Snoopy, the beagle, is a make-believe character in Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip, “Peanuts.” He is also in all the “Peanuts” television specials as well as movies. Snoopy’s first appearance was on October 4, 1950.
Other television shows it featured on are – A Charlie Brown Christmas, You’re in Love, He’s Your Dog, and a host of others.
Some people have argued that Snoopy, the renowned Beagle from Charles Schulz’s comic strip, “Peanuts,” does not resemble a beagle.
The controversy is, is Snoopy a Beagle?
Disregarding the physical resemblance to a real-life beagle, Snoopy has certain characteristic features of a beagle. Beagles are merry creatures and are full of energy. Schulz initially drew Snoopy as a dog walking on all fours, but as a character, he is known to be carefree. Just like Snoopy, beagles are delightful, loving, and friendly.
Snoopy, The Beagle
His first appearance on October 4, 1950, occurred two days after his first comic strip. A month later, his name became “Snoopy.” At first, he was Patty’s dog but later adopted by Charlie Brown.
Snoopy is one of the reputable acts in the world of comic strips and is reckoned to be more noteworthy than Charley Brown in certain countries. One of Schulz’s childhood pet dogs, Spike, stimulates his original pictures.
Snoopy was pleasant, devoted, and creative. He was a beagle with the tendency to create a world of fantasy. He imagined himself as a college student, a lawyer, and an author, among others.
In Snoopy’s first appearance, he had a sister and nephew. Much later, his brother, Spike, was introduced. Some other members of his family were Marbles and Belle.
His character was sometimes greedy, lazy, and self-centered. Sometimes, he ridicules Charlie Brown. Snoopy also seldom remembers his owner’s name and has a chocolate-chip cookie fetish.
Snoopy usually imagines himself speaking, but he never uttered a word. He only makes non-verbal sounds and occasionally produces the “Woof” sound.
However, his ruminations usually showed in thought balloons. In other animated “Peanuts” films, his moods showed through growls, moans, laughter, and so on.
Though Snoopy depicts a history of faltering loyalty towards Charlie Brown, he has proved to be loving and loyal towards his owner.
Other characters who worked alongside Snoopy and Charlie include Lucy, Peppermint Patty, and Schroeder.
Awards Won By Snoopy
Snoopy and Schulz won a host of awards. Some of these are listed below:
- He received an honor after Schulz with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- The Apollo 10 lunar module was named after him.
- He won a NASA honor named the Silver Snoopy Award.
Snoopy vs. Spike
Schulz, the creator of Snoopy, described the beagle as having a varied personality. Although he knows he cannot survive with his owner’s help, he tends to present himself as being independent. It, according to Schulz, is part of the fun embedded in the comic.
Snoopy models Schulz’s dog as a teenager. The dog, Spike, also sports the exact colors Snoopy appears in – black and white. Spike was, however, of a mixed breed. He was a mixture of a hound and a pointer.
Spike, according to Schulz, had about 50 words in his vocabulary and enjoyed riding in the car. He also had the inherent nature of putting his paws on the chair as a reminder for Schulz’s dad to get the newspapers.
All About Beagles
The beagle is generally a compact breed of hounds. It is a scent hound, primarily bred for hunting hare. With a broad head and shorter muzzle, its legs are shorter in comparison with its body.
Usually, beagles are about 13 – 16 inches high, and their weight is between 8.2 and 15.9kg. Averagely, the females are a bit smaller as compared to their male counterparts. Also, they possess a smooth skull, which is somehow domed in shape.
The beagle’s upper and lower teeth fit in together, and the two are aligned squarely to its strong jaw.
It’s eyes are enormous and offer a mildly hound-like but pleading countenance.
Its neck is characteristically medium in length, making it easier to pick up scents while bending.
Their large ears are soft but long. The beagle’s broad chest narrows down to a tapered abdomen and waist, while its tail is slightly curvy with a white tip.
When active, its tail remains upright, rather than curl over. The white tip of its tail, otherwise called ‘the flag,’ enables it to be visible as it moves along, even with a lowered head.
The most common of this breed is the tricolored beagle. Its coat is mostly white but covered with large black parts and with a light brown shade. Typically, the tricolored beagles are black and white at birth.
After about eight weeks of birth, the white areas begin to set correctly. Also, the black parts may then start to fade into brown as it grows. The brown area may fully appear between one or two years.
