Beagle

The Beagle is a hound breed. This cheerful good-natured dog will be a great friend: loving, patient and, importantly, unpretentious in care.Quick info

Name of breed: BeagleCountry of Origin: United Kingdom
Weight: 8-18 lbs
Height (height at withers): 33-40 cm
Lifespan: 11-15 years

Highlights

• The Beagle needs company all the time and therefore finds loneliness hard to bear.
  It is an intelligent and agile breed, combining this with stubbornness.
• Always energetic and happy, it loves to run and frolic in the fresh air.
• The beagles’ main problem is their loud barking, so be prepared for possible disputes with neighbors.
• Pets gain weight easily, so they need regular exercise and proper nutrition.
• Dogs are friendly even with strangers and therefore are not always good guards.
• The Beagle gets along well with children and becomes a faithful friend for them.
  It is not recommended to keep the Beagle in the same apartment with cats or small decorative animals.
• Not suitable for beginner dog owners because of its independent nature.

History of the Beagle

The origin of the Beagle goes back to antiquity, namely to the era of prosperity of Ancient Greece. This time also dates back to the first indirect references to the breed. Thus, the famous historian and writer Xenophonte spoke of hounds of compact size. They were popular with hunters because of their outstanding speed and excellent sense of smell, an ideal combination for successfully catching game.

Inspired by the example of the Greeks, the breeding of the breed was also taken up by the ancient Romans, who subsequently brought the ancestors of the Beagle to Britain and began to crossbreed them with native dogs. This experiment gave rise to many new breeds, such as the Beagle, the Foxhound, the Harrier and the Otterhound.

There is another version of the breed origin. According to it, as a result of mating European and Celtic hounds, beagles came to England in the XI century along with the Normans. At the same time William the Conqueror brought into the country and Talbot (Talbot), which crossed with greyhounds gave rise to the ancestors of the modern beagles.

Associated with the breed and a fascinating legend. In it, the dogs are faithful companions of the Knights of the Round Table. Thus, according to legend, beagles accompanied their masters even when they went in search of the Holy Grail.

However, during the reign of Edward II, the breed gained a crushing popularity. Back then, the dogs were much smaller than modern specimens and even earned the nickname “Glove Beagles” – beagles that easily fit into a glove. The animals were transported in pockets of a hunting suit or in baskets that were tied on either side of the horses. These improvised “vessels” held 10-12 pairs of dogs each! The size of pocket beagles were diminutive: their weight did not reach up to 8 kg, and their height did not exceed 25 cm.

The book “Skinny Esquire”, published in the second half of the XV century, was the first source, where the breed was mentioned already under the name known to us. Two centuries later, the writer Blum, who was fond of hunting, presented England with a book where he described in detail the Beagle, his favorite breed. In 1790, Beehive revealed the characteristics of these dogs and their main area of use: hunting.

Despite their seemingly uselessness, these wee ones played an important role in the process of baiting wild animals. While regular-sized dogs chased game, beagles continued their pursuit in the undergrowth where larger hounds could not get through. Back then, this breed was the smallest of the hunting dogs and was used mainly for baiting hares. In this form Beagles existed until the early XIX century, until finally turned into larger and more massive dogs.

By the middle of the XVII century in England were distributed southern hound and northern beagle. At the same time the latter continued to undergo genetic modifications. Thus, to accelerate the breed, its representatives were injected with blood of Whippet – dogs that resemble a cross between a leurette and a greyhound. The result was positive: now the Beagles can chase prey faster than the southern hounds, but they are still inferior to them in sense of smell. With the popularization of fox hunting the necessity of keeping numerous kennels disappeared.

The number of hounds and beagles has greatly diminished. It is not known how the fate of the latter would have turned out if it were not for the farmers of the southern counties, who continued to keep dogs to hunt rabbits and hares. Because of this, many valuable pedigrees were saved, which later became excellent genetic material for crossbreeding with southern hounds.

Interest in the Beagle breed revived in the first half of the XIX century. The breeder Philip Honeywood, when returning to Essex, took with him a pack of mestizos, from which the modern beagles were descended. According to the documentary records of 1845, Philip’s dogs were white and reached 25 cm at the withers. While Honeywood preferred to breed beagles for hunting, Thomas Johnson preferred to improve the appearance of the animals. Thanks to his efforts, two types of beagles appeared – long-haired and short-haired. Unfortunately, only the second type has survived, while the long-haired ones survived only until the second half of the XX century. The pedigree of these dogs is doubted to this day.

In 1861 “British Sports Manual” divided the breed into four categories: Terrier Beagle, Fox Beagle, Pygmy Beagle and Medium Beagle (the northern type was characterized by less weight compared to the southern type). Nine years later, the first members of the breed set foot on New World soil, where they were called the “little hounds of the South.” American dog breeders attempted to change the appearance of beagles. As a result, the breed began to resemble basset hounds and acquired a white color with dark points.

This experiment was considered unsuccessful because despite their excellent hunting qualities, the dogs did not look as attractive as their English relatives. Fortunately, Richard Rowett – a military man from Illinois – owned a large pack of beagles, a considerable part of which were natives of Great Britain. It was the latter that later spread across America, improving the beagle gene pool.

The threat of extinction of dogs completely disappeared by the end of the XIX century. In 1895 the Beagle Club approved the first standard which was presented at the Birmingham Dog Show. It became the starting point for the spread of dogs around the world. At that time, two types of Beagles were bred: medium (up to 33 cm at the withers) and relatively large (up to 40 cm). In general, the height of the animal was not to exceed 41 cm.

By the mid-twentieth century, the Beagle has become one of America’s most popular breeds. Many hunters used them for hunting rabbits, which beagles coped with perfectly. By spreading throughout Europe, these dogs played an important role in the development of new breeds and the improvement of old ones. For example, beagles were used to strengthen the legs and reduce height, making the hounds more adaptable to hunting. In 1957, a new official standard for the breed was adopted, which is still valid today.

The end of the twentieth century was marked by the successful experiment to crossbreed the Beagle and the Pug. As a result, an unusual breed called the Pugle appeared. It has never been officially recognized, although the appearance of dogs looked quite presentable.

Despite the fact that the first Beagles appeared in Russia in 1740, active interest in this breed awakened only two centuries later. Specimens imported from the Czech Republic and England, gave birth to offspring, and subsequently the beagles spread throughout the country. Now they are actively used not only for hunting, but also as service dogs with excellent sense of smell. Do not forget that beagles are also kept as pets – loving, loyal and incredibly charming animals.