Toy Fox Beagle

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Toy Fox Beagle is a cross between the Beagle and the Toy Fox Hound. It is a small to medium dog with a love for the outdoors, but an equal propensity for relaxing around the house.

The Beagle is an English breed originally used for hunting hare. Possessed of incredible scenting and ground-tracking skills, the Beagle today is still used in hunting, and also security work, such as in airports and seaports, sniffing for quarantine produce or food. It is a naturally docile animal, used to living in packs and easily acclimated to living with its owner, to the point of attachment.

The Toy Fox Terrier is a small, athletic breed originating from the United States. It is descended from the Fox Terrier, and has the terrier personality, especially when taken hunting or allowed to indulge its prey drive. As a toy, it is very affectionate and attached to its owner, and does well with families and adults.

Color

The Toy Fox Beagle comes mostly in the classic tri-color, with the black either as a saddle or as markings on the body. Other possible colors are white and black bi-color, white and brown bi-color, white and tan, and other colors paired with white.

Coat

The single coat is short and tight, close to the skin and smooth to the touch. The texture can either be hard, as the Beagle's, or softer, like the Toy Fox Terrier's.

Personality

The Toy Fox Beagle is an ideal, active, alert dog that can be a loving companion and family pet as well. The terrier qualities of inquisitiveness and boldness, combined with the Beagle's gentleness and docility, makes the Toy Fox Beagle an excellent playmate for older children and active owners (younger children should be supervised around small dogs, as they can unintentionally hurt them). Intelligent and eager to please, the Toy Fox Beagle is also easily trainable and can entertain with tricks learned and antics of its own. It is a people-oriented dog, and will not thrive well living outside the house or away from its family. It is a protective dog and will bark at strangers, but will not make a good guard dog, as it can be easily won over.

Care

A short coat requires minimal maintenance, the most constant being a daily check and brushing of the teeth to ensure there is no build up of tartar. Brushing the coat once every other day will maintain gloss and weed out dead hair. Bathing every 6 to 8 weeks will be sufficient. Large floppy ears should also be checked for infection and parasites.

Training

The Toy Fox Beagle should be socialized as early as possible so it does not grow up timid or snappish. Crate training will work best for puppies, and any additional training should be carried out firmly but gently. There might be stubbornness or single-mindedness during training; the trainer should be patient enough and overcome this with consistent commands and rewards.

Activity

The Toy Fox Beagle is active indoors, and as long as it has sufficient space, it can take care of its own activity requirements for the day. However, daily walks are still best to give vent to its primal instinct to walk and explore. A harness or leash is recommended, as its hunting instincts might take over once excited, and go after whatever catches its fancy.