The History Of Beagles
(“Beagles” by William Darton, ca 1820)
The early ancestry of the beagle is clouded at best, or simply lost to the annals of history at worst; which seems to be the case with a lot of early hounds. It should be noted that part of this confusion must arise from the labeling of early hounds as beagles. There are stories of dogs of similar size being used for tracking and hunting in Greece during the 5th century BCE. These unnamed dogs are considered to be the early ancestors of the first beagles.
Pocket Beagles:
Pocket Beagles were small hound dogs that were roughly 8 or 9 inches in height; they were referred to as ‘Pocket Beagles’ because they could fit into the pocket of a hunter. By the mid-18th century with the popularization of hunting there was a shift towards larger dogs as trail companions. By 1901 this line of toy beagles had become extinct.
The 18th century saw the development of two hound breeds, The Southern Hound and the North County Beagle. As fox-hunting increased in popularity these breeds were crossed with larger dogs such as the Stag Hound to create the Fox Hound.
During the year of 1830 the Reverend Phillip Honeywood of Great Britain put in place a breading program that is believed to be the basis of the modern Beagle.
As a result the 1840’s saw the development of the standard Beagle and its four sub types ; the Medium Beagle, The Dwarf/Lapdog Beagle, the Fox Beagle and the rough coated Terrier Beagle.
The Beagles Voyage to the New World:
During the early part of the 1870’s General Richard Rowett was one of the first people to bring Beagles over from England to create a quality bloodline. The General’s Beagles are said to have been the models for the first American Standard Beagles, leading to the breed being recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1884.
Origin of the Name:
It has been theorized that the word “Beagle” may be derived from the from word “begeule” is derived from “bayer” which means “open wide” and “gueule” which means “mouth”. It may also have come from the Gaelic word “beeg” which means “little”, or from the German word “begele” which means to scold. It is also possible that the word Beagle originated from the French word “beugler” which means “to bellow”.