Are you looking for a Beagle puppy? But you don’t know what to look out for? What is the origin of a puppy and how do you recognize a healthy pup? And what about puppy mills?! One thing we can already tell you: Buy your puppy with confidence, or don’t buy it at all! Plan a visit to a Ranch and always ask to see the mother dog – to ensure your future Beagle puppy comes from a Belgian breeder.
We, at Woefkesranch, work exclusively with our own Beagles. Therefore, we don’t work with parent animals from other breeders, but have a population of around 15 different adult females. This ensures that all our puppies are born here, in our Belgian, recognized breeding farm, but also to focus on health and to prevent inbreeding.
Are you visiting a puppy at our Ranch? You won’t be asked if you want to see the mother, the mother will just be shown to you. Because if you’re looking for a Beagle puppy, we only want to assist you and your family when there is mutual trust.
If you’re planning to visit, even if it’s non-binding, please get in touch with us and we’re looking forward to seeing you soon to introduce you to our Ranch and its residents. You can always view our available Beagle puppies on our website. For waiting lists, it’s best to give us a call.
The character of a Beagle
“Beagles are stubborn dogs, can’t be left alone, and are headstrong.” That’s what you often read on the internet. Not entirely untrue, but often greatly exaggerated.
Beagles can really latch onto something. They’re playing with a ball and you want to call them to order. That’s often harder because this breed really focuses on what it’s doing (the ball) and ignores what’s going on around them. The same applies in both directions. If you have your Beagle’s attention, he can really focus. Call it determination, which sounds much nicer than ‘stubborn’, and with training, it’s also a much more accurate description.
For us, a Beagle is one of our easiest breed dogs. Considering it’s a pack dog and has a social nature. You also don’t run much risk with the Beagle breed when it comes to children.
The Beagle is a very playful breed, learns its basics quite easily, has a low risk of health problems, and loves a good walk.
The great advantage is that a Beagle is not a one-person dog. He will not look up to just one person, but will do so to several. This applies both in a group of other dogs and in a family. It’s this very aspect that, in our view, makes them a breed suitable for virtually all families.
The appearance of a Beagle
Beagles are born in two colors. But after a few days, the third color already emerges. Their color is described as ‘Tricolor’ in terminology.
When a Beagle puppy is born, only the black and white colors are present, but very quickly a very small portion of the black hairs turn to a browner shade. As a Beagle gets older, more black changes to brown. What is white, stays white.
The size depends on both gender and their bloodline (= lineage). For instance, males from the same litter are often one to two centimeters taller than a female, and they usually also weigh a bit more. They are somewhat more robustly built.
- Female (Bitch): 12 kg to 15 kg – approx. 38 cm (height at the withers)
- Male (Dog): 14 kg to 17 kg – approx. 40 cm (height at the withers)
A Beagle has drooping ears, like many types of hunting dogs. This means that you must regularly check the ears, cleaning is only necessary when they are dirty. They have a ‘medium skull shape’, which offers advantages for general breathing (flat noses breathe much more difficultly). All these elements make the Beagle a breed with not too much chance of medical conditions. However, you should always be alert for overweight.
An adult Beagle has a beautiful ‘swordtail’ covered in short bristle hair. Dogs of this breed experience a shedding period twice a year. During this time, they lose part of their coat to replace it with another, more suitable down for the time of year. This primarily happens during the transition from winter to spring and summer to fall. Dogs that usually live outdoors will shed more because the temperature fluctuations are also greater. Brushing is slightly recommended, especially during the shedding period. Washing, on the other hand, is not necessary, even discouraged.
Beagle Health
Frequency of vet visits: Only 1X/year (annual vaccination)
Whether a Beagle is healthy or not is not always something you can know in advance. Therefore, once again: Buy a dog in confidence and maintain good contact with your breeder. When problems arise with a dog, it’s best to always notify the breeder. This information can be very important for their breeding programs, AND a good breeder can also provide more information about their dogs than any other veterinarian can. For that reason, we offer a 24/7 service where someone is always available to all owners.
Health can, in a nutshell, be divided into two compartments. On the one hand, you have general health, the absence or presence of viruses. And on the other hand, we look at the genetic part. What the puppy has inherited from both his mother and his father (DNA, character, temperament, appearance, and other genetics)
In both cases, the breeder has some responsibility. General health is promoted by his environment (hygiene of the housing) and nutrition (both mother’s milk and high-quality food). Until the puppy moves to his ‘Golden basket’, this is the breeder’s responsibility.
The genetics come from both the mother, father, and ancestors. Here too, we as breeders bear responsibility. For example: A female dog with Patella Luxation or a male dog with Hip Dysplasia is excluded from our breeding programs.
