Beagle - The Facts Every Owner Of This Dog Breed Should Know
Made famous by
the Peanuts character, Snoopy, Beagles
were bred
in England as trail hounds, used
to hunt rabbits
and hares. Beagles
are scent hounds
and have
a tendency to ignore everything but
the interesting scent when
hunting. A very energetic breed of dog, Beagles
are social, curious,
intelligent and brave.
They are also likely to get into trouble as their hound dog instinct can take
over in an
instant should a Beagle catch a whiff of an exciting
or interesting scent.
Male Beagles will grow to an average height of 14 to 16 inches and average weight of
22 to 25 pounds; females, 13 to 15 inches and 20 to 23 pounds. On average, a Beagle will live 12 to 15 years. Most Beagles have a tri-color coat, consisting of red and white, orange and white or lemon and white. It
is a short to medium length coat that requires no more than minimal
care regular
brushing and bathing only when necessary.
Beagles will shed, but not excessively. They have long,
wide ears and brown or hazel eyes that often
times look like pleading 'puppy dog' eyes. They have a distinct, and often
times, familiar baying sound that
they make when hunting prey. It
is this distinctive howl and ability to pick up on strange scents that make them excellent guard dogs.
Beagles are good
with families and children and love to play, but care should
be taken with other family pets. If a Beagle is not properly
socialized early, it may try to hunt and
capture the other pets; however, they do not like being left alone and may bay excessively
(annoying the neighbors). Beagles do well traveling and adapt quickly and easily to new experiences, thanks to their fearless nature, but also need strong and consistent training to ensure they do not run
off. Beagles will do well in almost any living environment, provided they are given
plenty of opportunity to run and exercise.
A leash is a must with a Beagle, or a well fenced in yard as well as consistent obedience training. Their hunting instinct will take
over when a scent comes their way and will run off in
search of the prey. Ears should be checked and cleaned regularly, as Beagles are prone to painful ear infections. Beagles are also prone to heart disease, epilepsy, eye and back problems, and
chondroplasia - dwarfism that results in warped front legs.
There is a
website that has great information on Beagles and most other breeds of dogs. It has details that pertain to a dog breeds
health, grooming, living conditions, best food choices and more, the website is called: Dog
And Cat Facts, and can be found at this url:
http://www.dogandcatfacts.comBy Robert W. Benjamin
Copyright © 2006
You may
publish this
article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as
long as it is
reprinted in its entirety and without modification
except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.
Robert W. Benjamin has been in the
software business on the internet for over 5 years, and has been producing low-cost
software for the past 25+ years. He first released products on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late 1970's-80's.