dog breeds: the beagle

dog breeds: the beagle

A Beagle
Image Credit: Wikipedia

beagles 101:

Snoopy - "the world's most famous beagle" - yes he is a Beagle. we really don't know who became famous first - Snoopy or the Beagle. all we know is that beagles have been existing with humans for a very long time.

beagle type dog breeds have existed since two thousand years ago until the modern breed called Beagle was developed from several breeds in the 1830's Great Britain.

beagles are well loved since the Elizabethan times. ever since, they are preferred as pets because of their even temperament, home convenient size, and generally healthy body with no genetically acquired health problems. 

the size of this hound group breed ranges from small to medium, and they are known to be intelligent dogs fit to work as scent hounds. these dogs have a powerful sense of smell used for hunting and tracking down game animals. hounds also characteristically have sturdy bodies for greater endurance in sticking with and following a scent as they relentlessly run through rough terrain. 

beagles have large nasal passage-ways to help them process smells, and they also have soft drooping long ears which are believe to be the beagle's special trait that helps trap scents from the air and keep it close to their face and nose. their smaller size and shorter legs (compared to similar looking Foxhounds) are believed to keep these dogs close to the ground where they can easily pickup up most scents. 

another character trait of beagles that makes them great hunting dogs are their large bellowing voices. their strong barks let the beagles notify their handlers that they've picked up a scent and allows the hunters to easily find them. 

lastly, beagles have amazing tracking instincts, that once combined with their keen sense of smell makes them wonderful detection dogs for prohibited food stuffs and agricultural produce.