Pic...it's hard to say, we ran Beagles for over 30 yrs...even had a gyp that spent time in the house as a pet that was the best lead dog you could ever want...but it seem that when they were kept in the pen they were more fired-up in the field...remember Beagles are diggers and will get out the yard real quick whereas you can cement a pen...it's keeps their pads tough plus it's easier to keep clean and less chance of one getting on the street...another thing, I never did like cutting dog do-do w/the lawn mower...cheers

Yeah I have the slab and the roof but would like to get a sewer plan going and have to put the wire and boxes on . Hunting season may come and go before I can get to that . I recently moved back into a house I've been trying to sell for a while and had a nice kennel before .

An old dog trader that you probably know told me once that a coon dog will make a better dog if he's kept on a chain . Lol his word never meant much to me but that kind of stuck with me . I've only had beagles for about 15 years but my kids have always played with them in the yard but always kept in the kennel .

My back yard has a serious incline to it so running over the pooh with the lawn mower isn't an issue . I'm more worried about a landslide with these heavy rains we've been getting ! Lol

I keep my 2 beagle females loose in 1/3 of my back yard. Got a gate to keep the rest of it for us. They haven't dug around the fence. They don't poop a lot because I feed Diamond purple. They hunt as good as any caged dogs. I run them a lot when it's not 100 degrees. I bring them to some running pens at Amite River Kennels periodically to tune them up. I think it's better for them to have a little more room. Not too much though. Maybe do like me and throw up a divider fence within your fence. It certainly helps keep them exercised. I think less inclined to run away in the field also due to more interaction. Mine handle like a dream. Stop on a dime with 1 whistle. Never run trash. No shocker. Belly rubs do wonders.

Boots I think you may be right about that , especially the skidish part . I have one lil jyp that was always a lil scary , but I'm noticing she is a lot more comfortable around me .

Like admiral said too there's a risk of escape which im worried about a lil . My old male dog is a heck of a rabbit dog , he's on a chain inside the fence . Lol

They'll probably stay back there through hunting season but I'll be working on the kennel inbetween honey dos. We still have a few things to work on around here before I can give it my full attention . Thanks for the input .