So you are planning to get a beagle? Or trying to find if a beagle is an appropriate choice for your lifestyle or not? I will give you a quick answer: If you are looking for a relatively small dog, and a cuddle-monster, then look no further, a beagle is a perfect breed. Still, confused? No worries, here are 14 qualities of the beagle that will make you want one.
Cuddle Monsters
If you are someone like me who would love to cuddle their pets, then my friend, you are capable of keeping your beagle happy. Beagles love to cuddle. These dogs like to be around humans, sleep on our laps, and lick our faces. They are affectionate and endearing towards all humans, and there is a reason behind it. In fact, beagles make a great therapy dog.
Beagles are scent hounds. In the past, beagles and humans together used to hunt other small animals. They use to hunt, eat, and sleep together. During cold winters, early humans use to sleep close to their pets for warmth. That’s the reason why beagles are so socially comfortable with us now.
It is quite reasonable to find your beagle snuggling you on your bed, under the blanket every morning. I have written an entire article about why beagles like to cuddle, check it out for more info.
Relatively small in size
There are numerous reasons to prefer a medium-sized breed like a beagle. They are easy to handle, excellent for cuddling, and convenient for traveling. For my family and me, beagles are of perfect size. They are not too big, and high maintenance like labs, and they are not too small to play outdoors. Beagle is an ideal addition to an apartment lifestyle.
Loyal
If by Loyal you mean showing constant support and allegiance, then Beagles could be used as a synonym. No matter what, your beagle will always be there for you.
When I am home, my 3-year-old beagle doesn’t let me get out of his sight even for a minute. He follows me everywhere, even in the toilet. I wanna play outside, he will be ready and standing right near the door, I wanna watch a movie he will snuggle inside my blanket, I am feeling low he won’t stop licking me until I smile. Sometimes I wonder what good I could’ve done to get blessed with such a fantastic pet.
Pack Animals
Beagles are pack animals; they have always been a pack animal. Being in the pack has taught then to socialize. Research says that, to some extent, beagles are capable of understanding human emotions. I feel its 100% true. My beagle somehow knows when one of my family members or I am sad. I will share a personal instance. Last year, I got a call at 3 a.m., someone close to me had died in a car accident. I didn’t react much on the phone. My beagle jumped up on the bed and cuddled me. He is not allowed to get on my bed at night, and he has never broken this rule, except for that night.
Note: Beagles don’t handle loneliness that well. They quickly get separation anxiety. So if you are someone who lives alone then think twice. Although, if you still want a beagle, then there are various things you can do to tackle your pooch’s anxiety. You can train your beagle to live alone. You can hire a dog walker who could take your dog for a long walk in the middle of the day, or ask your neighbors to look after him.
Kid-friendly
Beagles are considered to be one of the most family-friendly breeds because of their social demeanor. More importantly, they are great with small kids. An ideal kid-friendly dog should be playful as well as calm in nature, and those two are the top most beagle qualities. A beagle and a kid make a fantastic pair.
Beagle and Kid: I have heard stories where a beagle bonded so well with the kid that he became the kid’s guardian. The beagle would follow the kid everywhere.
Ruth Johnson (parent of two kids and a beagle): My youngest kid who is 4 years old, snuggles and sleeps with my beagle. Ask him who is your best friend, and he would reply ‘Oreo’ (my beagle). They play together all the time. It’s just almost unbelievable how much my beagle looks after my kid.
Beagle and Toddler: Toddlers are too small to play with a dog, in fact, any animal. This doesn’t mean that you cannot have a dog in your house, just set some limits. Beagles are animals after all, and we cannot say how a beagle would react to something that the baby does. In that case, I would recommend getting a crate and creating a safe and comfortable place for your beagle where he can rest. And take him out for daily walks and exercise.
Great with other animals
Beagles are affectionate and playful dogs. They prefer being in a company and are not at all territorial or defensive. They have been pack dogs forever. Unlike other dogs, Beagles don’t see animals as a threat instead treat them as companions.
Beagle with another beagle: Beagle with another beagle is the best combination. They both will run behind each other, roll around and snuggle each other to sleep. I have two beagles, and they both together are the cutest thing in this world.
Beagles with other dog breeds: Beagles think that everyone is their best friend, other beagles, humans, other dogs. Most beagles are comfortable with every other dog, just make sure that the other dog is comfortable with the beagle.
Beagle with a cat: Beagle and a cat have opposite personalities. Beagles being an energetic breed loves to play a game that involves running, chasing, and jumping, whereas cats enjoy most of their time alone. You will need to socialize your beagle with the cat. You will, of course, have to train your pooch to know his boundaries with the cat. And slowly and gradually train both of them to get along with each other.
Adorable
Beagles are soulful. Look into their eyes, and you would see their pure souls. While I am writing this article, one of my beagles is sitting next to me, looking right at me, trying to catch a glance. Tell me that’s not adorable. Being a parent of two gorgeous beagles, I will give you three reasons why I think beagles are the most adorable creature on this planet:
They need you all the time: Beagles need their owner all the time, LITERALLY all the time. Beagles get so attached to their owners that if not trained, they would get separation anxiety quite easily.
They act stupid but are so intelligent: Beagles do silly things which are just adorable to look at. But they are smart enough to open the door of a refrigerator. Yeah, you heard it right, we had to put a child lock on our fridge.
They are just Cute: Age doesn’t stop beagles from being cute. They are just pure cute at every point in time.
Extremely Intelligent
My older beagle, Yoda, who is four years old now, learned to open our refrigerator door when he was just a year old. And somehow that mischievous fellow taught our younger beagle, Groot (4 months old), to do the same.
People might say that beagles are not that smart when it comes to commands. Its true, beagles don’t always follow commands. It’s not because they are dumb or something, its because they are just too intelligent to obey a command. Beagles are free-minded and independent dogs. You can learn through this article to know how smart are beagles and test your beagle’s intelligence.
Always Happy
Beagles are just always happy when they are around humans. He would wanna play with you all the time. Its been four years and I haven’t seen my pooch lazy. Whenever I give him a call, he is just there to play. Whenever I sit next to him, he just wants to cuddle me and lick me.
Low maintenance
Beagles are extremely low maintenance.
- They shred less
- Needs bath once in 2 months.
- Taking them to a groomer is not necessary. You can do it yourself.
For grooming a beagle, the three essential things you would need to do are Shampoo bath, cut nails, and clean ear wax.
Needy yet independent
Beagles are needy; they need love and attention from their owners. But at the same time, they are wholly independent. If you are busy doing something, your pooch will keep himself entertained.
You can track a trail with a beagle
Beagles are hound dogs, and they have an amazing sense of smell. My beagles could smell trets from miles away. The moment I open the jar with his treats, he would come running. One fantastic activity you can do with the beagle is tracking a trail. With little efforts, you can train your beagle to catch a smell of a thing or a person and find its source, sounds cool, right?
Not just this, but there are many such cool tricks you can teach your beagle. You can go these 12 cool tricks to teach your beagle.
Beagles can sing with you
Beagles are very vocal about their feelings. You can use this quality of theirs to do something crazy cool. You can train your beagle to sing with you on your command. Groot is too young, but Yoda, the elder beagle, would sing with me, and its a charm. When I am bored, I would say ‘Yoda, let’s sing together,’ and we would start singing together. We both are horrible singers, but together we feel we can beat Ed Sheeran.
Beagles are pure entertainment
Beagles are just fun to be with. A beagle will never let you get bored. They are always ready to play. You can just observe your beagle, you will be smiling most of the time. They are just adorable to look at.