Updated: 2022.09.02
By Mila Bander.
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It’s hard to resist to a beagle’s cute floppy ears, attentive eyes and their soft fur. Good thing you don’t have to!
If you’re considering getting a beagle or just want to learn more about your beagle, in this article you will learn beagle dog facts and stats, from the origin of the breed to their personality and super powers.
Beagle Quick Characteristics and Stats
- Temperament: Friendly, calm, excitable, active, brave
- Appearance: Short coat, tricolor combinations of white-brown-black and sometimes also pale lemon, floppy ears, white tipped tail.
- Build: Compact and sturdy
- Height or Size: Medium sized dog | 33cm – 40cm
- Exercise: 40 minutes to 2 hours per day
- Amount of Shedding: Medium or low (if your beagle is shedding a lot, look for a vet)
- Hypoallergenic: No
- Usual life span: 10 to 15 years
Beagles Were Originally Bred to be Hunting Dogs
Although how the beagles we know today emerged is not entirely documented, many believe their ancestors were “scent hounds” from England: the St Hubert Hounds, Talbot Hounds, Greyhounds and lastly the Southern Hounds which are very similar to the beagles we know today.
Other stories date the beagle’s progenitors back to ancient Greece. Beagle-like dogs can be traced back to accounts in 200 A.D. England, according to the National Beagle Club of America.
Originally, beagles were bred to be hunting dogs.
The similarly small ancestral hounds were used by English men to track rabbits and hares.
Beagles With Jobs – The Beagle Brigade
Because they are naturally gifted as scent experts, many beagles have a job in The Beagle Brigade.
The Beagle Brigade is a group of beagles and their human handlers who, as part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), search for agricultural items such as meat, animal byproducts, fruit and vegetables in luggage at U.S. airports.
These unauthorized items can carry diseases and pests that can possibly infect U.S. agriculture.
Yeah, it is a very important job and beagles don’t play in service!
🐶 Fun fact: According to the USDA, the Beagle Brigade program catches approximately 75,000 banned agricultural items per year.
Beagle Noses are Special
Although beagles are cute, smart and sturdy, the beagle’s nose is their superpower!
Beagles are scent hounds.
Beagles have one of the best noses of any dog breeds, only competing with Bloodhounds and Basset Hounds.
Beagles have roughly 220 million scent receptors, compared to the pitiful 5 million or so in humans, making them powerful scent experts.
Scientists John Paul Scott and John Fuller are well-known for a 13-year study in which they placed dogs of various breeds in a 1-acre field with a mouse and timed how long each dog took to discover the mouse.
The Beagles found the mouse in less than a minute. Fox Terriers spent 15 minutes looking for the mouse, while some of other dogs couldn’t find it at all.
The Beagle’s White Tipped Tail has a Purpose
As you know by now, at their core, beagles are hunters. And they’re built for hunting. Even their white-tipped tail of the beagle serves a purpose.
When out hunting, the white tip on their tail would help beagles be more easily tracked through the woods and tall grass—like a small white flag bobbing through the brush!
Beagles Have a Unique Bark
The way beagles bark is simply iconic.
Beagles are some of the most vocal dogs, with three distinct vocalizations: a conventional bark, a yodel-like sound called a bay (which beagles normally use when hunting), and a howl.
This cute video below shows a popular beagle named Oliver making 18 different beagle sounds in under 4 minutes:
Two Famous Cartoon Beagles
Did you know the famous cartoon character Snoopy is a beagle? And he is even registered by the American Kennel Club, so it’s official.
Odie, the main sidekick of Garfield in Jim Davis’ comic strips is also a beagle!
Beagle Personality and Temperament: They Can Be Stubborn
Beagles are known for being kind, gentle and calm in their overall demeanor.
They are also active dogs, and can get really excited to play and have fun with their humans.
But there is one thing beagles are also known for: their stubbornness. Beagles are a bit more difficult to train and teach tricks to than many other dogs.
A beagle owner shared her experience with beagle stubbornness: “They are a bit stubborn and don’t always follow commands, especially if they determine there’s nothing in it for them.
