2000-2002 and she was a dog I didn't care for much. She was Suzi's dog, a fat, black little dog who looked, from a distance, like a pot-bellied pig. Yes, she was a rescue and Suzi (and her mom, Christine) loved her. She was only our 2nd dog so we had no idea what a beagle was like. She got on the table and ate a whole pizza, she got on the table and ate a meat and cheese tray, She pooped in the house every night (not necessarily a beagle trait) and I ended up having to clean it up every morning. We had to put child locks on the cupboards to protect the garbage can. She died of an autoimmune condition after we'd had her two years, but by then I was soured on anything beagle. So now we have Steve, we learned his ancestry and I've given up on exercise walks and now I take Steve out hunting . . . for voles. I know I won't get his attention when he's on a scent and I've learned he will never be allowed off leash except in the back yard and the dog park. He's a very good vole hunter and munches them down with relish - I've even learned to root for him to find them when we go out and luckily, there are plenty of open spaces for him around here that are full of voles a gophers.
He's still very cute and sweet and I love him like crazy! He's learned a ton of tricks because he'll do anything for food, but I can't get him to lie down for anything. Oh well. He doesn't need to lie down, he doesn't have to do anything but be a sweet dog and he's got that down pat.
