Beagle/Retriever Mix: A Complete Guide to This Great Dog Breed

I love beagles and retrievers, and both being very cute, friendly, and loyal dogs. Breeders have combined the two, and the become the Beago. They make amazing pets. If your curious and looking for this mix breed, read on to find all that you need to know.

You may feel like you know quite a bit about one of these breeds. I’ll fill in the gaps you have about the other breed and what a hybrid dog is really all about!

Beagle/Retriever Mix

This dog is often called a Golden/Retriever beagle mix, beagle retriever or a Beago. The last name is definitely my favorite. These dogs are an awesome combination of their parents, the Golden Retriever and the Beagle.

This means that they have a lot of the same temperament and physical appearances of the two.

Here are some quick facts for you:

• They are very outgoing. The desire to be touched and to touch. The like to be in social situations.
• These dogs are wonderful with children and love to play with them.
• They are not only family-friendly, but they do very well with other dogs and cats.
• They can be stubborn when they are puppies, and at the beginning of training, but learn quickly and change their behavior swiftly.
• They are incredibly intelligent. They understand social situations and their human’s expectations of them.
• They are extremely friendly and although they will be high energy they will be calmer than their two purebred parents.

The Appearance of the Beago

Since this breed is a mix, you can expect to have some of each breed of dog. Kind of like humans, a dog can look more like the mom or the dad. Because of the large number of physical attributes each separate pup has, the options seem endless.

Predicting exactly what your Beago is going to look like is impossible, each dog is different.

You could have a dog that is larger, or more middle-sized. A sleeker and shinier coat like a beagle or a long thick coat like a retriever. A medium sized dog with medium-length hair is generally what you can expect.

This hair is usually more friendly to those who have allergies. While there is no such thing as a truly hypoallergenic dog, Beagos are what most people would consider that to be. They still shed, however.

If the dog takes after the beagle it will most likely be in between 13-24 inches tall and can weigh between 20-75 pounds. This is because beagles are generally 13-15 inches and 20-30 pounds.

When it comes to taking after the golden it would be a bit bigger. The dog could be 21-24 inches tall and weigh anywhere from 55-75 pounds.

This seems like a big scale but we are cross-breeding two very different breeds here people. You can usually plan for your dog hitting the middle of that scale.

When it comes to the color of the coat, it’s really a shot in the dark. There are so many options! From a singular color listed to a mix of any of them.

Temperament:

This mixed breed is known to get along really well with children and make awesome companions for young and old. This type of dogs loves their humans and create strong bonds with their family.

One of the biggest things about Beagos is how friendly they are. They might get a little excited when they see you and jump up on you, but this can be eliminated mostly through good training.

They don’t make good guard dogs because they are very friendly to those they meet and are likely to search for some head scratches from a stranger rather than attack.

They are extremely active dogs that are going to require quite a bit of run around time. This dog is known to be puppy-like throughout its life and will need to be trained. If they are not given the right amount of exercise or training they can become kind of rowdy making them hyper and even possibly destructive to your home.

Exercise Needs For Your Beagle/Retriever Mix:

Since these guys have energy bursting from their ears they are essentially puppies forever.

Separately beagles and golden retrievers are very active so this is just to be expected. They are both very much so, energy filled breeds. Each needs a serious amount of mental and physical stimulation to stay healthy. This is meant in both the physical and mental sense.

Some ideas for exercise and be taking your dog to the dog park to run around and play with other pups, taking them out on your daily jogs, runs or long walks, tossing balls or frisbees to them in the back yard for a while or simply letting them out while the kids play for a while.

It is very important that you work your dog out when you are dealing with this specific breed because of the possibility of obesity. By playing with them you help them stay in shape and avoid being unhealthy later on in their life.

Lifespan and Health:

The Beagle/Retriever mix breed has a bit of wiggle room at least when it comes to their physical health.

Golden Retrievers life for 10-12 years. Beagles life for 10-15 years. beagle/retriever mix breeds have been known to live anywhere between 10-15. A lot of this depends upon your health.

Golden Retrievers often surfer from mast cell tumors, osteosarcoma, seizures, hypothyroidism, subaortic stenosis, and eye issues.

Beagles are known to suffer from obesity, epilepsy, cherry eye, allergies, and hypothyroidism. Both breeds have been known to have hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, cancer, heart disease, and progressive retinal atrophy.

It’s been recommended that you have your pup get a health screening to see if they are predisposed to any of these health issues. Often times some of these illnesses can be prevented or prepared for if you only know about them.

Proper feeding of your Beago is crucial to health. Your dog will require between 1 and 1/2 to 2 and 1/2 cups of dry food daily. Along with that, you can add canned dog food, meat, or cottage cheese to add some fun flavor to keep your pup happy.

If you prefer to have your little guy or girl eat a raw food diet or home cooked food that is fine as well. Just make sure you are meeting your pups nutritional needs.

