Beagle

There are two Beagle varieties: those standing under 32.5 cm/ 13” at the shoulder, and those between 32.5 and 37.5 cm /  13 and 15”. Both varieties are sturdy, solid, and “big for their inches,” as dog folks say. They come in such pleasing colors as lemon, red and white, and tricolor. The Beagle’s fortune is in his adorable face, with its big brown or hazel eyes set off by long, houndy ears set low on a broad head.

A breed described as “merry” by its fanciers, Beagles are loving and lovable, happy, and companionable - all qualities that make them excellent family dogs. No wonder that for years the Beagle has been the most popular hound dog among American pet owners. These are curious, clever, and energetic hounds who require plenty of playtime.

History

The origins of this ancient breed have been the subject of conjecture for centuries. Even the breed name is a shrouded in mystery. Some experts say it derives from the Gaelic word beag (“little”), while others point to the French term for the sound hounds make while hunting: be’geule.

There are reports of small pack-hounds employed to hunt rabbit and hare in England long before the Roman legions arrived in 55 B.C. An English authority called the Beagle the “foothound of our country, indigenous to the soil.” By the 1500s, most English gentlemen had packs of large hounds that tracked deer, and smaller hounds that tracked hares. The smaller, more compact hounds were ancestors of our modern Beagle.

The phrase “foot hound” is vital to understanding the Beagle’s broad appeal for hunters in England, the Continent, and North America. Unlike larger pack hunters like foxhounds or Harriers, the Beagle could be hunted on foot - no horse was necessary.
Those who couldn’t afford to feed and stable amount, and ladies and gentlemen too old spend a hard day thundering across the countryside on horseback, could easily keep up with a pack of Beagles on foot.

Beagles imports began arriving in America in the years after the Civil War, and their popularity among U.S. rabbit hunters was immediate.
The AKC registered its first Beagle, named Blunder, in 1885.
To this day, “beaglers” in woodsy areas of North America still swear by their breed’s great nose, musical voice, and enthusiastic approach to rabbit hunting.

Reference: www.akc.org