Fat Levels, Exercise and what makes a good Beagle

At Sundays Beagle Club Barbeque several people said they thought Beanie was too thin (I started frantically asking everyone after someone looked at her as if she’d crawled out from under a stone and asked “what’s wrong with her – won’t she eat?” :) ). This was a bit of a shock to us as we think she’s in superb condition – something we’ve always been quite proud of! Now there’s certainly no disputing the fact that Beanie doesn’t look like the other Beagles – she’s much more leggy and finely built. At a previous Beagle club event someone mentioned that this thin, leggyness was because we exercised her too much. And of course you always bump into people in the park that tell you that you’re condemning your pup to life as a cripple by letting her play vigorously off-lead when she’s so young. Now all our instincts tell us Beanie is just fine, but when so many people tell you otherwise it’s only responsible to re-evaluate the situation. Beanie only has a very short time as a puppy and it’s important to get her off to the very best start in life.

We talked it over with a lady we meet up with in the park that used to breed Beagles. She’s always been fond of Beanie and says she reminds her of her very first Beagle – 40 years ago! She said that in her opinion Beanie was fine and perhaps a throwback to an earlier, more functional Beagle. Her first Beagle was only a generation or two away from a working beagle. Nowadays, chunky bodies and short legs are the order of the day. I found this picture of a Beagle on wikipedia and think that this is similar to what Beanie will develop into – and I’m VERY happy about that. A fit, lean, functional dog:

The example of  the Beagle breed given in Wikipedia

Here are some photos we took of Beanie in the park today (still only 9 months old):

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But even if we didn’t like Beanie’s build and appearance we couldn’t change her genetic make up. Our role is to make her the happiest, healthiest Beagle that she can be. She’s done her bit by being the perfect pet and companion so we plan to do our bit by finding ways to let her lead a life that is as close as possible to what a Beagle was bred for. So running, tracking, highly active, being with other dogs. When it comes to speed, stamina, agility and determination Beanie has bucket loads. Her tracking ability is coming along beautifully. A superb example of a functional Beagle. If she needs more food or less exercise to develop as a functional Beagle then so be it. But we don’t want to fatten her up or cut her exercise simply so that she appears to conform to the way people like Beagles to look. Fashion is fickle.

We took her into the vets yesterday to talk it over. According to the vet (in fact ALL of the vets and nurses in the practice), Beanie is in perfect condition. Her weight is ideal and the vets said this was lovely to see as most Beagles are far too fat. She listened to Beanie’s heart and just sighed and said “perfect”! She said by all means feed Beanie a little more if she has a growth spurt or increases her exercise levels, but we don’t want her fat levels to increase any. The muscle bulk will come in it’s own good time through exercise and healthy diet.

Apparently, the issue surrounding exercising of pups is connected with hip dysplasia. Hip dysplasia is entirely hereditary, and can’t be caused by excessive exercise. However, if your pup has it then the type of exercise that’s good for normal pups will worsen it’s condition. Avoiding the type of exercise that’s good for normal dogs won’t make the condition go away – it will simply lessen the damage to the joints.

Hip dysplasia is extremely common in certain large breed dogs. This, coupled with the fact that you can’t really screen for it until the pup is older, has lead most professionals to advise against letting these breeds exercise as much as they want. The risk is too high. In the natural world I guess the pups would run free and exercise to their hearts content. The ones with the genetic defect would be crippled at a young age and less likely to reproduce and the breed would be improved. The ones without the genetic defect would thrive on the exercise.

Hip dysplasia can occur in any breed of dog, but it is less common in small/medium breeds – although it does occur in Beagles. It’s possible that Beanie has this genetic disorder, but statistically unlikely. If she does have it then yes, her active lifestyle is making her condition worse, although her low weight, good muscle tone and healthy diet will give her some degree of protection. And you know, if she was unlucky enough to have the disorder she would never get the chance to run and play vigorously as an adult. And seeing how much she enjoys her active life I’d hate to deprive her of the experience.

Obesity and lack of fitness is a big problem in Beagles so on balance we feel that it’s better to let her run and play as much as she wants as it seems to us that she’s got a bigger chance of developing health and joint problems through obesity and lack of exercise. We are taking her for regular swimming lessons at the pets A&E with a view to burning up some of her energy with low impact exercise.  This is great for dogs with hip dysplasia as it builds up protective muscsle around the hip joints without damaging them.

Beagles with hip dysplasia tend to live full and active lives and aren’t plagued with the severe symptoms suffered by large breed dogs. Apparantly hip dysplasia is almost non-existent in greyhounds and one theory is that it’s because of their huge muscle bulk around the hips in relation to slight bone structure.  Beanie’s off to a head start with her light bone structure and low body weight, and her muscle around her hips is building up nicely.

