What is a Beagle?
Beagle is a breed of small hound which looks similar to the foxhound in appearance. The beagle was primarily raised to hunting hare or beagling. Beagles are very gentle and have even temper.
Dogs are man’s best companions – nothing in this world can be truer than this statement. Be it a Golden Retriever or a German Shepherd, all they can give to you is love, loyalty, and a lot of goofiness. Beagle places itself in between these two breeds – it is friendly and is a great detection dog. Let us learn about Beagles in our Beagle facts article today!
Beagle Facts 1-10
1. Beagle breed is one of the most familiar breeds of the world. According to a historian, beagles are written about the 1400s.
2. They are the descendants of hounds which were used in packs by hunters on foot in Wales, France, and England.
3. Did you know there was a variety called ‘pocket beagles’? They were used for hunt on horsebacks as they could be carried easily in a coat pocket because the pocket beagles were less than 10 inches in height.
4. Beagles were mostly used for rabbit and hare hunting. However, beagles were used to hunt a variety of animals like wild pigs, Jackals, etc.
5. It is not surprising to note that the origin of beagle is unknown till date. However, we know that beagles originated in England. The credit of developing the breed goes to Philip Honeywood and the credit for the refinement of the breed goes to Thomas Johnson.
6. Earlier, the word ‘beagle’ was used to refer to any dog that was a hound. It is believed that beagle is combination of two French words – ‘beer’ meaning open and ‘guile’ meaning throat. If you combine these two words, you get beeguele meaning dogs with open mouth that sang from their throats.
7. Did you notice that the tail tips of beagle are always white? It is no nature or coincidence. It is actually a desired trait and the beagles were bred to get the white tail tips. It helped the hunters to spot their dogs from afar during hunting.
8. Remember “Peanuts”? It was a comic strip illustrated and written by Schulz. In that strip, there is a dog called Snoopy. Snoopy is a beagle. Snoopy made its first appearance on 4 October 1950. Schulz wanted to name the beagle Sniffy but as a new comic book which launched ahead of Peanuts used the name for its dog, he changed the name to Snoopy as suggested by his mother.
9. They are medium sized dogs and weigh anywhere between 26 and 33 lbs. Male beagles are slightly bigger than females. Males are 38 centimeters tall and females are 33 centimeters tall.
10. They can be found in multiple colors. Tri-color is the most common coat for them. Some of the coat colors are lemon, black, blue mottle, red, etc.
Beagle Facts 11-20
11. They are expected to live for about 12 to 15 years.
12. You may not believe but their floppy and velvety ears help them smell. When their noses are to the ground snippy, the ears produce micro air-currents. This breeze stirs up the scent molecules that are smelled by the beagles.
13. They are called scent hounds because of their talent of picking up even faintest of smells. They have 220 million scent receptors in their nose which is roughly 44 times the receptors we humans have. Adding to this is the fact that the area of the brain associated with olfactory sense is bigger in them than us humans.
14. Their olfactory senses are so amazing that there is a Beagle Brigade in the US. Department of Homeland Security! They are employed at different places like airports to detect contraband, explosives, and illegal substances.
15. They are often termed as ‘Goldilocks of the dogs.’ It is because they are not too timid nor aggressive, friendly but never submissive, sometimes energetic and sometimes lazy.
16. They are very friendly with other pets and children. They tend to get destructive if proper attention and exercise is not given. They want to stay with someone be it pets or humans. They may get depressed or suffer from separation anxiety.
17. Odie, the frenemy of Garfield, is a beagle.
18. The most popular dog breed in the US is none other than the Labrador Retriever but our beagle is no less popular. From 30 years, beagles managed to make to the top 10 list. For 2017 and 2018, they stood at sixth position.
19. Beagles are famous for using their vocal cords (just like us) for communication. They produce wide range of voices – standard barking, yodelling, howl, etc. are just a few sounds they produce.
20. There are many famous people who loved Beagles. Queen Elizabeth I, King James I, President Lyndon B Johnson, and singer Barry Manilow owned beagles and adored them.
Beagle Facts 21-30
21. Fortunately, they are low-maintenance dogs meaning they shed very less. They have smooth and short coat. Seasonal and hormonal molting is common.
22. Beagles entered the land of United States of America in the 19th century. General Richard Rowett was the first person to import Beagles in the US. There were dogs similar to Beagles in the USA but Beagles were of superior quality.
23. It was Rowett who fine-tuned the breed and formed the breed standard in the USA. American Kennel Club recognized beagles as a distinct breed.
24. They are amazing jumpers and can spring over obstacles with ease just to keep smelling. They can even dig pretty deep to keep them entertained. So, it is better to keep an eye on your pooch so that they don’t get into trouble.
25. They are a lot of beagle mixes out there. Some of them are Beabull (beagle and bulldog), Poogle (Poodle and Beagle), Busky (Husky and Beagle), Bagel (Beagle and Basset Hound), Beaglemation (Beagle and Dalmatian) and Cheagle (Beagle and Chihuahua).
26. Beagles make to the first spot when it comes to animal testing.
27. Coming to the things they are not good at. As they are hounds, they have an independent and stubborn streak so training them will not be easy. They are also not really good at air-scenting. They take their food seriously meaning they can get overweight or even obese, so keep a check on their weight and food intake. They are not really great guard dogs. They may alert you but would not do anything more than that.
28. A research in 1950s wanted to see how long a dog would take to find their target in a half hectare field. They found out that beagles can find their target from a distance of half a hectare in a minute. Other breeds took around 15 minutes to achieve the same feat.
29. Beagles with their hazel eyes are famously known as ‘Begging Look Dogs’.
30. Intervertebral Disk Disease, Cherry Eye, Hip Dysplasia, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, Epilepsy, Hypothyroidism, Chinese Beagle Syndrome, Patellar Luxation, etc. are some of the diseases that beagles are vulnerable to.
Beagles FAQ
What are beagles known for?
Beagles are known for their rabbit and hare hunting and olfactory senses.
What problems do beagles have?
Hypothyroidism, Cherry Eye, Epilepsy, Chinese Beagle Syndrome, etc. are few of the medical conditions that bug most of the beagles.
Do beagles bark a lot?
Beagles are very vocal breeds. They won’t bark consistently but use their vocalizations pretty frequently. They communicate through barking (something similar to Siamese Cats).
Are beagles aggressive?
No, beagles are not aggressive. With proper training and love, they are one of the friendliest dog breeds you can find.
What are the disadvantages of owning a beagle?
The three big disadvantages are that they are loud, they are stubborn, and they love to dig.
What is the lifespan of a beagle?
The average life expectancy of a beagle is 12 to 15 years.
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