I have no interest in the show dog world and certainly don't "have it in for them". We got both of our dogs from lovely people that are very active in the show world. They have lovely dogs and they have no problem with the fact that we were looking primarily for fit athletic pets and don't much care whether they are suitable candidates for the show ring. After all, not all of the dogs they breed are suitable for the show ring. They'd have a big problem on their hands if everyone wanted show type beagles!! A number of very nice, helpful breeders who are active in the show world have gone to great lengths to help us research our dog's heritage and find the type of dogs that we prefer. None of them took offence at the fact that what we like best isn't in keeping with what THEY like best. Quite frankly the only people that seem to have a problem are a couple of trouble makers with an axe to grind.

Exactly! Thank you. This is what me, my vet and lots of other people have been saying all along. So it's a darn good thing that I listened to my instincts and my vet and didn't follow the advise I was given to fatten her up!!

Apparantly this is a myth. If you look at pictures of pack beagles (and ALL show Beagles descend from pack beagles) they have small ears. I was told that Beanie's big ears would be a problem in a hunting beagle as they'd get tangled in the undergrowth. But I personally prefer her big ears. They are much prettier than the functional ears of the pack beagle.

Take a look at the ears on the modern day Eton College Beagles:



And the ancestor of Beanie who was the granddaughter of Eton College Viper (Beanie's great, great, great etc grandmother).



All have small ears.

According to a book on the show beagle published in the 60's it was the import of American show Beagles in the late 50's that resulted in the look we see today. Prior to that all English Beagles had been bred for hunting and all that mattered was hunting ability. This resulted in a lack of standardisation and hounds that weren't always aesthetically pleasing. I'm told by an experienced breeder that still breeds and shows today, that the vast majority of people were very happy with the changes brought about by this brief episode of breeding the traditional English Hunting Beagles with American Show Champions. But whilst one group of breeders wanted to keep breeding with American stock others wanted to breed as much as possible with dogs that had very strong English pack beagle genes. It's the dogs bred by the latter group that I personally tend to prefer. If you go to the shows held for pack Beagles (Peterbourough), you'll get a better idea of what a working Beagle looks like. Very different from the show beagle. Acknowledging the differences and stating a personal preference isn't in any way "having it in" for either group. It's a big world and there's room for all tastes.

I have never shown any of my gundogs as it does not interest me, but I did eventing with my horses. Although I did not show my horses I was aware show animals would carry more "condition" than working or competition animals. My (admittedly limited) observations of dog shows is that this seems to apply with dogs too, the most extreme example being the show Greyhound vs the racing Greyhound, but also the show Labrador vs the working Labrador. I am not suggesting that show animals are fat but merely pointing out that there is room for a myriad of regimes, approaches and lifestyles here, without being judgemental or obsessive.

Just enjoy your dogs and keep them healthy and happy!