Beaglier Information & Dog Breed Facts

Beaglier Origins

The Beaglier was developed in Australia in the 1990s. Dog breeders wanted to cross the Beagle with the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to create a fun-loving, well-tempered dog that wasn’t scent-driven and had fewer inherited genetic disorders. In the United Kingdom, this dog breed has grown huge in popularity. Moreover, as the Beaglier is a fairly modern dog breed, there is not a lot of documented history on them, however, there is a lot of historical information on the parent breeds. To be able to understand the Beaglier’s history, we have to look at the history of the Beagle and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

History of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as a parent breed

While the Cavalier King Charles is a relatively new breed as well, recreated less than a century ago, his prototype is the Toy Spaniel that has existed for centuries. Toy Spaniels were seen in so many paintings from the 16th-17th and 18th centuries by famous artists such as Van Dyck and Gainsborough. These little spaniels were great favorites of royal and noble families in England. Mary, Queen of Scots had a Toy Spaniel who accompanied her as she walked to her beheading, and her grandson, Charles I, and great-grandson, Charles II.

The breed was named after them as they loved the little dogs as well. Furthermore, it is said that King Charles II, who reigned from 1660 to 1685, never went anywhere without at least two or three of these small spaniels with him. He even ruled that spaniels should be allowed in all official buildings, including the Houses of Parliament. However, the popularity of King Charles Spaniel decreased after Charles II’s death, and the pugs and other short-faced breeds, that came from Asia, became the new royal favorites. The breed was bred with these dogs and eventually developed many of their features, such as the shorter nose and the domed head.

Moreover, there was one stronghold of the King Charles Spaniels that was of the type that King Charles himself loved so much, and that was at Blenheim Palace, the country estate of the Dukes of Marlborough. Here, a strain of red and white Toy Spaniels continued to be bred, which is why Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with this coloration are called Blenheim today.

However, since there was no standard for the breed and no dog shows yet, the type and size of Toy Spaniels bred by the Dukes of Marlborough varied. Although, in the mid-19th century, English breeders started holding dog shows and trying to refine different dog breeds. By that time, the Toy Spaniel was accepted as having a flat face, undershot jaw, domed skull, and large, round, front-facing eyes. The King Charles Spaniels depicted in paintings from earlier centuries were almost extinct at this point.

However, in the 1920s, breed enthusiasts began to work towards revitalizing the look of the spaniels from King Charles II and the Duke of Malborough’s time, and this led to the development of the breed we know today. Furthermore, in 1928 the breed club was founded, and the came Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was chosen. It was very critical that the association with the name King Charles Spaniel be preserved as most breeders bred back to the original type by way of the long-faced throw-outs from the kennels of the short-faced variety breeders.

The breed standard was drawn up at the club’s first meeting and they decided that the Cavalier should be kept as far away from fashion as possible. Although Kennel Club recognition remained elusive and progress was slow, people gradually became aware that the movement toward the “old-type” King Charles Spaniel was here to stay. In 1945, the Kennel Club granted separate registration and issued Challenge Certificates to the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, allowing them to earn their titles.

The first recorded Cavalier living in the United States was brought from the UK in 1956 by W. Lyon Brown, together with Elizabeth Spalding and other enthusiasts. She founded the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club USA which continues to the present day. The breed also became fully recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1995.

History of the Beagle as a parent breed

Although there is no reliable documentation about the early ancestry of the Beagle, the theory that most people agreed on is that we have to look back to the 5th century. There are accounts of dogs of similar size and purpose to the modern Beagle which can be traced back to Ancient Greece. 

In the 8th century, records document an early scent hound, known as the St. Hubert Hound, from which a newer breed was created, the Talbot Hound. In the 11th century, William the Conqueror brought the Talbot Hound to England and it is believed that it was bred with a Greyhound to increase their running speed as before it was known for being a rather slow runner. Once this new breed was developed, it was called the Southern Hound which is thought to be an ancestor of today’s Beagle.

However, during medieval times, the word ‘beagle’ meant any dog was a hound dog. The earliest dogs that were referred to as ‘Beagles’ were small dogs called ‘Pocket Beagles’ because they were literally small enough to fit into the pockets of the hunters. During hunting, they were let loose into places where the larger dogs could not easily get through. However, larger dogs became the preferred train companions which led to the line of miniature beagles being overlooked and becoming extinct in 1901.

By the beginning of the 18th century, two types of breeds were developed for hunting hare and rabbits. One was the North Country Beagle (or Northern Hound) and the other the Southern Hound. Eventually, when fox hunting became popular, the two breeds were crossed with the Foxhound to create the perfect hunting dog. In the mid-18th century, it is believed, that Reverend Phillip Honeywood of Great Britain established a breeding program that became the basis for the modern Beagle breed.

Honeywood’s Beagles were still different from today’s Beagles, they were smaller and had a pure white coat. However, the 1840s brought the development of the standard Beagle type and also the distinction of different Beagle varieties: Medium Beagle, Lapdog Beagle, Fox Beagle, and the Rough-coated/terrier Beagle.

In 1890 the Beagle Club was formed and a year later the Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles was also created. Both organizations helped to produce one standard type of Beagle and by 1902 the number of packs increased from 18 to 44. From then on, the popularity of the breed grew and there were even cartoons made about this type of dog. The breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1885 and as of 2017, the AKC ranks the Beagle in the top ten popular dog breeds.

Conclusion

The Beaglier will have characteristics from both parents and can range from small to medium size. The addition of the Spaniel traits brought some nice personalities into the mix, making it an excellent family dog. The Beaglier is playful, affectionate, and gentle. The breed is also recognized by the American Canine Hybrid Club, the Designer Breed Registry, the Dog Registry of America, and the Designer Dogs Kennel Club.