Beagle
Cheerful, sturdy, wonderful with children and led entirely by its nose. A Beagle on a scent is not being naughty; it is doing the only thing it was ever bred to do, and no amount of training fully overrides it.
We do not have enough Beagle adverts yet to publish a price range from our own data. The figures in the price section below are an editorial estimate.
Pros
- Outstanding with children and with other dogs
- Robust, healthy and long-lived
- Compact and adaptable, with an easy short coat
- Genuinely cheerful company
Cons
- Recall is poor once a scent is picked up
- Very food-motivated; obesity is the breed's biggest health problem
- Vocal: they bay, and it carries
- Bores easily and will chew, dig and escape
Beagle characteristics
Scores are editorial, and describe the breed in general. Individual animals vary, and how a dog is bred and raised matters more than its breed.
Health tests to ask for
Ask to see the certificates, with the parents' registered names on them. "Parents health tested" in an advert means nothing on its own.
- DNA test - NCCD (Musladin-Lueke Syndrome)
- DNA test - Factor VII deficiency
- DNA test - Imerslund-Grasbeck Syndrome
- BVA/KC Eye Scheme
- Hip scoring
What is a Beagle?
A small scent hound of 10-16kg bred to hunt hare in packs, on foot, for hours. Two things follow. The nose runs the dog, and the dog was designed to work happily alongside twenty others - which is why they are so sociable and why they are so bad at being alone.
History and origins
Small hare-hounds are recorded in England from the fifteenth century. The modern Beagle was standardised in the mid-nineteenth century, largely by Reverend Phillip Honeywood and Thomas Johnson. The Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1873. They remain a working pack hound as well as a pet, and the two populations are not far apart.
Appearance and size
33-40cm, solidly built for the height. Short, dense, weatherproof coat, most often tricolour (black, tan and white) but also lemon and white, red and white, or tan and white. Long, low-set ears; a white tail tip, bred in so a hunter could see the dog in cover.
Temperament and personality
Merry is the word the breed standard uses and it is right. Beagles are friendly with everyone, optimistic, and almost impossible to offend. They are also determined, greedy and noisy when they want something.
The bay - a rolling, carrying howl - is a working trait. In a terraced street it is a neighbour problem, and it is worth knowing that before rather than after.
Intelligence and trainability
Intelligent and famously difficult to train, which are not contradictory. They learn quickly and comply selectively, and once the nose engages the ears switch off. Food is the currency, and scentwork is the outlet: a Beagle given a proper searching job is a different animal at home.
Expect recall to be a lifelong project rather than a settled achievement. Most sensible owners use long lines and enclosed spaces.
Children and other pets
One of the best breeds for a family. Sturdy, gentle, patient and endlessly game. Excellent with other dogs - they were bred to live in packs. Small furries are prey.
Health problems
Generally sound, with a handful of DNA-testable conditions and one enormous everyday one.
- Musladin-Lueke Syndrome (NCCD) - DNA test.
- Factor VII deficiency - a bleeding disorder; DNA test.
- Imerslund-Grasbeck Syndrome - a B12 absorption disorder; DNA test.
- Eyes - glaucoma and cherry eye occur; get a current certificate.
- Hips - score the parents.
- Epilepsy and hypothyroidism at low rates.
- Ears - long, drop ears need weekly checking.
Obesity is the breed's real health problem. Beagles are relentlessly food-motivated, they will eat until they are ill, and they will steal. An overweight Beagle gets arthritis and diabetes and loses years. Weigh the food, count the treats, and lock the bin.
Daily care routine
An hour and a half of walking, plus a scent game. Ears checked and dried. Food measured, not scooped. Bins and cupboards secured, genuinely - Beagles open things.
Grooming and coat care
A weekly brush. They shed steadily and more heavily in spring. Ears, nails, teeth.
Exercise needs
90 minutes a day with plenty of sniffing. Sniffing is not a lesser form of walking for this breed; twenty minutes of scentwork tires a Beagle more than an hour on the lead.
Feeding and diet
Two measured meals, £25-£40 a month. This is a breed where a kitchen scale earns its keep.
Price
£800-£1,600 from DNA-tested, hip-scored parents. Working-pack-bred puppies are sometimes available and are excellent, if more driven. Setup £280-£480; ongoing £60-£110 a month.
Buying advice
Ask for the NCCD, Factor VII and IGS DNA results and a current eye certificate. Ask whether the line is show, pet or working pack, and match it to your life. Then think seriously about the noise and the recall, because those are the two things that put Beagles into rescue.
Beagles available now
No Beagles are advertised at the moment. Save this search and we will let you know.