Some beagles, however, change color gradually throughout their lifetime. They may also lose out on their black patches totally as they mature.
Beagle hounds are usually two-colored. This variety mostly has its base color as white, with tan and white being predominant. They come in other colors too. Examples are lemon, dark brown, black, red, and orangey-red.
Sense Of Smell
The beagle has a keen sense of smell. It is much better at following a ground trail than air-scenting. Due to this fact, it is not useful for mountain rescue operations.
They are probably reliant on their long-shaped ears and big lips when trapping scents closer to their nose. Their noses practically guide them throughout their lifetime. They tend to be excited when going after a fascinating scent.
Characteristic Attitude
Beagles have a gentle disposition and are considered a merry breed. They are quite friendly and do not tend to be aggressive or cowardly.
However, it is dependable on the individual animal. Beagles treasures company, although they may be reserved towards unfamiliar people.
Strangers can easily win them over. As a result, they are not the right choice as guards due to their disposition. They may be used as watchdogs because they tend to bark or howl whenever faced with unusual circumstances.
Though beagles are smart, they are a bit difficult to train as they are brave and decisive creatures. For this reason, they do not usually feature in trials related to obedience. They quickly become bored and absent-minded.
With children, other dogs, and cats, they get along very well and are active companions. Nonetheless, they may go berserk when left unattended for a while.
Beagles do not demand much as regards exercise. It is because they do not quickly become tired while exercising. Howbeit, they need not be overworked to the level of exhaustion before allowing them to rest.
Ensuring they exercise regularly will help boost their physique as they are prone to being overweight.
Health
Typically, beagles live up to between 12 to 15 years. It is common to other dog breeds of their size.
The beagle is prone to becoming epileptic, though the use of medication could regulate it. Besides this, it could suffer from dwarfism and a lowered metabolic rate with a general loss of vigor.
Another condition that is unique to this breed is that they tend to develop slowly for a while, and afterward, they grow with a crooked back and weak legs. On the whole, beagles are susceptible to disk-related ailments, glaucoma, and cherry eye.
Hunting
Primarily, the breeding of beagles was for hunting hare, also known as beagling. The elderly see them as ideal companions on their hunting sprees. These animals tend to move along while their owners ride on the horse, and do not exert themselves easily.
They are also helpful in rabbit shooting and are referred to as rabbit beagles.
Crime detection
Beagles came in handy in the detection of food items hiding inside luggage taken into the United States. Also, the bigger breeds were employed to detect explosives.
Handy in test and research
The beagle could help to carry out tests on medical, beauty, cosmetic products, among others. The animal makes testing convenient due to its size and tolerant nature.
Beagles also feature in research processes, including the protection of living things, biological research, and human medicine.
Snoopy As A Beagle
The beagle is highly musical. This breed’s different articulations are a baying howl, a half–baying howl, and a growl or bark. Generally, they do not make yelp. These canines give the half-baying howl at the sight of prey, or when they wish to rouse the neighbors from sleep.
Beagles have a hefty appetite, just like our Snoopy who is always anxious about his food bowl. They tend to overeat if not adequately monitored. As a pet owner, you might need to ensure that your trash cans and cupboards are secured. They are also “food thieves.”
Mature beagles tend to be lazy at exercising. Instead, they enjoy lying around the home all day. They will only rise once it is time to eat or to engage in intermittent scratching of the ears. Snoopy also loves sleeping, and Frieda finds this trait annoying.
Naturally, beagles are warm, affectionate, and cuddly. They want to please you as they want your attention all the time. As a result, they tend to be clingy. They become anxious when separated from you over a long period.
The relationship between Snoopy and Charlie clearly shows that the beagle is quite fond of Charlie despite their occasional spats. You usually see the duo hugging, expressing the fact that they need each other.
Beagles are loyal. Snoopy portrayed himself as being forever loyal to his owner Charlie Brown; despite his occasional shows of disloyalty, he does not stand anyone insulting Charlie.
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Conclusion
Snoopy and other characters created by Schulz were initially drawn in black and white entirely.
Later, he began to draw color comics, but Snoopy remained the same. I guess this is because his dog, Spike, was of the same color.
From the back passageysis supplied, Snoopy is a beagle, as shown in his characteristics and habits.
He is a friendly, playful, and loyal creature who does not joke with his food. All these traits are found in beagles too.