| Have you heard of characters such as Snoopy from | | | | abdomen and waist. At the end of its body is a short |
| the Peanut comic strips, Underdog from the cartoon | | | | tail that curves to a white tip. The white tip has been |
| series, or Shiloh from Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's book? | | | | selectively bred as it allows for the dog to be easily |
| All of these are examples of the Beagle, a dog that | | | | seen when its head is down sniffing. |
| has been in the top 10 list of most popular dog | | | | One of the biggest characteristics of the Beagle is |
| breeds in the United States for 30 years. If you have | | | | their sense of smell. These dogs have the best |
| not read or seen any of these examples and are | | | | developed senses of smell of any dog, next to the |
| unsure what this breed of dog looks like you can | | | | Bloodhound. Starting in the 1950s John Fuller and John |
| read below to find the common Beagle | | | | Paul Scott began a 13 year study into the behavior |
| characteristics. | | | | of canines. |
| You may not know what a Beagle looks like but a | | | | Part of the research they did was testing the |
| Foxhound looks extremely similar. Beagles are | | | | scenting abilities of a variety of breeds by putting a |
| miniature versions of the Foxhounds but have | | | | mouse in an acre of field and they timed how long it |
| broader heads, shorter muzzles, and the legs are | | | | took for the dogs to locate the mouse. A Scottish |
| shorter in proportion to their body. They are typically | | | | Terrier was unable to find it, a Fox Terrier found it in |
| between 13 to 16 inches in length and weight | | | | 15 minutes, and the Beagle found it in less than one |
| between 18 to 35 pounds. | | | | minute. |
| The common Beagle characteristic of the skull is that | | | | The problem with this breed is that they are |
| it is domed, with medium-length, square-cut muzzle | | | | extremely good at ground-scenting, but they are not |
| and a black nose. Their eyes are large and either | | | | very good at air-scenting. For this reason they are |
| hazel or brown. The have long, large ears that turn | | | | not used for mountain rescue teams and rather |
| toward the cheeks and round at the tips. Their upper | | | | collies are used because they are able to use their |
| teeth fit perfectly over their lower teeth with both | | | | sight in addition to their air-scenting, making them the |
| set aligned square into their strong jaw. | | | | best choice. |
| These dogs have a medium length neck, just long | | | | These are just some of the Beagle characteristics |
| enough for them to pick up a scent from the ground, | | | | that should help you identify this breed without |
| and there is sometimes a dewlap in their skin. The | | | | doubt. |
| Beagle has a broad chest that narrows to a smaller | | | | |