Beagle vs Mixed Breed
The check that settles it
Tricolour drop-eared mixed dogs are labelled beagle routinely. The ear length and white tail tip are the checks.
Confirming a beagle
- A white tail tip on an upright tail.
- Very long low-set ears, reaching at least to the nose when pulled forward.
- Usually tricolour — black, tan and white — though other hound colours occur.
- Sturdy, square-muzzled and compact.
Confirming a mixed breed
- No consistent set of breed characters — features from several types, or none in particular.
- Frequently medium-sized, short-coated and drop-eared, which is where mixed ancestry tends to land.
- Documented pedigree absent, which is what a breed actually is.
- Generally fewer of the concentrated health problems that come with closed breeding populations.