Information on Beagles
Personality
Friendly, outgoing and into everything as a young dog, the Beagle matures into an affectionate and active adult. The combination of a gentle, pleading expression with an enormous curiosity is comical. Beagles are natural clowns. Unlike soem breeds that bond with one family member, Bealges bond to all, especially children. Friendly almost to a fault, the Beagle is not an independent dog. There is always "important business" that the Beagle must attend to-checking the yard to see what interesting smells may have developed overnight, inspecting the kitchen refrigerator when the door is opened to determin what good things might be stashed inside and finding out what that is on the other side of the fence. Some Beagles dig and climb. Some bark. They may appear stubborn. Their sense of smell is so keen that when it is focused in on an interesting trail, repeated attempts to get their attention may be necessary. They will roam if not properly fenced.
Physical Characteristics
The Beagle is a shor-haired, small to medium size scent hound. Adult 13 inchers wigh between 13 and 20 lbs and 15 inchers can weigh up to 28 lbs. Shedding does occur, particularly in the spring. Its gentle facial expression, framed by long ears, and very appealing demeanor a give the aspect of a perpetual puppy. People are always asking me about Lucy, who is six years old "How old is your puppy?"
Follow Your Nose by Lisa Hanks
The Beagle seems to have a simple philosophy that applies to all events, objects, and people: Follow your nose. Whether pursuing a hare dashing across a brushy field; earning a title with charisma and zeal; sniffing out dinner; or romping with its family; the Beagle happily revels in the moment. Given its greates wish, the social Beagle would choose to always have something fun to do with family, friends, meighbors and relatives--human and dog.
The Beagle, though, is not just your average happy, fluffy dog. It sometimes presents a bit of a paradox. The Beagle will snuggle contentedly on the couch with a beloved person for hours, then avidly run an agility course all weekend. It will deliberately and carefully circle and snuffle, searching for a lost scent, then joyfully announce its success to the world while pursuing the scent trail at top speed. The Beagle will gaze at you lovingly with its soulful brown eyes as if you werre the only person in the whole world, then abandon you altogther for a cookie.
However, it is this very unpredictability, charm and jote de vivre that draws admirers to the Beagle. In fact, as with many breeds, the people who own Beagles usually reflect the breed's uniquely likeable personality. As with the Beagle itself, Beagle owners are cheerful, social and a lot of fun to be around,
Who wouldn't want to jump in to life with a Beagle? Things would be a lot easier--and merrier--if we could cast our cares aside and simply follow our noses.
History
Legend has it that beagles, those "merry little hounds with big hearts," descended from hounds used by King Arthur and his knights. Some say their ancestors came to England with William the Conqueror.
It isn't easy, however, to establish exactly when the breed first made its appearance. It is know that the ancient Greeks used so-called scenting hounds for the hunt 400 years or so before Christ. The dogs, which were of several different breeds, hunted in packs with their keepers. In England and Wales this type of hunt was also know about in 1400 A.D. The pack consisted not only of scent followers but also included sight hounds, such as grayhounds. In fact, it wasn't until 1550 that people started differentiating among the various types of scent hounds. For example, people trained the large hounds, the so-called buck hounds, to hunt deer and other large game. The small hounds were used to hunt hares, rabbits, and pheasants; and these small doges were called beighs or beagles, from the French beigle, meaning small. This doesn't mean, however, that the dogs that were called beagles 400 years ago were the same doges we call beagles today. Representations of beagles from the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries show that clearly. The dogs varied in height between 5 and 25 inches.
In this connection, it's interesting to note that in the days of King Henry VIII (1491-1547) and even more so during the reign of his daughter Elizabeth I (1558-1603), the then miniature beagles were transported to the hunting fields in the panniers of saddles or in the pockets of hunting coats.
One supposes that the beagle resulted from experiments in crossing the harrier with the Southern hound. It's no surprise that in the "early days" beagles were often called "little harriers." Over time, breeders selected the larger individuals from among these dogs, creating a breed that was 19-21 inches in height. Continous selction, using, in turn, only the smallest individuals for breeding, gradually resulted in a dog of reduced size, a miniature breed called Queen Bess. These dogs proved to be too small for hunting, and they rapidly lost popularity. Breeders continued their experiments, and gradually the first "true" beagle developed in two types the shallow-flewed and the deep-flewed, depending on the depth of the upper lip. The first type is supposed to have benn the faster, and the second, the one with the more musical voice and the more assured manner.
The present-day beagle received a number of characteristics from several other breeds. Its keen nose is supposedly derived from the Kerry beagle, a miniature bloodhound, and all its other traits were acquired by crossing foxhounds and coonhounds.
It wasn't until about 1860 that the first well-proportioned beagles were introduced to the United States. One of the know participants was General Richard Rowett of Carlinville, Illinois, who brought several good representativies of the breed from England, including the now famous Rosey and Dolly.
Beagles were known in North America before then, but they were far from ideal individuals, especially in size. The dogs brought over by Rowett and others were used in a professional selective breeding program that resulted in superior beagles within several years. They were able to meet all competitors, including those from England.
It wasn't until 1887, however, that the American/English Beagle Club was formed. The standard of the breed was drafted by General Rowett, Norman Elmore of Grandby, Connecticut and Dr. L.H. Twadell of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These gentlemen acquitted themselves so well of their task that their standard with several minor chages, continues to be used today by the National Beagle Club of America. Even the standard used in England differs only slightly from the one devised by the three U.S. pioneers.
Shortly after the turn of the century, the interest in the beagles increased to an amazing extent, and many enthusiastic beagle lovers had privately owned packs. Well-known are the Hempsted, Round Hill, Thornfield, Wolver, and Windholme beagles.
The first beagle field trials were held November 4, 1890, at Hyannis, Massachusetts, and November 7, 1890, at Salem, New Hampshire.
Beagle Rescue Organizations
SOS Beagle Resuce Inc., Linda Forrest, 1286 Smithville Rd,. Bordentown, NJ 08505; (609) 267-5157; sosbeagles@juno.com
Beagle Rescue, Janet Nieland, 7092 Kermore Lane, Stanton, CA 90680; (714) 826-0928; chbeagle@aol.com