Do we sometimes have really small beagles, the size most
people would call "miniature beagles," available for sale?
Yes.
Do we selectively breed for and specialize in smaller and
smaller beagles?
No.
We do not raise any Pocket Beagles, and have very few Mini Beagles,
because we have seen so many references to genetic flaws found at higher
rates in the smaller beagles.
I believe this is due to people selectively choosing sires
and dams based upon size, and not quality, primarily by the breeders who
specifically raise tiny beagles generation after generation. This may also
be caused by inbreeding, which some breeders do to keep the small size in
their beagles (we don't do this).
In our research, we also noted that some of these "tiny
beagles" people are offering for sale come in colors that beagles simply do not come in.
After
researching, we discovered that some miniature beagle breeders are
not selling purebred beagles. Instead, they have crossed beagles with
smaller breeds of dogs to get smaller puppies. By doing so, they have also
introduced genetic flaws into their "breed" that exist in those other
breeds. An example would be in "Pocket Beagles," which can come in the color
"merle." Merle is NOT a color purebred beagles can exhibit. Therefore,
crossbreeding has occurred to get the merle color on Pocket Beagles.
How Do We Get Mini-Sized Beagles?
We do have some small mothers and a small father beagle.
However, our small beagle puppies have parents or grandparents of mixed
sizes in most cases. In other words, we don't breed generation after
generation of small parents together.
Instead, our small beagles might have one normal and one
small parent, or two small parents but two or more of the four grandparents
might have been average-beagle size.
The advantages of this include genetic diversity, increasing
quality, and less likelihood of genetic problems since we don't select
parents and grandparents exclusively for small size.
The disadvantages are that not all of the puppies in a
litter (from a small parent) will be small in size. Some will take after
their small ancestors, while others might take after their normally-sized
ancestors. Some will be sized in between. Therefore, we have to monitor
their growth to estimate what sizes they might end up (and this is
difficult!).
What About "Quality" and Small Beagles?
From what we've noticed, the smaller the beagle, the farther
from the breed standard the conformation drifts.
In other words, smaller (mini) beagles typically are not as
high of quality in their "looks" as an average or larger beagle would be.
Probably the biggest difference in quality an average person
will note is in the face or head. Pocket and mini-sized beagles have a much
greater tendency to have long noses, high-set ears, and a tail that curls
more than the show beagle standard.
Is that a problem? Not really. If you are not planning to
show, then lacking some of the show-quality looks is ok because the smaller
size might fit better with your family and home environment. As long as you
have a healthy puppy from a conscientious breeder, this is ok!
How Big is a Mini / Miniature Beagle?
There is no definition with AKC, UKC, APRI, or the other
main registries that separates mini beagles from regular beagles in size.
This label has simply been applied by breeders to their puppies. I have seen
people classify any beagle 13" or smaller at the shoulder as a mini.
However, this is a bit misleading because 13" at the shoulder is pretty
average for a beagle.
Since there is no official definition for the size range of
a mini beagle, the term could be used to describe about any beagle someone
wished to apply the label to. So it's a "buyer beware" situation, because
anyone can call their beagles "mini beagles" since there is no standard.
If we label a puppy as possibly being mini-sized, we are
indicating that the puppy would probably be a good percentage smaller
than an average beagle at maturity
(average is probably about 13" tall, 25 pounds). Such a puppy would
probably have one or both parents under 20 pounds, and would be smaller than
an average-sized beagle puppy of the same age.
Our Mini / Pocket Beagle Experience
Once, we made the mistake of buying a beagle that came from
a
Pocket / Miniature Beagle breeder. This breeder raises ONLY "mini" beagles,
and breeds small to small for generation after generation.
True to the rumors about mini beagles and pocket beagles, he
reproduced 3 genetic flaws at an unusually high rate.
Out of the 34 total puppies he fathered in the few months we
bred him:
The above puppies' were from 7 different mothers, 6 of which
were not related to each other.
Out of around 100 puppies from our OTHER males that we've
had in the past years at the time, we had only one overbite (1%) and one hernia (1%) and
NO incorrect tails.
These percentages are extremely different than those from that above case
with our beagle from a miniature / pocket beagle breeder.
Therefore, that tiny male is now neutered and a happy pet beagle.
We hope that the above story was an unusual case, but that
one case was enough for us. We want to raise healthy puppies, so the puppy
you buy from us will be healthy with your family for many years.
Therefore, we do not specialize in Pocket or Mini or Miniature
Beagles or Toy or Olde English or Queen Elizabeth Pocket beagles. We
occasionally have a small puppy or litter of small puppies, but it is not
due to generations of small beagles being paired simply for size.
