Coat, Ears & Tail

AKC Hound Group · No. 7 in 2025

How to identify a Beagle

The Beagle is a compact scent hound that the AKC standard calls “a miniature Foxhound,” ranked No. 7 in 2025. It comes in two sizes, 13 inches and under or 13 to 15 inches. Look for long ears that reach nearly to the nose and a short, brushy tail carried up.

Photo of a Beagle
Photo: Slyronit · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Field marks

These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Beagle standard.

  1. Two varieties: up to 13 in, and over 13 to 15 in
  2. Long ears that reach “nearly, if not quite, to the end of the nose”
  3. Short tail with brush, “carried gaily, but not turned forward over the back”
  4. “A miniature Foxhound, solid and big for his inches”

Tell them apart

Beagle or Basset Hound?

Check the legs and the ears. A Basset stands on short, heavy legs, has loose skin that wrinkles over the brow, and has ears that fold past the end of the nose. A Beagle is a compact miniature Foxhound on straight legs, with ears that reach nearly to the nose but not past it.

Beagle

Beagle

  1. Two varieties: up to 13 in, and over 13 to 15 in
  2. Long ears that reach “nearly, if not quite, to the end of the nose”
  3. Short tail with brush, “carried gaily, but not turned forward over the back”
  4. “A miniature Foxhound, solid and big for his inches”
Basset Hound

Basset Hound

  1. “Extremely long,” velvety ears that “fold well over the end of the nose”
  2. Loose skin “falling in distinct wrinkles over the brow”; eyes show “a prominent haw”
  3. Short, heavy-boned legs, with height under 14 in
  4. Hard, smooth, short coat in any hound color

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