Beagle

The Beagle is a middle-sized hound looking much like a Foxhound, but with short legs and long ears. Beagles were bred for tracking small game, like hare and rabbit, using their excellent sense of smell. This breed is very old and nothing is known about the origin of these dogs. Small scent hounds were used by the Romans for small game hunting as far back as in the 5th century BC.

For many centuries, the Beagle was a type of breeds rather than a breed with typical characteristics. Many hounds contributed to this breed. Supposedly, the ancestor of the breed was the Southern Hound derived from a long extinct Talbot hound. Talbot hounds were mostly white, slow, and deep-throated dogs with a keen smell. They were crossed with Greyhounds to add them speed and agility. Other breeds that contributed to the modern looks and talents of the Beagle are the Irish North Country Beagle and the Harrier.

The nobility and royalty of the 13th-19th centuries had packs of scent hounds. It’s believed that the basis for the modern Beagle was formed in the early 19th century in Great Britain. The best pack of that time belonged to Reverend Phillip Honeywood. The Beagles in that pack were refined and graceful, standing about 10 inches at the withers. Most breeders of the 19th centuries emphasized working abilities of the Beagle and only a few of them produced dogs for both their talents and appearance.

In the 19th century, there were four size varieties of the Beagle: the dwarf Beagle, the medium Beagle, the fox Beagle, and the terrier Beagle (a cross with a Scottish Terrier.) Besides, there existed two coat varieties of the breed: rough-coated and smooth-coated. Nowadays, the rough-coated variety is extinct. Rough-coated Beagles don’t correspond to the current breed standard. The first official standard for the Beagle was accepted in 1890. The present-day show-quality Beagle is more refined and neat than its ancestor of the 19th century. The Beagle of today is rarely used for hunting, but its sense of smell makes the breed very useful in detection various agents, drugs, foods, and animals.