34 Fun Facts About Beagle

The Beagle was bred primarily to hunt which animals?

Rabbit and hare: packs were followed on foot, so beagling suited hunters who could not keep up with bigger hounds on horseback.

The Beagle looks like a smaller version of which larger hound?

Foxhound: once faster foxhunting became the favoured sport, the Foxhound took precedence over the Beagle in England.

Which monarch kept 'Pocket Beagles' that stood only 8 to 9 inches at the shoulder?

Elizabeth I: but the miniature variety of Beagle she kept later fell out of favour in Britain.

Which Newbery Medal-winning novel is named after the mistreated Beagle that a boy secretly hides from its owner?

Shiloh: Marty catches the dog's cruel owner shooting a deer out of season and uses it to make him sell Shiloh.

In which Shakespeare comedy does Sir Toby Belch call a woman a beagle true bred?

Twelfth Night: he says it of Maria, who forges a love letter to fool the steward Malvolio.

Which clergyman's Essex pack is believed to be the basis of the modern Beagle breed?

Reverend Phillip Honeywood: he bred his hounds for hunting ability, not for looks.

In Star Trek: Enterprise, which captain keeps a pet Beagle named Porthos aboard ship?

Jonathan Archer: Porthos is male, but two female Beagles played him for most of the show's run.

Beagles are a chondrodystrophic breed, which makes them prone to which spinal problem?

Slipped discs: intervertebral disc disease can cause pain and even paralysis.

Which eye condition, common in Beagles, happens when the gland of the third eyelid slips out of place?

Cherry eye: the bulging gland is usually not painful, but most cases need surgery to correct it.

A Beagle named Elvis was trained to sniff out pregnancy in which zoo animals?

Polar bears: hormone tests and ultrasound can't reliably show whether one is pregnant, so Elvis sniffed their droppings instead.

When the Beagle became the American Kennel Club's most registered breed in 1953, which breed did it displace?

Cocker Spaniel: months earlier, Richard Nixon had made a Cocker named Checkers famous by vowing to keep him in a TV speech.

Which neurological disorder are Beagles more prone to than many other breeds?

Epilepsy: its seizures can often be controlled with medication.

Which hormone disorder, common in Beagles, can cause weight gain and a dry, coarse coat even without extra food?

Hypothyroidism: a daily hormone medication, given for the rest of the dog's life, keeps it under control.

The word 'beagle' may derive from the French 'begueule', meaning what?

Gape throat: the French word also meant a loudmouth, perhaps a nod to the hound's voice, though the word's origin is uncertain.

The Kerry Beagle of Ireland is unlike the modern Beagle in what way?

The Kerry Beagle is much taller, standing 22 to 24 inches against the Beagle's 13 to 16, and was originally used for hunting stags.

What is the white tip on a Beagle's tail called?

The white tip, known as the 'flag', was bred for on purpose so the tail stays visible above cover when the dog's head is down on a scent.

Tricolour Beagle puppies, whatever their adult coat, are almost always born in which two colours?

Black and white: the tan comes in only as the puppy matures, fading into the black.

Which very light tan Beagle colour shares its name with a citrus fruit?

Lemon is the very light tan seen on lemon-and-white Beagles; two-colour Beagles always have a white base, tan and white is the commonest, and liver is barred by some standards.

What are the two Beagle varieties recognised by the American Kennel Club?

13-inch and 15-inch: any hound over 15 inches is disqualified, while the UK standard allows up to 16, so British Beagles can run bigger.

What is the popular Beagle-Pug crossbreed called?

The Puggle is the Beagle–Pug cross; some are calmer than a Beagle, like the Pug parent, but many are highly excitable and need vigorous exercise.

Several breed standards describe the Beagle's temperament with which single word?

Merry: that good humour, and their gentleness with children, helped make Beagles popular family pets.

When a Beagle catches a scent and gives voice, hunters say it is doing which of these?

A Beagle on a scent is said to be baying; hunters also call the same behaviour 'speaking', 'giving tongue' or 'opening'.

Beagles that sound like they're choking but are just pulling air in through mouth and nose are doing what?

Reverse sneezing: it can sound alarming, but its exact cause is unknown and it is not known to be harmful.

A recessive ADAMTS10 gene mutation causes which inherited eye disease in Beagles?

Glaucoma: pressure builds inside the eye, and left untreated it can lead to vision loss and blindness.

Which act outlawed the pursuit of hares with Beagles in England and Wales?

The Hunting Act 2004 banned hunting hares with dogs in England and Wales from 2005; Scotland had banned it two years earlier, and Beagles may still pursue rabbits, which the act exempts, with a landowner's permission.

Who directs and controls the hounds of a traditional Beagle pack?

The Huntsman: the whippers-in back him up by turning straying hounds back to the pack.

Which of these public schools has long kept its own pack of Beagles?

Eton College has kept a Beagle pack, the Eton College Hunt, since the 19th century; Marlborough, Radley, the Royal Agricultural University and Christ Church, Oxford, have also kept packs.

Which US state was the first to pass a 'Beagle Freedom' law requiring lab dogs and cats be offered for adoption?

Minnesota passed the first 'Beagle Freedom' law in 2014, pushed by the Beagle Freedom Project, which rehomes former laboratory Beagles; other states later adopted similar laws.

Snoopy, the cartoon Beagle of Peanuts, belongs to which character?

Charlie Brown: for all his loyalty, Snoopy never calls his owner by name, only 'the round-headed kid'.

Gromit, the silent Beagle of British animation, is the best friend of which cheese-loving inventor?

Wallace, the Lancashire inventor with a passion for Wensleydale cheese, is Gromit's owner in Nick Park's Aardman films, beginning with A Grand Day Out in 1989.

Which US president was photographed lifting his Beagles, Him and Her, by their ears?

Lyndon B. Johnson: photographs of him doing it caused an outcry among dog lovers.

HMS Beagle is famous for carrying which naturalist around the world?

Charles Darwin: he had studied at Cambridge to become a country parson, but in no rush to take holy orders, he joined the voyage.

A 1985 study by Ben and Lynette Hart gave the Beagle the highest rating for which trait?

It shared the top excitability score with the Yorkshire Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Westie and Fox Terrier.

Because they are pack animals, Beagles are especially prone to which behaviour problem?

Separation anxiety: a lonely Beagle may bark, howl or destroy things, so it is best not left alone for more than a few hours.