Breed Standard

NZKC Extract

Hounds in NZ

Before You Get a Beagle

Vaccinations / Worming

Fencing

Feeding

Exercise

Toilet Training

Grooming

Beagles - a brief overview
(Opinions contained on this page are the views are our personal views only)

In this overview we hope to tell you a little about Beagles and to give you some care instructions for a beagle. This will be by no means comprehensive and we would advise you to read, talk to your vet and to other experienced dog owners should you have or be thinking of getting a beagle. If you are intending to purchase a pup or re-home an adult dog we would urge you to buy a good book on dog care, and on Beagles as well. Joining a Beagle club, or other Dog clubs, and participating in events are further ways of gaining more information about your breed and the care and handling of dogs in general.

Beagles are essentially a pack animal (in the past they would have lived with several other dogs in a pack), if you have no other dogs do remember that they will see you as their "pack". For this reason we do not recommend Beagles as a totally outside dog - they will want to be with you (their pack) whenever and however they can, this includes inside when you're cooking, watching T.V., doing the housework etc. They can be kennelled outside to sleep or when you are away from home but when you are at home they should be allowed to be where you are.

If you have never had a Beagle before - beware! They are cute, smart, affectionate, eternally hungry, easy to spoil and can get in to a lot of mischief!! Contrary to what many will say, they are an intelligent dog, and we recommend that all new owners, or those that have not done dog obedience before, take their new Beagle and themselves to either a puppy socialisation class and/or obedience class. At both these types of classes you should get good sound advice on bringing up your beagle and how to train it. Ask your vet for a recommendation (most have puppy socialisation classes of some sort) or contact your local beagle club and ask them to recommend a club. Stay clear of any club/person who says "Oh Beagles - you can't train them" obviously they will not take you, your pup or their training seriously enough to be of any benefit to you.

Your Beagle is a lifetime commitment - the lifetime of a beagle is, on average, between 11 and 14 years. We would like to believe that you would love and care for your dog totally during its lifetime. However, if at any time you find your beagle has become a problem in some way or requires re-homing, we would urge you to contact (where feasible) the person you purchased the pup off or a beagle or general dog club or a reputable dog rescue centre. As breeders we would hope that our puppy owners would contact us in the first instance but we know this does not always happen.

Beagles are a Hunting Hound, a pack hound i.e. they are often kept, or were kept in "packs", and are by type, a Scent Hound. This means that they track their quarry by smell. They were initially bred to hunt Hare, and in most countries they also hunt Rabbit. They can successfully hunt and kill Possum as well. They were bred for scenting ability, staying power both in the physical sense and also in the sense of being able to keep to a trail, good voice, and size. They are hunted on foot, by that we mean that, when they hunt as a pack, the huntsmaster and followers follow on foot behind them, unlike Foxhounds and Harrier Hounds which are hunted on horseback. They are quite an old breed and any good Beagle book will go into their origins in detail. In New Zealand Beagles are kept as pets, show dogs, obedience dogs, MAF Custom dogs, and there are also a couple of dedicated hunt packs existing in the North Island.

There are many things as a Beagle owner that you can do with your pet and we would encourage you to join a local Beagle Club and find out what activities you can get involved in and what suits you best.