Beaglekennel
"It's
a jewel of a dog"
The friendly bunch for show and hunt
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Beaglekennel "It's
a jewel of a dog"
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History and origine. ( info page )
The origine Although
the Beagle is generally regarded as a British breed its origin,
however obscure,
is almost certain to be found outside the British Isles. In the
opinion of
those who have researched the subject the Beagle has evolved from
small hounds
used for hunting small game in southern Europe, as opposed to the
larger sight-hound
used for hunting larger and faster quarry.
Evidence
to this effect comes from the Greek author Xenophon born about
433BC who
was an enthusiastic follower of hunting and wrote a "Treatise
on Hunting" in which
he refers to the small hounds which hunt hare and rabbit on foot.
The method
of hunting used then differs from that today in that the hounds
were used to
drive the game into nets laid out by the huntsmen. Illustrations
on pottery of that period show two types of hounds: the small ones
with thick muzzles and long ears, and the much longer legged hound with slim more pointed
muzzles and shorter ears.
The
development of the Beagle is exclusive to this country, starting
with the Romans
who acquired the small Greek hounds and brought them to this
country for trading
and hunting. The Saxons were known to have used them for hunting
hare and
exempted the from the Forest Laws drawn up by King Canute in 1016.
Whether or
not there were any hare hunting hounds native to Britain at this
time is not certain,
but Capt. Otho Paget, described as the "dean of all Beaglers"
wrote: "There were, however, in England packs of hounds
before the time of the Romans and
it is on record that Pwyll, Prince of Wales, a contemporary of
King Arthur, had a special breed of white hounds of great
excellence." The Normans who were keen
hunters brought over some larger
hounds, probably of Harrier size. In the 14th
century Chaucer mentions in his Canterbury Tales the "Small
Houndes" belonging
to the Prioress, and in the 15th century the name Beagle was used
for the
first time by several writers. In Tudor times, Queen Elizabeth 1st
had a pack of "Singing Beagles", a name inspired by
their cry which is still used today.
These Beagles were also supposed to have been small enough to fit
inside a
lady's gauntlet. Another Royal reference came from James 1st who
referred to his wife as his "Deare littel Beagle",
apparently as a term of affection!
No
names appear to have been given by the Greeks, Romans, Saxons or
Normans to their
small hunting hounds. In the 11th century the name Kennetty was
used to refer
to hounds of similar size to the Beagle; Rache was also used at
about the same
time but this was thought to refer to the larger hounds of Harrier
size.
Hayreies
and Hayrers were names given in the 15th century for harrying
game, those
names becoming Harrier sometime during the next century. The first
recorded
use of the name Beagle appears to be about 1475 in "The
Squire of Low Degree" in which it is written: "With
theyr Beagles in that place and
seven score raches at his rechase."
The
origin of the name is obscure but various opinions have been
expressed. Some believe
it to be derived from the Old English "Beagle"; others
prefer the Old French
"Beigh" or the Celtic "Beag" all of which mean
small. Another opinion is that Beagle is the Anglicised version of
the French word Begueule meaning "gaping throat", a
reference to the Beagle's unique voice. During
the next few centuries the role of the Beagle as a hunting hound
changed very little. They were kept in packs all over the country
by the aristocracy, some colleges maintained packs and a few were
kept in private packs by landed gentry
but rarely, if ever, were they kept as pets. The Master of each
pack had his own idea on the type and size desirable, often
dictated by the type of country
to be hunted, and this is true today to a lesser degree. But in
the 18th &
19th centuries this difference of opinion led to many variations
in type from the
short, cobby little hounds, short in muzzle with heavy dewlaps to
those with lighter
boned legs and ungainly bodies. Youatt wrote about these
differences in the
19th century: "They were curiously distinguished by the names
of "deep flewed"
or "shallow flewed" in proportion as the had the
depending upper lip of the Southern, or the sharper muzzle and more contracted lip of the
Northern dogs.
The shallow flewed were the swiftest and the deep flewed the
stoutest and surest."
During
the middle of the 19th century the breed was suffering from
neglect and was
in danger of losing its distinctive characteristics. at the same
time a few Masters
controversially started to exhibit their hounds at hound shows and
later at
beauty shows where the variety of size and type became more
apparent. This created
an opinion that the Beagle was in danger of becoming a miniature Foxhound
with consequent loss of type. To counteract this, steps were taken
to organise
the breed's activities by the formation of
two separate bodies: The Beagle
Club was formed in 1890 to promote the breed for sporting purposes
and for
exhibition under the auspices of the Kennel Club; a year later the
Association
of Masters of Harriers and Beagles took on the responsibility of co-ordinating
the activities of the hunting packs.
