Compact, merry scent hound with sturdy build, distinctive tri-color or bi-color coat pattern, and cheerful disposition. Originally bred for hunting hare in packs with a distinctive baying voice.
The modern Beagle was developed in Great Britain around the 1830s from various English hounds. Bred as 'foot hounds' for hare hunting, with hunters following on foot rather than horseback.
Males typically stand 33-41 cm at the shoulder and females 33-38 cm.
“A merry hound whose essential function is to hunt, primarily hare, by following a scent. Bold, with great activity, stamina and determination. Alert, intelligent and of even temperament. Amiable and alert, showing no aggression or timidity”
Quoted from FCI standard n°161. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; PubMed / An ADAMTSL2 founder mutation causes Musladin-Lueke Syndrome, a heritable disorder of beagle dogs. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
FCI standard · Beagle
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Short, dense and weatherproof
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Base colour
Tricolour (black, tan and white)
Shortened from FCI standard n°161 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Quoted from FCI standard n°161. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Beagle in general; any individual animal can differ.
Known hereditary risks for the Beagle breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
4 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)A raised risk of premature disc degeneration from the same FGF4 retrogene insertion (CDDY) implicated in Dachshunds; testing-lab data show it at very high frequency in Beagles (allele frequency around 95%), and referral case series list Beagles among the breeds commonly presenting with IVDD.
What to ask for
A CDDY/IVDD-risk DNA test on both parents
A build-up of pressure inside the eye that progressively and irreversibly damages the optic nerve, leading to blindness. Documented in the Beagle via mutations in ADAMTS10, alongside the Norwegian Elkhound.
What to ask for
A DNA test for the ADAMTS10 mutation on both parents, plus a current ACVO eye exam
A mild-to-moderate inherited bleeding disorder from low levels of a blood-clotting protein; many affected dogs show no signs until surgery or injury causes prolonged bleeding. First identified in research Beagle colonies.
What to ask for
A DNA test for the F7 gene mutation on both parents
An inherited connective-tissue disorder (formerly called Chinese Beagle syndrome) causing extensive fibrosis of the skin and joints, stiff gait and contractures that restrict normal movement.
What to ask for
A DNA test for the ADAMTSL2 mutation on both parents
Median survival 12,5 years
95% confidence interval 12,3–12,7 years, from 1552 recorded deaths among 4664 dogs
Mortality hazard 0.95 (0.91, 1) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12,0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584.734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
This is where Beagle owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
No Beagle breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.
