Different dog breeds have different lifestyles. It is necessary to select a breed whos lifestyle can suit yours. Beagles have a colorful personality. They are stubborn but intelligent. But is a beagle right for you?
Beagles are adorable and have a colorful personality, but they are not for everyone. If you are looking for a playful and energetic dog who is friendly, gentle with kids and loves to cuddle, then a Beagle is right for you. But if you want a dog who doesn’t require daily exercise and much training, then consider a different breed.
In this article, I have written this guide and also added a quiz in the end, to help you decide whether or not you should get a beagle.
Identify your Preferences
The first thing you need to do is list down all the things that you want to do with your dog. Ask yourself, what kind of dog do you need? Few things you can ask yourself are:
- Do I need a dog who is active and energetic or a dog who is inactive and requires least outdoor exercise?
- What amount of dog shedding can I tolerate?
- Will I be okay if my dog barks too much?
- Where am I planning to make my dog sleep, indoors, or outdoors?
- Should my dog be able to play rough?
- Do I need my dog to be a Guard Dog?
- Does my dog need to be gentle with children?
- Should my dog have low grooming requirements?
Once you have made a list, you will have a better understanding of what kind of features and characteristics of a dog you prefer. Now you can go through the rest of this article to find out various personality and quirks of beagles and put a tick or cross on the points of your list.
Note: While most beagles have similar characteristics, this does not mean that every beagle will have all the following things. Just like humans, every dog has a different personality.
About Beagles
In the past, beagles were used as hunting dogs. They have an incredible sense of smell, which helps them track their prey. Thomas Johnson is known as the father of modern beagles, as he was the one who started breeding beagles for hunting. Apart from hunting skills, he made sure that beagles get attractive looks too.
According to AKC, there are two variants of modern beagles, one who does not exceed 13-inch height (at the shoulder) and others who are 13 to 15 inch in height (at the shoulder). On average, a male beagle weighs 10 to 11 kg, whereas a female beagle weighs 9 to 10 kg.
Beagles are medium-sized dogs who belong to the scent hound group. So let’s have a look into various fors and againsts of owning a beagle.
Personality of Beagle
As I always say in my articles and videos, beagles have a very colorful personality, which makes them unique from other dog breeds. Let’s have a look at few of their personality traits.
Playful
Beagles are very playful. They love to play with people, kids, and even other dogs. Two things they love the most are food and their playtime. With their high energy, they just can’t get enough of playfulness. Both of my beagles get super excited every time I take out their leash to go outside.
Stubborn
Beagles are stubborn in nature. They were bred to be hunting dogs, and hunting dogs are usually independent as they lived in the wild. This makes them a little more stubborn than other dog breeds. To know more about this, you can read Why are Beagles so Stubborn?
Naughty and Mischievous
Playful and stubbornness is a very deadly combination that results in a lot of cute naughtiness. They just like to create a mess by doing things that they are not supposed too.
Cuddle Monsters
Beagles are affectionate, loyal, and loves to cuddle. On a lazy Sunday, you can expect your beagle to lie on your lap and snuggle in your blanket while you watch a movie. To know more about it, you can read Why do beagles love to cuddle.
For some reason, my younger beagle, Groot, jumps up on my bed every morning, rests his head on my neck, and takes a nap. This is the cutest thing.
A Little Hard to Train
Independent in nature + Stubborn + Naughty = Hard to Train. Beagles are really difficult to train. You will need to train them daily consistently to bring obedience. Well, it’s not like they won’t understand or forget the command; they will just ignore it. You will have to use high motivating treats and be consistent with their training.
My younger beagle, who is eight months old now, is a total brat. I think he loves to ignore my commands. However, I am sure, with regular training, he will become disciplined. BTW my older beagle (2 years old) is a gentleman, or I should say Gentledog. He is very polite and well mannered.
Temperament of Beagle
Even Tempered
Beagles are even-tempered dogs. They are neither aggressive nor apprehensive. They just have a perfect amount of temper. Even after being hunting dogs, beagles are not at all aggressive. They not too timid either; they have a soulful personality and are very friendly.
