All about Beagles

The beagle breed can be traced as far as the 5th century and is believed to have originated from the European countries.  The name of the breed itself is from European origins from France which roots from the word beguile which means “open throat”, or probably from the Welsh word beag meaning small or from begele which means “to scold”.   Miniature versions of these dogs were also known to be owned by several known royalties from Europe including Queen Elizabeth 1.  However, the breed was best recognized for its role in hunting activities as keen hunting mates that chase and catch rabbits, squirrels and other game animals.   It was only in the mid 1800s that beagles were imported to the US.   However, compared to the British sort, American beagles are relatively smaller.

The beagle’s appearance is similar to that of the foxhound and other hound types though smaller in height and much shorter legs and longer ears.  They also appear in different ranges of colours.  The tri-coloured beagles are the most common ones but some come in plain colors. Jet black saddle colored beagles are also known as the Blackbacks while faint brown with mark black shaded ones are called dark tri.  Shades of blacks with prominent brown markings are the known as the faded tri.  Though adult beagles sport these different colors, almost all beagle pups are born black and white.

Beagles are usually the gentler of the dog sort and are usually described as even-tempered and placid.  They are also normally playful as they make ideal family pets.  Although they are said to make poor house guard dogs because they do not get easily agitated and indifferent with strangers, they can also be prompted to bark and howl when confronted or threatened.  Some smart ones have been trained as sniff dogs since they are generally obedient.  However, since they are also known to be one of the most easily excited breeds, their attention span seem to be very short as they easily get bored or sidetracked.

Although they are relatively easier to maintain and care for than most dog breeds, beagles have the tendency to develop separation anxiety usually caused by a traumatic experience of having been separated from the mother at a very young age.  A dog may manifest symptoms of this type of anxiety through whining, trembling, crying and behaving anxiously and in an unordinary way.  Some may exhibit unusual habits such as inappropriate urination, dripping of excess saliva, unexplainable barking, self-harm and excessive closeness to the owner.

 

Since these beagles are more prone to these types of psychological health problems an owner needs to be more observant of his beagle’s behaviour to be able to address this concern immediately.