For the most part my beagle is obedient, except when her nose takes over; I’m pretty sure all her other senses shut down.”
Beagles Need to be Trained
Is It Possible to Train a Beagle?
Due to their strong-willed character, beagles can become rebellious and defiant if not properly trained. Which can actually make them stressed and anxious.
Many beagle owners say that patience is the greatest virtue when training a beagle. And rewarding them while making the experience fun will go a long way.
It’s important to know what to expect and to patiently train your beagle from puppyhood until goodboyhood.
Beagles Require Moderate Exercise
Do Beagles do Well in Apartments?
Because beagles are small to medium in size, and show gentle demeanor, they can do well in apartments, but only if their owners are ready to walk them on a leash possibly more than once a day in all weather conditions.
Beagles are very active dogs – they were created to be hunters, so they have a lot of energy, and if left unattended, this energy can become stress and anxiety, which can then become wrecked couches and slippers.
🐶 Fun fact: Beagles require a lot of exercise, at least an hour per day. If you want to be more active, beagles will certainly get you moving!
“Beagles Were Bred To Have Their Nose On The Ground”
Beagles are great at smelling things on the ground, but not so much on the air. Their floppy ears help them trap smells while their noses are on the ground.
Brian Kilcommons, the American author of “Good Owners, Great Dogs” and dog trainer, says: “Beagles were bred to have their nose on the ground, get a scent, and follow it – the brain basically goes into overdrive on scent work”.
This is important to learn, because when you go for a walk, chances are your beagle will be very focused on scents and smells on the ground (and you might feel a bit ignored by them at times), and now you know that this is their natural behavior.
It’s nothing personal.
Beagle Health: Common Health Problems Beagles Have
Every dog has specific ailments that are common to them. Beagles are prone to be affected by eye conditions. But they can also develop epilepsy, meningitis, among other conditions.
According to Pet MD, the main ailments that are known to affect beagles are: patellar luxation, glaucoma, epilepsy, central progressive retinal atrophy (CPRA), hypothyroidism, distichiasis, chondrodysplasia, cherry eye, and keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS). Deafness, cataract, hemophilia A, demodicosis, and umbilical hernia.
Regular visits to the vet, research, high quality food, healthy lifestyle and proper care can prevent diseases from affecting your canine friend.
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Beagles Don’t Like being Alone
Beagles love company, despite having an independent demeanor. Leaving your beagle alone for longer than 4 hours is not recommended.
It’s crucial for a beagle to have a social life, toys, play with other dogs and spend quality time with their human.
Do Beagles Get Along Well with Other Pets?
Beagles are hunters, so chances are, they will see smaller pets such as hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits and birds as prey.
For the safety of these animals, it’s best to avoid having beagles in the same house as them.
That being said, beagles can get along with cats, but that is more probable if they’re raised together.
Pocket Beagles
During Medieval times, the term “beagle” referred to any hound dog.
There were a few little hound dogs at the time known as “Pocket Beagles.” According to Beagle Pro, from ground to shoulder, they were only 8 to 9 inches (20 – 23 cm) tall.
This small breed was a favorite of King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth I. They were known as “Pocket Beagles” because they were small enough to squeeze into the pockets of hunters.
Once the larger dogs had located the prey, the “pocket beagles” were released to continue the chase into heavy vegetation, which the larger dogs could not easily navigate.
Pocket Beagles Used to Exist – Now They’re a Hoax
It’s important to understand that “pocket beagles” don’t exist anymore – and shouldn’t.
Some breeders will claim to have “Pocket Beagles,” but that simply isn’t true: pocket beagles aren’t a thing. There is just one approved Beagle breed worldwide.
No “Pocket Beagle” or other title implying a small breed is recognized by any clubs.
Unethical breeders might try to make people believe pocket beagles still exist; but that’s a hoax.
Smaller-than-average Beagles are “made” by breeding two “runt” dogs together.
They are constantly “bred down” to an unhealthily small size.
This can result in a variety of health problems.
In other circumstances, a breeder may exaggerate a puppy’s age or simply refer to a beagle puppy as a “Pocket Beagle”, but the dog will grow to be regular size.
Photo by Jutta.