Friendly and Gentle
I think this is their best quality. Beagles are just so friendly and gentle with everyone. They are playful but not in a rough way.
I don’t know how, but both of my beagles understand very well who can play what kind of games. For instance, last week, all my family members came over to my place, including my grandpa. My grandpa loves dogs, but I was a little worried for him because I have a set of super energetic beagles. But magically, both of them behaved very well and were quite gentle with him.
Intelligent
Beagles are smart and cunningly intelligent. According to research, dogs are as smart as a two-year-old kid. Beagles are smart enough to learn around 150 commands and gestures.
You might have heard that beagles are dumb or stupid. That’s entirely false. Because they are stubborn and hard to train, people have this misconception that they are incapable of learning anything, which is not true. You can refer to this article to find out how smart are beagles.
Social Skills of Beagle
Even after being independent, beagles have fantastic social skills. They are friendly and get along with almost everyone.
Beagles are Family Dogs
Beagles love people. Bigger the family, happier a beagle will be. They don’t do well alone; they need people. They do amazingly well in large families.
Kid-Friendly
Due to their gentle nature, beagles are good with kids too. As I said before, they are playful but not rough. Beagles can be great companions for kids. However, no matter how gentle a dog is, it should not be left unattained with a baby.
I personally know a family in which a beagle and the kid have bonded so well that the dog follows the kid everywhere like a shadow and become his Guardian.
Dog Friendly
Beagles are dog friendly too. With my experience, I can say that getting a dog companion for your beagle can make things 10 times easier.
Friendly towards Strangers
Well, socialized beagles are friendly towards strangers too. Both of my beagles cheerfully greet every stranger they see. In fact, they both have become good friends with our mailman, paperboy, and a couple of pizza delivery guys.
Bad Guard Dogs
Their high social skills and friendly nature makes them worse guard dogs. They are just too friendly to defend anything. You cannot rely on them to guard you, your house, or property. Beagles are indoor dogs and not capable of guarding.
My family joke around that if intruders come to our house, our adorable beagles would most likely go and start licking their faces instead of attacking them.
Related: Are Beagles Protective of their owners?
Adaptability of Beagles
Suitable Lifestyle
Beagles are medium-sized dogs that can adapt to most lifestyles. Even though beagles enjoy being outside in the open, they are indoor dogs. The most suited place to raise a beagle is a house with a backyard. However, they can comfortably adapt to an apartment or flat lifestyle.
Weather Tolerance
Beagles have a short and double coat, which means they can neither tolerate extreme cold, not extreme heat. On a hot sunny day, you cannot keep them outside. In cold weather, you will need to make them insulated with sweaters and jackets before taking them out.
Physical Needs
High Energy Level
Beagles are energetic breeds. They love to run and chase things instead of being couch potatoes. You will need to exercise them daily and drain their energy, or else they can show destructive behavior like barking or chewing on furniture.
Exercise Needs
Beagles have high energy and are prone to obesity, which makes it necessary to exercise them daily. They have high exercise needs. You will need to provide them light as well as heavy exercise every day. The light exercise consists of long walks. And heavy exercise consists of more draining activities like running, jumping, etc.
Here is a list of 12 exercises for beagles.
Separation Anxiety
Beagles are prone to separation anxiety. They are social animals and do not do well when left alone for a more extended period. Without proper training, a beagle can show destructive behavior like excessive barking and obsessive chewing if left alone.
Grooming Requirements
Beagles are truly low maintenance when it comes to grooming. They have short fur making it easier to groom them. Their coat has thick and dense hair, which stops most of the dirt from entering their fur. I have made an ultimate guide for grooming a beagle, in which you can see what all things you need to do to groom a beagle.
Take this quiz to find out if a Beagle is right for you
[qsm quiz=2]
Final Thoughts
If you ask me, beagles are adorably complicated breed. They are like a naughty but loving child. You must read beagle as a pet to know more about their expenses, intelligence and pros, and cons. But no matter what, with proper training and patience, you can turn your beagle into a well mannered and obedient pooch.