The
only other country to use Beagles for hunting during this period
was the USA where
General Rowlett of Illinois had imported some pack hounds from
Britain in the
1860s. Their packs were regulated by the National Beagle Club of
America formed
in 1887 to organise field trials of hounds engaged in hunting
cotton tail rabbits.
As
the 20th century progressed hunting activities started to decline
with many packs
being disbanded or merging; private packs almost entirely
disappeared because
they became so expensive to maintain. at the end of the century political
pressure was threatening the very future of all hunting with dogs
in Britain.
However the newer activities flourished. Until the Second World
War a small
but constant number of Beagles were exhibited at KC shows all over
the in
the 1950s. In 1950, 64 Beagles were registered at the Kennel Club;
in 1955 that had risen to 200 and in 1960 an amazing 1519 were
registered. The
annual registrations
kept rising to a peak of 3979 in 1969. This big change brought with
it a large increase in show entries from barely 40 per
Championship Show in the
early 1950s to to more than 120 today, with entries at the Beagle
Club's annual Ch. Show regularly exceeding 200 hounds. Eight more breed clubs
were formed
as more and more people found the Beagle to be an excellent
domestic pet as
well as a show dog.
The
Beagle's acute sense of smell has made it a big success in other
roles such as
sniffing out banned substances at airports and finding traces of
fire-raising substances
in cases of suspected arson. Strangely, none of these activities
are found
in Britain, but in overseas countries such as Australia, New
Zealand, South
Africa and the USA. As in most European countries, most have
developed their
hounds on British lines but in the USA two types of small Beagles
have been developed, under 13" and 13-15" in height.
One
very undesirable role emerged during the latter part of the 20th
century when
the desirable qualities of size , sociability, temperament and
robust health
of the Beagle were exploited by scientists in experimentation on a
wide range
of products from cigarettes to sex pills. Tragically, thousands of
Beagles have
been bred and used for this purpose but popular opinion is
starting to cause
a reduction in the number of experiments involving dogs.
So,
the beginning of the first century in a new millennium sees an
attractive little
hound in essence differing little from its predecessors of some
2500 years ago. It is still used to hunt hare, additionally it is valued by
breeders for exhibition; it performs valuable public service and it is popular
as a domestic
pet. Long may its success continue!
The beagle history INTRODUCING
THE BEAGLE. The
real family friend.......... The
Beagle's happy, affectionate nature and robust character makes it
an ideal family
friend..........
The
Beagle's happy, affectionate nature and robust character makes it
an idealily pet. They are extremely intelligent and keen to please.
Their hunting heritage gives them the quality of persistence and
the ability to work things out for themselves. Their rather 'happy
go lucky' outlook makes them great companions for all the family
both human and animal alike. Clean living.......... Being
only 13-16" at the shoulder, the Beagle is a great little
athlete, masses of stamina and with energy to spare. They love
plenty of exercise and, being short coated, they are easy to look
after, whatever the weather. A simple rub down with a dry towel
and they are clean again, even after the muddiest of walks. Their
dense, weatherproof coats. clean legs and small, compact feet
makes them a blessing in any household! Beagles never need to be
clipped and their strong, healthy constitution makes them an ideal
choice for anyone looking for a sporting breed with real character.
User
friendly.........Beagles
enjoy eating and are extremely 'good doers', so it's far more a
case of being strict and avoiding tit-bits between meals or over
feeding than having to worry about trying to find something they
will deign to eat. An adult beagle only needs one meal a day, with
usually a biscuit in the evening to go to bed with. All-round
performer.........The beagle's many attributes make it a perfect
companion - they are thinkers and doers and really enjoy joining
in with all the action. They are good with children and an ideal
size for all the family to manage. Their fun loving attitude
ensures that everyone enjoys themselves. A
real hound.........The Beagle is one of the smaller hounds, an
ancient breed in Britain, he has proved a joy to the sportsman for
hundreds of years. In the opinion of those who have researched the
subject the Beagle has evolved from small hounds used for hunting
small game in Southern Europe. Beagles were first mentioned by
name in writings published in 1475. Chaucer called them the 'smale
houndes' in his Canterbury Tales. Followed on foot and on
horseback they have been hunted in packs after hare from time
immemorial, and right up to the present. Queen Elizabeth I kept a
pack, and so did George IV. The
scenting prowess of the beagle is legendary and today they are
helping custom
officers in the U.S.A. and Australia 'sniff out' illegal drugs at
airports. They are also being used in the U.S.A. to detect arson.
all of the hundreds of dog shows held all over this country
annually. The Beagle Club extends a warm welcome to the new beagle
owner.
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