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14 Amazing Facts About Beagles

Published: by Elena Suslina · This post may contain affiliate links

Gentle-natured, highly intelligent, and playful – It's no wonder the Beagle has been firmly positioned as one of the top ten most popular breeds in North America for the last 30 years.

If you love Beagles you’ll love these Beagle facts and info! Here are 14 Beagle facts that will amuse and amaze you.

#1 Beagles are thousands of years old

Beagle dog having fun at the park
Beagles are a very old dog. Their exact origins are unknown. Modern-day Beagles' ancestors lived in England around the Roman Empire era or before, and became popular with the rise of fox hunting.

#2 Beagles were pocket-sized

woman holding a Beagle puppy
Early "Beagles" were only 8- 9 inches high – small enough to carry in a pocket. They were most popular in 16th century England. Queen Elizabeth I was a big fan. Known as pocket Beagles or miniature Beagles, it wasn't until later that these tiny dogs were bred into the larger hunting hounds we known today.

#3 Beagles are one of the most vocal dog breeds

Beagle howling picture and a text
Your Beagle won't hesitate to speak when asked, and may even be so vocal that it can be a bother at times. Queen Elizabeth, I called these dogs her “Singing Beagles” because of their high-pitched voices. Elizabeth also entertained guests at banquets, by letting her Pocket Beagles romp around the tables.

#4 Beagle means “Loudmouth” in french

Beagle puppy running in the yard
"In fact, it is believed the name 'Beagle' comes the Middle French 'bee gueule,' literally 'wide throat,' but more poetically translated as 'loudmouth.'"

#5 Beagles have a white-tipped tail

Beagle taking a walk
If a Beagle is purebred, it will have some white in its tail. It may only be a few hairs at the tip, or it may be mostly white, but a "Beagle" without any white in its tail is probably a mix. Actually, this is no accident. As hunting dogs, it was handy for the huntsman to be able to spot his dog in the long grass. That is why they deliberately bred together Beagle hounds with white tail tips.

#6 The Beagle is a pop culture icon

Beagle cartoon character with a text
Schulz’s famous comic strip “Peanuts” features a lovable dog called Snoopy. This character made his first appearance on 4th October 1950. Schulz took his inspiration from a beagle he grew up with, called Spike. But on his mother’s advice, Schulz changed the dog’s name to Snoopy.

#7 They have a pack mentality

two Beagle howling at a little tiger sitting on top of a wood tower
Beagles are highly social creatures and often hunt together or track together to achieve a common goal. This means that your Beagle will probably get along very well with other dogs.
But this mean that Beagle don't like to being left alone for long time. Some Beagles to display anxious tendencies when left alone, such as destroying furniture or tearing down windows to get out of the house.

#8 The Beagle’s nose knows all

Beagle lying on the couch
Beagles have around 220 million scent receptors in their snout, which is around 44 times more than people have.
The Beagle's nose is so perceptive at differentiating between scents, it can actually be trained to recognize as many as 50 different smells. Because of this, Beagles are commonly used in security and law enforcement to illegal materials.

#9 Beagles are a scent hound

Beagle sniffing the autumn leaves on the ground
Beagles belong to a group of dogs called scent hounds. This is because of their stupendous talent at picking up a scent and following it.
Indeed, the area in the brain dedicated to making sense of smells, is way larger in the do much like having a faster processor in a computer.

#10 Beagles are the ‘Goldilocks’

a cute girl smiling and holding a Beagle in a basket
The Beagle character is such that they’ve been described as the Goldilocks of dogs.
These guys love to have fun and are great around kids (when treated with respect). They are not too aggressive or too timid, friendly but not fawning, and energetic but lazy at times.

#11 They’re very popular in the US

Beagle dogs waiting for their food
Beagles are one of the most beloved dog breeds in America.
For decades insurance companies have compiled statistics on which dog breeds are most popular in the US.For around 30 years, the Beagle is consistently in the Top Ten charts. In 2017 and 2018 our vocal fur-friend ranked steady at number six. Top place went to the Labrador.

#12 Beagle Fans

celebrity woman touching a Beagle at the park
Queen Elizabeth II is known as a corgi fan, but the first Queen Elizabeth loved and owned pocket Beagles, which were small enough to fit in one hand. President Lyndon Johnson had two Beagles, named Him and Her, in the white house during his presidency. He was often photographed walking and playing with the dogs. A big Beagle fan is singer Barry Manilow, who famously owned two Beagles – Bagel and Biscuit. In the 1970s Bagel featured on one of Manilow’s album covers.

#13 Beagles are low shedding dogs

Beagle sitting on the floor beside its pile of shredded hair
Beagles have low maintenance, short smooth coats. They are low shedders, meaning they shed a modest amount of hair all year round. But the females may have a hormonal molt too, as a result of their estrous cycle or after giving birth.

#14 Beagles are escape artists

Beagle squeezing its body at the bottom of the wooden fence
Beagles can also problem-solve to overcome hurdles that would otherwise prevent them from following the scent. This means when left in a yard for long periods of time, a Beagle is apt to use its powers to escape and find its own entertainment.
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