Do not overfeed your dog as obesity in this mix can do some serious damage.

Do yearly check-ups, just to make sure everything is alright.

Grooming and Care for your Mix Breed Pup

You can groom this mix breed pup very similarly to the pups purebred parents.

You will want to make sure your pup has their nails trimmed often to keep them from breaking off causing your pup to be in pain and to avoid damaging any of your belongings.

You will also need to clean your pups ears often so to avoid serious infection that is caused by wax built up. This is extremely uncomfortable and often times very painful. Do your best to prevent that by helping your pup stay nice and clean.

Along with all of theat you will want to bathe your pup occasionally.

Another suggestion from experts would be to brush your pup’s coat at least two, preferably three times a week to make sure that their coat and skin stay healthy and shine nicely.

During shedding season you will want to brush your pup more, this is really emphasized especially if your pup takes after their golden heritage.

Training your Beago

These pups are extremely trainable. They are not a resistant breed and they are quick learners. Earlier I talked about this pups serious desire to please their human, enjoyment in staying loyal, and their serious intelligence.

Because of this, you will want to train this pup very early in life. You will want to avoid using harsh corrections.

Beagos are emotional and using harsh corrections such as yelling or physicalities will not be a great route to take. This will more than likely not work well and it will also hinder the dog emotionally.

Try using the positive reward system. This can be saying things such as “good boy!”, “great job!”, “that’s right”, in positive tones when your pup does the correct thing. You can also try offering treats for good-boy worthy behavior. They are known to respond extremely well to treats.

Because this pup has beagle heritage they are very springy and emotional or sensitive. You will want to try and make the training interesting and fun for this pup so they keep a desire to learn what you are teaching.

To ensure that your dog is acclimated to family life and socialization, in general, make sure from the time they are young you have them around people. This will give them the chance to socialize and know proper etiquette in a sense.

You will also want to apply all that has been mentioned in obedience training. This should also be started during puppyhood.

If you do not feel confident in training your dog alone you should consider placing them in a pup obedience class. This class will help your mixed breed pup learn the rules of living with a human family. The younger your pup learns, the more it is beneficial for you and your dog companion.

Cost of a Beagle/Retriever Mix

Beagos can be bought from a breeder or found in shelters.

If you go the rescue route you will want to really look into which shelter you go to. Find a place with good reviews and accreditation or recent licensing.

Purchasing a dog at a shelter is fairly inexpensive most of the time, especially when compared to breeders. Often times the shelter will even cover your initial vet fees for your new pup. Generally speaking, rescue pups go for $50 to $100.

When you choose to go through a breeder you are going to need to expect to see some serious price spikes as opposed to a shelter. This specific breed goes anywhere from $500 to well reaching over $1000.

When purchasing from a breeder you will want to learn about their background and find reviews on them as well to ensure you are getting the quality you are paying for. If there are diseases in the line, you’ll be able to know ahead of time.

Going through a breeder might be helpful, as they are able to answer a few more questions than if you were going to a shelter. You will be able to learn of any health issues the puppies parents had.

Most breeders will make sure the puppies have all had health screenings done before you purchase them so there should be a full amount of information within that as well. This should be accompanied by a certificate of health and ability to go home that you can request to see or have.

Goldens

As we have talked about, parentage is super crucial to know more about a puppy, so let’s look at the Golden Retriever to understand some qualities about the Beago.

Appearance

Golden Retrievers are great dogs to have! They come in a handful of colors. These colors include: golden, light golden, dark golden and cream.

Their trademark look is their golden long hair. The long hair is very thick, double layered and it does shed a decent amount.

The golden breed is fairly large is size overall.

They have sweet floppy ears, brown eyes and their expressions can be read by their eyebrows. Their eyebrows are very involved in communicating how they are feeling.

Temperament

These dogs generally are very family friendly. They are incredibly loyal and extremely intelligent dogs. They are very active dogs meaning they are very puppy-like even when they reach adulthood.

This means they require a lot of attention. This breed aims to please and make wonderful companions. They also do well with being trained.

Beagles

Appearance

Beagles are extremely lovable! They come in more colors than the golden retriever. But you probably already knew that part.

The colors a beagle coat can be are: red and white, orange and white, white and chestnut, white and chocolate, chocolate tri, lemon and white, and lastly tri-color. All of which are beautiful!

Beagles also shed quite a bit but do have shorter and sleeker coats. Though, they do shed less than the golden retriever.

They have large, almost pleading like eyes and are simply adorable.

Temperament:

Beagles are a lot like goldens. They are extremely happy dogs with a lot of energy. The love making their human happy.

We already talked about how sometimes they can get emotional. They can pout and are sometimes stubborn.

They are known to be funny and even quirky at times.

Along with all of these things, they are also curious. This can get them into trouble at times. However, it makes the adventurous in spirit and is perfect for families with kids who want a buddy to explore the yard with.

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