Do Beagles Shed?
When you are buying your first beagle, your first question might be, “Do Beagles Shed?” This is a question a lot of potential dogs owners might ask because dog hair can be a hassle to clean up and it looks tacky around the house.
Do Beagles Shed? Beagles do shed, but it is more moderate due to the shortness of their hair. During the winter, beagle coats get thicker. When spring comes around, this heavier coat will shed, so there will be more hair during springtime to pick up. Grooming and a good diet will help to reduce shedding in beagles.
Dogs shed. That’s a given. You can vacuum to clean it. I will be talking about beagles, their coats, how they shed and why. I also have some product recommendation to make your life easier. I hope you enjoy it!
Do Beagles Shed a Lot?
Like any typical dog, beagles do shed. Many of the hairs are white so that will look obvious on dark areas. Fortunately, beagle hair is short so it is not as noticeable as others.
Beagles are generally clean dogs. They know how to take care of themselves so you will not need to bathe them as much. Unless your dog finds something really nasty to get in, you should not have to worry about it too much.
Some dogs’ coats get thicker in the winter and beagles are one of those dogs. Because of that, in the spring, your dog will shed more. That just means you will have to be more on top of it and maybe deal with a little more hair for a while.
Beagles have some unique evolutionary advantages and some of them apply to what they have been used for in years past. Beagles come from England. Many English countrymen used beagles for hunting smaller animals like rabbit and hare. Something about England is that it is known for its rain. It rains a lot there!
But this is not too huge of a problem for beagles because they have developed an advantage to this. They have a two-layered coat. The outer layer is coarse and rough. It is longer than the inner layer and it is set tightly together to keep water out to the best of its ability.
Taking Care of Your Beagle’s Coat
Even though beagles shed, a healthy one will shed less. Plus, your dog will just look more majestic with a beautiful coat. I am going to teach you some ways to take care of your beagle’s coat. Some you may know and others you may not.
Grooming and Brushing Beagle Hair
The best way to ensure that your beagle’s hair stays healthier and looks nice is to brush them. Now,
The reason why you brush the hair is to pull out the dead hairs so the new can grow and be healthy. Generally, dead hairs get trapped under all of the hair. It also gets rid of dead skin cells.
There are other benefits like how brushes stimulate the hair to release a natural conditioner called sebum. Brushing also stimulates the capillaries on the scalp. The blood flow to the hair is increased from this stimulation and it brings more oxygen and other nutrients to the hair to make it healthy.
One of the most interesting products I have seen online for grooming is the 2-in-1 Pet Glove: Grooming Tool. This is a glove that fits on your hand that has one side for grooming your dog and the other side is for cleaning the air off of the couch. I thought that this would be a good idea and really smart. It is a good purchase for about $8.
You could get a traditional brush but this will get more range and touch spots because of its flexibility and rubber nature. Plus it fits on your hand, so therefore it will be easier for you as well.
If you would rather not have a mitten and just have a normal glove, I would recommend the Pet Hair Remover Glove. This will make it easier to pinpoint areas because of fingers moving freely.
It may not have as much surface area but it is not that different. This one is also about $8. Pick whatever works for you.
Nutrition for Shedding Beagles
Nutrition should be an obvious one. It is like how we talk about how certain food will help your hair or face look healthy, this applies to dogs as well. If your dog is malnourished, then your dog’s hair will become frail and fall out easier making your job more annoying.
Being malnourished also applies to dogs that are overweight. Being overfed does not mean they are getting the right kinds of food.
People love to feed their dogs treats, especially when the dog does some fun trick. Yeah, it is super fun. I loved doing that with my dog. But I also realize that too many treats, and bad dog treats at that, can be a bad thing. You can find good treats. You just have to look. These can be beneficial to the health of the dog.
Beagles need a good source of protein and fat. Check the back of the bag for the kinds of meats. Chicken is also good. It may have whole meats like a whole chicken or it could have parts. Either one works. Make sure the meat is actually good meat.
As I said, they need fats. A lot of people freak out about fat thinking it is this terrible thing. Fats are good for you in moderation. Sugars are what you want to watch out for your dog. They do not need that. Fish oils are excellent in their diet because of the Omega 3 oils.
Omega 3 fish oils are incredible for skin and hair!
Speaking of those, Omega 3 fish oils can be an incredible help in addition to food. It helps with itching, skin, coat, etc. It’s a great thing to have in a dog’s diet. It is specifically for dogs and cats.
