My Doggy Thing

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My Doggy Thing

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Also Know as:

English Beagle

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Origin: United Kingdom

Type: Pure Breed

Height: 13 to 16 inches

Weight: 20 to 25 pounds

Life Expectancy: 12 to 15 years

BEAGLE TEMPERAMENT

Beagles generally have a gentle disposition and good temper, an intelligent breed, they are also strong-willed which is a challenge when training them, but basically, they are very friendly dogs and loyal to a fault. Very good with children, you will rarely find a beagle acting aggressively, in fact, you will find them getting along with other dogs and pets around especially when well socialized.

A beagle naturally enjoys a long walk, very energetic, playful, and having a well-developed sense of smell. This makes it very necessary to have them on a leash anytime you go on walks with them. If you don’t do so, you will find yourself in a situation where the beagle runs off trying to follow a scent or trying to tag some other dog.

Beagles are very prone to separation anxiety and should be kept in packs, especially if you will be leaving them alone for long periods of time.

BEAGLE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

The Beagle has large hound-like eyes, usually hazel or brown in color, with skulls that somewhat oval in shape, their muzzles somewhat square in shape and medium in size. The ears are long and fall by them just ending near the cheek region in a rounded shape form. Their necks are strong with no folding on the skin in that area, they also have a broad chest narrowing down towards their abdomen giving them a macho man look and short tails that are slightly curved whether pointing up, down or midway.

The Beagle also appears in a range of colors, usually in tricolors of white, black, and brown. The tricolor has white being the dominant color with patches of black and brown around them, other patch colors can be lemon, red and dark brown.

Lastly, the brown color only appears on them between the twelfth and twenty-fourth month of their life.

BEAGLE CHARACTERISTICS

BEAGLE CARE

Beagles just love food, their well-developed sense of smell allows them to track any food around them and eat up at the slightest opportunity. This makes their feeding a little challenging as you need to be very watchful with them. An average recommended daily feeding would be twice a day on a three-quarter cup of dried food per meal. Of course, this will vary based on their activity level, age, weight, etc. I repeat, be on guard when it comes to feeding your beagle, these are professional food thieves and would use their intelligence to steal both dog and human food. A good indicator of how much they have been consuming would be their weight at each stage of their life. Discuss this with your vet doctor to determine the right weight at its stage and their professional recommended feeding patterns.
Beagles are known to shed their hair moderately all year round, brushing their hair at regular intervals for example weekly can help to keep the shedding in check. You can use a medium bristle brush, a rubber grooming tool, or a hound glove to brush and remove loose hair on them. This will promote new hair growth and leave their hair smoother, softer and cleaner all year round. Beagles are also not dogs that require to have their bath regularly unless they have made a mess of things and really need a bath, they are generally clean dogs. Keeping their nails well-trimmed is a must as overgrown nails are known to cause them pain due to their energetic lifestyle. A regular dental is also necessary to keep their teeth healthy.
An average beagle is a very independent dog, if you get them young, socialization and puppy training classes would be highly advised to get the best out of them. On the bright side, beagles are intelligent and loyal dogs. They aim to please so positive reinforcement and some creativity are required when training them. Treats come in real handy during their training session. Apart from occasional mischief here and there, being patient and loving together with positive reinforcement techniques can help your training sessions with them a lot.
Very active and energetic by nature, the beagle breed needs plenty of exercises daily. This needs to be done in a controlled environment for example a well-fenced compound. Long walks are also recommended for them, but they must always be on a leash when going for walks, if not you run the risk of your dog running out on you in chase of a scent or some doggy adventure. Beagles when left alone tend to be destructive, so it is always a good idea to have some company for them whether it be another beagle dog or human. Beagles love being in packs and so if possible, let them exercise where other dogs are doing the same like in public parks. This will help in their socialization and greatly reduce the want to run out of you.
A generally healthy breed, the beagle dog is known to live a long life, living up to fifteen years. Still, as with every living thing, they are prone to some health issues. The first one being ear infections, their long, floppy ears can easily trap warm moist air easily leading to yeast infection, also not bathing and cleaning them properly can expose them to more ear infections. This can be prevented by regularly cleaning their ears daily and properly drying the ear after each bath. For advanced situations of the ear infection, there are medications and your vet doctor should be contacted. Obesity is another problem with Beagles, due to their playful and energetic nature, they tend to always get some treats as a reward for being fun dogs. Be watchful not to fall for this, if at any time they start losing their hourglass shape, then it is likely they are facing an obesity challenge, Obesity in beagles can lead to heart problems and hip dysplasia so monitoring their diet is important. Sometimes, their eyelashes can grow into their eyes, needing professional assistance to deal with. In rare cases, they may develop polyarthritis(a disease that attacks their joints) and become prone to epilepsy and seizure. The good thing is that all conditions mentioned here are treatable.

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BEAGLE HISTORY

The origin of the beagle breed has been a subject of argument for a long time now. Most of the conflict seems to come from the name itself, some experts suggest that the name originated from the french word begueule literally translated means loudmouth, Others claim it from the Welsh term “beag” which means small, and some claim it is a mixture of old English and French term. There is even a version that the name originated from the German word “begele” which means to scold.

Records have it that beagles were used to hunt hares and rabbits in England far back even before the Romans arrived in fifty-five B.C. Way back then, they were nicknamed the “foothound of our country, indigenous to the soil.” As far back to the reign of Edward the third, there was mention of him having a pack of about a hundred and twenty Beagles on the Battlefield during the “Hundred Years” War.

There were even writings and descriptions of the Beagle breed in English literature as far back as 1475. By the 1500s, many English men had large packs of hounds used for tracking and hunting deer. The smaller hounds were used for tracking and hunting rabbits and hares and these ones are the ancestors of the modern-day beagle.

The term “foot hound” is crucial to understand the wide appeal for beagles by the hunters in England then. Unlike other pack hunters then that required their owners to be on horsebacks, the beagle would help the hunting partner to track their prey on foot. At that time, this was a better and cheaper option for any English gentleman or lady who was interested in hunting smaller prey. This was also a good option for older gentlemen who couldn’t spend a lot of time on horseback for their health and safety.

It wasn’t till after the civil war that beagles started being imported into America. They became an instant hit with American rabbit hunters. By 1885 the first beagle by the name “Blunder” was registered by the American Kennel Club.