Dog Log Cafe- Beagle Facts

What do President Lyndon Johnson and Charles Darwin have in common with termites and Underdog? In some way they all reference the beloved Beagle. President Johnson was a supporter of the breed and had several while in the White House. He was sometimes pictured picking them up by their ears. (Please don't do this) The ship that Darwin sailed on while conducting his research and writing his "Origin Of The Species" was the HMS Beagle.

The Beagle is an ancient breed and has been traced as far back as the fifth century B.C in ancient Greece. The modern Beagle was bred to be a hunter- specifically to hunt rabbits and most often they hunted as part of a pack. In fact, in England packs could be as large as 50 to 70 Beagles. Today Beagles are employed by the US Department of Agriculture as part of the Beagle Brigade. These dogs are employed in airports and are used to sniff out contraband foods being smuggled into the country. They are also used to detect termites and to locate bed bug infestations.

Beagles are scent hounds and their ability is almost as high as the Bloodhounds. Beagles are able to make three distinct sounds. The first is a regular bark like most breeds. Then there is the baying sound produced when they are on the hunt. This sound is used to alert the other dogs as well as the humans taking part in the hunt. The third noise is best described as a howl.

Beagles are highly food motivated and they gain weight easily. Care should be taken in managing their food intake. Overweight
or obese dogs may suffer the same health problems as humans.

In addition to Underdog, both Snoopy from the Peanuts Comic strip and Odie from Garfield are Beagles.