Beagle Dog Breed Information

The Beagle is a breed of medium-sized dog. A member of the hound group, it is similar in appearance to the Foxhound but smaller, with shorter legs and longer, softer ears. Beagles are scent hounds developed primarily for tracking hare, rabbit, and other game. They have a keen sense of smell and tracking instinct that often sees them employed as detection dogs for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. They are popular as pets because of their size, even temper, and lack of inherited health problems. These characteristics also make them the dog of choice for animal testing.

Although the beagle type of dog have existed for over 2,000 years, the modern breed was developed in Britain around the 1830s from several breeds, including the Talbot Hound, the North Country Beagle, rthe Southern Hound, and possibly the Harrier.

Beagles were in the United States by the 1840s at the latest, but the first dogs were imported strictly for hunting and were of variable quality. Since Honeywood had only started breeding in the 1830s, it is unlikely these dogs were representative of the modern breed and the description of them as looking like straight-legged Dachshunds with weak heads has little resemblance to the standard. Serious attempts at establishing a quality bloodline began in the early 1870s when General Richard Rowett from Illinois imported some dogs from England and began breeding. Rowett's Beagles are believed to have formed the models for the first American standard, drawn up by Rowett, L. H. Twadell, and Norman Ellmore in 1887.The Beagle was accepted as a breed by the American Kennel Club in 1884. Since the 20th century the breed has spread worldwide.

As a pedigree dog, Beagles have always been more popular in the United States and Canada than in their native country. The National Beagle Club of America was formed in 1888 and by 1901 a Beagle had won a Best in Show title.

Beagles have been depicted in popular culture since Elizabethan times in literature and paintings, and latterly in film, television and comic books. Snoopy of the comic strip Peanuts has been promoted as "the world's most famous beagle".

The general appearance of the Beagle resembles a Foxhound in miniature, but the head is broader and the muzzle shorter, the expression completely different and the legs shorter in proportion to the body. They are generally between 13 and 16 inches high at the withers and weigh between 18 and 35 lb.

Beagles appear in a range of colours. Although the tricolour (white with large black areas and light brown shading) is the most common, Beagles can occur in any hound colour. Tricoloured dogs occur in a number of shades, from the "Classic Tri" with a jet black saddle to the "Faded Tri" where the faint black markings are toned with brown. Some tricoloured dogs have a broken pattern, sometimes referred to as pied. These dogs have mostly white coats with patches of black and brown hair.

Alongside the Bloodhound, the Beagle has one of the best developed senses of smell of any dog. Beagles were developed primarily for hunting hare. They were seen as ideal hunting companions for the elderly who could follow on horseback without exerting themselves, for young hunters who could keep up with them on ponies, and for the poorer hunters who could not afford to maintain a stable of good hunting horses. Before the advent of the fashion for foxhunting in the 19th century, hunting was an all day event where the enjoyment was derived from the chase rather than the kill.

The Beagle has an even temper and gentle disposition. Described in several breed rstandards as "merry" they are amiable and not generally aggressive or timid. They enjoy company, and although they may initially be stand-offish with strangers they are easily won over. They make poor guard dogs for this reason, although their tendency to bark or howl when confronted with the unfamiliar makes them good watch dogs.r Beagles are intelligent, but as a result of being bred for the long chase are single-minded and determined, which can make them hard to train. They are generally obedient but can be difficult to recall once they have picked up a scent and are easily distracted by smells around them. They do not generally feature in obedience trials; while they are alert, respond well to food-reward training, and are eager to please, they are easily bored or distracted.

Beagles are excellent with children and this is one of the reasons they have become popular family pets, but they are pack animals, and can be prone to separation anxiety. They also generally get along well with other dogs, but can be excitable. They are not demanding with regard to exercise; their inbred stamina means they do not easily tire when exercised, but they also do not need to be worked to exhaustion before they will rest, though regular exercise helps ward off the weight gain to which the breed is prone. The median longevity of Beagles is about 12.3 years, which is a typical lifespan for a dog of their size.

Article courtesy of Wikipedia