We recently purchased a 6 mon female beagle puppy. She is NOT house trained. She was previously an outdoor dog. I am struggling with getting her to tell me when she needs to go out.

We have been gating her in the kitchen while we are gone or sleeping. She recently discovered how to knock the gate down and has also chewed through one of my gates. She chewed the gate to the point of making her mouth bleed! :(

Any advice to get her to mellow out while gated? Advice on how to get her to potty train a little easier? We have been contemplating a doggy door, do you think that would help with her chewing and potty issues? Or do you think that she would then just try to dig out of the yard since we left her?

Beagles are huge escape artists...they will dig under or go over. Extra secure fencing needed to safely contain a beagle.

Yeah I know they will dig. She has been pretty good about not digging. However, tonight she found a way THROUGH the fence. We have Ivy over part of our fence so we cannot see back there and she found a hole!!! Naturally, she had to do this at night where I cannot see WHERE she is going through!!! GRRRRRRRRRR. So I guess I will have to take her out on a leash until I can block that!!!!!!

Glowbug,

Have you ever considered crate training?
By having the pup in a crate, you don't have to worry about her escaping the kitchen and chewing everything in sight.
It may not control the howling (you realize that you brought a hound dog into your home right?), but a "kong" filled with some yummy treats (and then placed into the crate with the pup) may help that a bit.
By crate training, you'll have a safe place to put the puppy when you're just too busy to keep an eye on her at all times (work, grocery shopping, doing the laundry, surfing the internet for how to crate train your puppy!). Looking up "crate training" on the internet will give a ba-zillion websites - a lot of them offer the same information. Find a site you like or can relate to, and follow their directions.
Also, by crating the pup, you'll have a lot more control over her "potty schedule".
Remember, at 6 months, your pup should be able to have enough bladder control to "hold it" for at least 5 hours - it also helps to monitor her "input" as you'll then be able to better calculate when it's time for her to "output"!
Hope I was helpful,
Good Luck

I use a doggie door and just love it. It goes to the fenced in yard so they come and go as they please.

For the howling my daughter has a Beagle and we use a spray collar on her and it works so well! So when she is outside she isn't howling at the wind.

Beagles are one of my favorite breeds but are they vocal!
Crate training is also good advice.

Would love to see pictures of your new baby and good luck!

Also keep in mind, alot of this is puppy behavior and beagles act like puppies longer than the average breed. Consistency is the key...oh and patience.
As far as the gates, good luck, ours dont chew through them, they simpy go over them. We buy the wire mesh extra talls and it doesnt stop them.
Seems you'll have to go aroyund the whole fenced area and reinforce it all, including placing either railroad ties, concrete blocks, etc or something similar around the entire perimeter, inside and out of possible, this will stop her from digging out. She will still attempt it for awhile, but the time it will take to do it then, you will see the hole long before she finishes it.

We have 2 beagles - very vocal and definate escape artists! I hung a bell beside my back door - just low enough for the dogs to reach with their noses and we started by tapping it to ring it EVERY time we took them out. Now they ring it on their own to ask to go out. Beagles are very food motivated. If you take howly jowls out to pee, give them a piece of carrot or a tiny bite of biscuit (easy though - they are prone to getting overweight) and praise him/her up everytime she eliminates in the right place. WHenever we had an accident in the house I would wipe it up (or scoop it up) and take it outside (with pup following) and place it (or the wet paper towel) where I wanted them to eliminate and when they sniffed at it, I'd praise them. Both Beagles caught on really quick.