Beagle

The beagle is essentially a British breed and is part of the hound group.  It's height can be anything from 13-16ins (33-40cm). If you are looking to compete with a beagle you would probably be in the medium category although smaller dogs of 13.75 ins or under would be in the small category.
The beagle is a very neat and compact looking dog with beautiful large eyes and a lovely black and tan and white coat.  They are easy to groom and you don't have to deal with mats and tangles or a coat that takes forever to dry. 

Photo above courtesy of Copyright Free Pictures
 

The breed is very strong with masses of stamina and they need the work and exercise to match.  If you are on the go all the time and you want a dog that can keep up and would also make a good family pet, then maybe the beagle or one of its crosses is the dog for you.   In general they are very amiable dogs.  They're what I'd call "nice" dogs, not snappy or yappy.  Having said that though I have heard some comments on the beagle to the effect that they can't do something and listen to you at the same time.  This sounds so much like the husband that I'm wondering if he was a beagle in his last life.  Unfortunately it does make them a bit difficult to train for agility.  The beagle owners and beagle crossbreed owners who responded to the survey did say that they found their dogs a little difficult to train for agility but they would choose this type of dog again.  

 Photo above courtesy of Free Picture Graphic
 

There are some interesting beagle products on the market which would make a lovely gift for someone who loves beagles.  I've included some of them on this page.  It's always useful to read what other people say and comments from Beagle people  can be found below.  More dog products can be found in the Agility Bits Doggie Shop
 

Comments on beagles

One lovely response to the survey read,
"He's such a sweetheart when it comes to agility. If he doesn't do something, like the tunnel and sees you're not happy, he'll cautiously go in, just for your sake."

Erica:
I have one baby beagle puppy that is 12 weeks old but is very cute! She is having trouble learning not to bite though, but we are working on that. We have had her for 1 month and a week, yet she already fits in with the family!

Julie Mihalcik-Eno (beagle with a little Aussie shepherd):
My youngest dog is a super fast learner. He's very bold and had absolutely no fear of any of the agility obstacles right from the beginning of our training. He's very enthusiastic about playing agility. Because of his build (a little on the stocky side), he's not the best jumper in the world. He's also a bit of a Velcro dog, but hopefully this will change with more practice. I've been training him in agility for a little over a year. I really enjoy working with my beagle/herding crosses. They are such characters and are always thinking of new ways to do things (or new ways to avoid doing things that Mom wants them to do :) ).
My middle dog is retired from agility (arthritis issues). Sometimes her nose did take over her brain when we competed. Hey, she's mostly beagle. When she was having a good day, she was awesome. She wasn't the fastest dog on the course, but she almost always had a clean run. She was AWESOME with distance work (as long as the nose didn't take over the brain).

Iain:
We have 3 Beagles that do Agility. They are all at a good standard. With plenty of fun and positive training you can get a Beagle to do almost anything.

Georgia:
They are fast and love agility but don't always listen!

Barbara:
Our beagle competes in agility, she is not as fast as some dogs with smaller bones like poodles or shelties, but runs very safely (makes very few mistakes). I love running with her, she gets so excited and is barking all the way, it's great to see her so happy. Beagles need to work so agility training is highly recommended.

Jackie Hart (Lab/beagle):
Jasper loved the training classes & hopes that there is an agility course when we
go to the charity dog shows throughout the year.

Trish:
Our beagle has attempted an agility course as part of a fun day, taking the jumps, tunnel, see-saw etc in his stride... beagle style! This involves "tracking" the last dog around the course, and being surprised when met with obstacles and instructions on how to tackle them, then fantastically pleased with himself for a few seconds after each one before snuffling is resumed - along with a slight diversion to visit the bunny rabbit enclosure on the other side of the arena. If Agility was measured on an intimate knowledge of the course instead of speed, a beagle would be the champ every time!