It is called Omegease 100% Pure Omega 3, 6 & 9 Fish Oils. It is highly recommended and it is easy to incorporate in your Beagles meal.
Best Ideas for Cleaning Up After Your Beagle
If you’re looking for simple, quick steps to cleaning up your dog’s hair, look no further. These are my 4 most important basics for maintaining healthy hair and cleaning up after your beagle:
- Vacuum fairly often.
- Brush your pet beagle.
- Maintain your beagle’s diet.
- Bathe your dog.
Vacuuming is the best way to get rid of hair already on the floor. It is going to happen so just embrace it. Do not even bother with a broom. The vacuum is much more effective.
How about ways to prevent so much shedding? Brush your beagle! Feed your beagle a good diet! These are both talked in other areas of our post. I have more in-depth information on these things there.
Also bathing your dog is useful. Use a
I think another way to make cleaning easier is to get couch covers. You can slip them off to beat the hair off of them or even wash them. Slip them right back on once you are done.
Another great way is through lint rollers. I used a ton of lint rollers when I had my dog. Buy them in bulk at Costco or something, because you will use them frequently for a quick clean up.
Mopping can be useful. I would not recommend it as much as vacuuming because wet dog hair just sounds like something I would not want to deal with if I do not have to.
If you want to clean off hard, flat surfaces, use a damp cloth to clean. The damp cloth will work effectively on that kind of surface. It is a quick fix. Use warm water. The water helps catch the hairs and not redistribute them across the surface.
What about your clothes? How are you going to get hairs off of them? Lint rollers are great but they do not always get everything. I would suggest using a dryer sheet. Dryer sheets will pull the hairs right off your clothes in about 10 minutes in the dryer.
Something weird you could try is getting a rubber
Here is a fantastic video which gives great advice on getting rid of dog hair. Check it out!!
Why Do Beagles Shed?
Dog hair has a system of renewing itself and it does this by shedding. It is a process of old hairs leaving the body and new ones growing in its place. Some people might think it works similarly to teeth where the new pushes out the old but this is actually not the case. Hair follicles are individual and each has its own growth cycle and death.
Dog hair is something incredible. Besides the fact that it grow independently and almost if not completely unnoticed by the dog, it also increases in thickness at different times during the year.
A Beagle’s coat gets thicker in the winter because of decreased light.
Source
In the winter, a beagle’s coat changes to protect them and keep them warm during harsh months of the year. I naturally assumed that the cold weather affected the growth. It would make sense to me. Well, upon further research, I found that I was wrong.
I expect others thought the same way but they realized that even in areas where they did not get significantly colder, the beagle’s coat still thickened up. Interesting, right? They discovered that it is from the decrease in light.
As the days get shorter their hair reacts and gets longer. It probably comes from a time when things got cold but now you can have a beagle in really any area and the trait still has an effect. It’s an evolutionary attribute that has stuck with Beagles and it is not going away it seems.
Do Beagles Make Good House Pets?
Do Beagles make good house pets? You might be asking this question now that we have talked so much about dog hair. My answer is yes, beagles make wonderful house pets.
They have short hair. It will not be as obvious when shedding so you will not have to clean it up as often.
Along with if they make good house pets is if they make good family pets. I would also answer, yes. Beagles are fun and full of energy. That’s just the way they are. They are not big so they will not run over your kids, especially the little ones.
Because they are playful and full of energy, they will need a lot of attention and if you have a big family, this is perfect. It fits hand in hand. Both your children and the dog will spend their energy. That sounds like a dream come true.
Beagles are dogs of independent minds which makes them curious. They are friendly and they protect what matters to them. These dogs make great family dogs and they are a good house pet. I would allow them to go out and play a lot if you have space for that.
Related Questions:
Are beagles easy to train? Beagles can be trained. They do have a mind of their own. They are independent animals who can fend for themselves. If taught and trained at a young age, it will be easier. They are quite the adaptable dog so if they respect you and you respect them.
Are beagles a smart dog? Well, it depends on how to define smart. Many think that dog intelligence is about how well they respond to our commands. If that is what you consider intelligence to be, then no, beagles are not smart.
Do beagles bark a lot? Beagles are not really the kind of “yappy” dog, despite being small. They will howl which may be better or worse depending on what you prefer. If threatened, they will bark to be intimidating. They know how to stand up for themselves. It does require the right stimulation though. Beagles will become vocal if they are neglected frequently.