That doesn’t mean that your dog can’t get HD or PL if both of its parents are free of it, but it does mean that the chances are drastically reduced. The environment after weaning (leaving the mother) is also very important. A dog can still develop bone problems due to its growth, which can be affected by neutering/spaying at too young an age. It could even be that the use of various products against fleas/ticks/pests leads to the development of epilepsy. This is then not considered a genetic but a developed problem. The breeder, in our view at least, has the responsibility to warn their potential customers about the risks associated with this.
A good breeder not only shares information about a Beagle and its character, but goes further. A good breeder knows their breeding animals, provides information about the health of their puppies, and remains accessible to their clients to assist them in the future.
When you visit a Beagle kennel where they tell you to get in touch with your vet if you have a problem, how professional do you rate that breeder?
How much does a Beagle puppy cost?
The cost for a Beagle puppy varies from breeder to breeder. Rarely is there a difference in price between a male and a female. A typical price for a Beagle is between € 1000 and € 1500.
Just because another breeder has less demand for a puppy, you shouldn’t be so quick to change location. After all, a dog’s health is priceless. A single vet bill can sometimes make up the difference.
The price of a Beagle is determined by several different factors with us. But it should not be determined by health. Whether a dog costs one euro or 10,000 euros, health must be guaranteed at all times.
Age is the biggest factor why a certain breeder would lower their price. When a breeder gets a visitor, each of their puppies should have an equal chance of being ‘chosen’. And price is indeed a decisive factor for many.
In addition, you often come across dogs at ridiculously low prices, with savings of up to 50%. Often, it’s not just older ‘pups’, they usually also originate from Eastern Europe, so you can’t visit their mother.
And finally, beauty. We too surf the web, and see what ‘competition’ sometimes offers as a ‘Beagle’. The breed purity/breed standard is sometimes really hard to find.
Finding a good Beagle kennel, in Belgium
You can find beagles everywhere, at different prices. It’s good to compare prices, but don’t just blindly focus on the price. Here are some tips for finding a good breeder:
- Have Confidence: When you’re talking to a breeder, think about whether you’d still want to keep in touch with that person if necessary. Who are you going to contact when a problem arises? Would you not contact the person in question, but immediately put your dog under the care of a vet? It seems to us that you’ve made a wrong choice.
- Visit the Mother Animals: Not seeing any mother animals? Then your dog comes from a different breeder. You’re not at a breeder’s but at a trader’s. So, you don’t know where your dog came from and will always be left with questions.
- Ask your questions: Don’t be afraid to ask one question too many, or to ask a ‘stupid’ question. A passionate breeder loves to talk about his profession. If he doesn’t answer your questions beforehand, he certainly won’t do it afterwards.
- Pay Attention to the Dogs: Do you notice anything abnormal, anything that makes you have doubts? Doubts = problems. A healthy puppy has a shiny coat and is playful. Although that playfulness sometimes requires a bit of confidence first.
- Don’t get a puppy just for the sake of getting a puppy: Fall in love with a puppy, put yourself aside for a moment, and get to know a puppy. Only choose a puppy when you feel a connection. Don’t get a puppy just because you’re on vacation. If necessary, just put yourself on a waiting list.
- Let op de omgeving: Een propere huisvesting van de honden is nefast. Vraag gerust ook waar de ouderdieren verblijven wanneer ze geen pups hebben.
The minimum age to buy a dog is eight weeks for Belgian puppies. If you wish to bring a dog over from another country, it needs to be at least fifteen weeks old and have a Rabies vaccination. Hence, for socializing and training a Beagle, it is most advantageous to get a puppy that is around the minimum age and of Belgian origin.
It’s a noble act to want to adopt a Beagle from a shelter, but bear in mind that these are often dogs that come with a manual. We advise only considering this if you have a lot of experience or if you already have another dog.
Fun facts about the Beagle
- Beagles are often used in laboratories, which in itself is not a pleasant fact. The reason this breed is chosen is because it is a pack dog, a dog that easily adapts to different environments and gets along with other dogs.
- People often refer to the Beagle as a hunting dog, and it is. But the Beagle is not used as a ‘purebred’ hunting dog. Again, it’s used as a pack dog. In Great Britain, hunting used to be arranged on horseback, with a ‘horn’ and a pack of Beagles leading the way. The Beagles were not supposed to catch ‘game’, but to drive it out. Because you can’t shoot ‘game’ at close range with buckshot. Their large groups (of up to + 20 Beagles), enabled large areas to be combed in a fast pace.
- Two-colored Beagles also exist, known as the lemon Beagle. This type doesn’t have any black hairs, only (light) brown and white. This color is rare, and puppy mills sometimes resort to inbreeding in order to produce this color more frequently. This can lead to genetic abnormalities.
- Epilepsy is a known condition in this breed. However, by avoiding the use of flea/tick/pest products (such as pills or pipettes), the risk is very small. This condition can also be genetically passed on, so breeders should take this into account as well.
