The Beagle: The Happy Hound as a Family Dog

It seems that beagles have become more and more popular, especially since Uno, the fifteen-inch beagle, won Best in Show at Westminster. While I find the beagle to be an amiable, sweet companion, there are pros and cons to choosing this breed as your family pet. I am no expert, but I will tell you what my experience has been in the two years that I have had a beagle. While there are many websites out there that will give you the general characteristics of a beagle, my intention is to tell you about my real-life experience with one of the many funny hounds in the United States. It may vary from that of other beagle owners or it may be strikingly similar. Either way, these little hounds are lively, often sweet, and usually have a stubborn streak.

We chose to get a beagle because of the often-noted easygoing disposition of the breed and because they are usually good with children. Like all dogs, beagles have to be well-socialized with other people and other animals in order to acquire good behavior around them. They love to play and they like a lot of interaction with people and other dogs. This makes sense as the breed originally was used in packs to hunt.

My dog is a very social animal. If he does not get enough time in with us each day, he becomes bored and he runs around the house at top-speed with toys in his mouth to try to get us to play with him. He does do extremely well around all ages of children. He will curl up next to one of them and happily chew on a toy. My beagle also tolerates well the not-so-soft pats that come from toddlers. Once anyone starts petting him nicely though, he will not let them stop. He's always eager to give and receive love. My beagle will jump up on the couch next to anyone who will let him and happily lay there with his head in your lap or just snuggled against you. Although these are all good qualities, he can also be a little skittish when put in the car or when given a bath. But baths are necessary for beagles because they shed a lot.

Beagles shed a lot. I don't think I can emphasize that enough. They have short hair, which makes it easy to brush the hair off them, but they just seem to have a never-ending supply of loose hairs. Their coats do not tend to attract a lot of leaves and twigs to stick in it like many longer-haired breeds, but they make up for it in how much hair they lose on a daily basis. While my dog does not enjoy his baths, he tolerates them, and lets us clips his nails without much struggle. Over-bathing them can dry out the beagle's skin, so be careful with what shampoo you use and how often you bathe them.

One of the notable things about a beagle is their bay. Beagles do not bark as much as they do a half-howl called a bay. From what I have seen, how much each dog bays depends on the dog. My beagle only bays when people come to the door or he sees another dog that he cannot get to and play with. However, you can teach them to be quieter. It takes a lot of consistent training, but we managed to have him cut down dramatically on his baying when people come to the door.

You can train a beagle, but it seems that they have a little stubborn streak that keeps them from learning as fast as some other breeds. My beagle was pretty easily crate-trained and learned to sit and stay fairly quickly. However, he's not a show dog and does not seem to care to learn "roll over" or "give me five" or any of those types of tricks.

They like walks, but beware of the nose. Do not let them off leash because they will find a trail and follow it. Or, if they see game, they will try to take off after the creature and it may take a long time to find the beagle. Anytime anybody comes over to our house, as soon as they leave, my beagle accurately tracks the entire scent of their shoes to the very spot that they sat and all the places they stood in. They love to sniff everything, including you. Sometimes this is sweet, but other times a cold, wet nose pressed against bare flesh as he's attempting to determine where you have been and who you have seen can be startling.

Beagles can gain weight very easily. You have to be careful to give the dog the correct amount of food each day because they have a tendency to overeat, especially if they are bored. My beagle was about five lbs overweight and it took a lot of walking to help him get back to a normal weight even while feeding him the correct dosage of food. Like any dog, they need exercise, and my beagle does fine with a daily walk and a short session of playing with the soccer ball in the backyard. However, he's happy most of the day sprawled out on the couch.

With their soulful brown eyes and soft floppy ears, the beagle is certainly an endearing breed. But they do need companionship to be happy. A lonely beagle is a bored and unhappy dog, so making sure that they get some stimulation each day is paramount. My canine companion has a wonderful disposition, is loyal, and is always up for a good petting session or a long walk. While it takes some work to maintain a healthy weight and to keep the fur level down in our home, my dog is certainly worth all of those things. The pros of owning a beagle, for me, definitely outweigh the cons.