8 Replies to “Fat Levels, Exercise and what makes a good Beagle”

  1. Jackie

    Hi,
    Beanie looks very healthy. If you were showing her, she might need a bit more weight on her, but as you are not, then she looks great. I feed my Beagle Burns food and it’s designed to keep them lean. I show mine, and when he needs bulked up a bit, then I feed him some of the frozen nuggets that you can buy in the pet shop.
    She is a lovely little dog and just enjoy having her, don’t worry about her weight!
    Jackie

  2. Susan Westlake Post author

    Thanks Jackie!

    In our hearts we feel Beanie is doing just great, but it’s very nice to get a bit of reasurance! She’s our first pup, so we currently spend out time worrying about every aspect of her care! :)

  3. Daniella Willett

    Hi Susan,

    I am so glad you posted this, I was googling to find out what the perfect weight of a beagle is. I have a 5 month old bitch, and have recently come under quite a bit of critisism for her weight – before we got her my husband and I had read all the articles about how easy it is to make your beagle obese because they are basically walking tummy’s, so we are very careful with her food and give her loads of exercise.
    I was bought up with working dogs, and so was used to people commenting that they looked under weight, but they were spaniels and had a job – Bow’s only job is to be fussed, play games and eat all her dinner up, so I was quite concerned about the comments. I also feed her Burns, which was recommended to me by a dog trainer and as Bow is my first dog/beagle I thought I was doing everything by the book until people started to say she looked too thin!?!?!?

    Apparently people expect your dog to look fat these days, but our breeders have told us that a healthy beagle sixe is easy to gaige – you should be able to feel the ribs, but not see them and they should always have a waist. I have decided I am no longer listening to other people’s opinions unless they are breeders, vets, or trainers.

    Although i’ll probably still go to the vets just to be sure, I have been really reassured by your comments (and pics) as she looks to be in much the same shape as beanie.

    Beanie looks lovely by the way – what a cutey

    Daniella

  4. Susan Wesltlake

    Hi Daniella,

    I agree completely with your breeder’s advice on how to gauge ideal weight in a dog. That ties in with what my vet and pretty much every other type of dog breader and dog expert has told us. It also ties in with all of our research.

    A lady that is a vet and beagle breeder told us that most vets like people to keep dogs very lean as they live longer that way. However, she also said that it’s not detrimental to a Beagle’s health to carry and extra 1 KG of fat for show purposes. But if you have an active little dog I would say it’s important NOT to be carying that extra 1KG because it can only put unnecessary strain on their joints. If we were to put that extra 1KG on our pup it would mean she’s running and jumping for hours every day with the eqivilent of upwards of 10% of her weight in useless lard strapped to her body.

    We’ve had a couple of Beagle breeders/showers harassing us over our decision to follow our vets advice over this, but the vast majority of people – including Beagle owners – comment that Beanie is an absolutely stunning little dog that’s in superb condition. So we try not to let the nasty comments from a minority spoil the pleasure we take in our perfect little pup.

    Do you have a picture of yours – we’d love to see her?

  5. Daniella Willett

    Hi Susan

    Thanks for your reply – we have continued to ignore everyone else and keep Bow the way she is – apart from the usual check ups we haven’t needed to take her to the vets and also haven’t suffered from puppy belly at all (yet!?!?!) whereas another person we know who has a Beagle the same age as Bow is constantly in the vets with sickness and the runs and I now beleive it’s more to do with the amounts of food being given than anything else and am happy with my decision to keep Bow lean – she seems to be happier than other dogs and is definately just a little bit healthier, which in later life could be the difference of a couple of extra years with her :-)

    I have left a pic of Bow on the photo-guest book for you :-)

    Oh my god I have just noticed Baby Biggles – how completely gorgeous is he – it’s making me want anothre one too ;-)

  6. Stacie M.

    Wow, Beanie looks like she is in FANTASTIC condition!!! The VAST majority of pets are too fat, and feeding guidelines on food packages almost ALWAYS overprescribe in terms of amount unless your pet is really active. (Of course! Feeding more = buying more!) And of course people equate feeding with love and care, and don’t stop at “OVERfeeding is NOT loving or caring.” I too find that most people (even my husband) give me a sideways look when I suggest that the animals don’t need so much food…but they’re clearly fat, so I’m not sure where the disconnect is! You’re doing great; don’t doubt yourself.

  7. hello

    hello all, i have 3 beagles but im also a member of a hunting beagles club in england, they are TRUE beagles not are pets, we hunt them 3 times a week they cover upto 40 miles in one hunt. They need to be thin, look up pictures of hunting beagles in england, the americans are not hunting beagles at all! i cycle with mine every other day minimum of 10 miles, i do hunt with them, you need to know where they will disappear to as rabbits are never far from burrows and hares run in circles around their territory.

  8. tanya

    love your website i too have a three year old beagle that is mt baby her name is bindi she is soooooo spoild she brings us sooooooo much love and joy i feel that they are one of the most lovable animals she has about 15 blankts pink and purple of course two pillows and three beds is she not spoild oh yes she also loves too be covered with her blankets certanly a dog i would encourage everyone too get and i have had many dogs

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