One of the largest factors in choosing a breed of dog is how much they need to be groomed. Some breeds will require professional grooming that can be very costly.
Thankfully, Beagles are short haired and have a wiry coat, this means they don’t need professional grooming.
However, it is a good idea to occasionally groom your beagle at home, in order to keep them looking and feeling their best.
In this article, we’ll cover the basics of grooming a beagle, such as how often to groom, how to groom them and wrap up with some of the essential grooming tools for a beagle.
Do beagles shed a lot?
Yes, beagles do shed a lot. They shed more than you’d expect, we often hoover weekly find the hoover bag full of beagle hair!
Any beagle owner will know that I’m not understating how much they do shed, and this is definitely something to consider if you’re looking to own one.
Thankfully, beagle hair vacuums and brushes up/off easily as the hair is rather coarse, meaning it lifts off surfaces nice as easily.
What’s also good, is that by grooming your beagle at home with a brush you can reduce the amount your beagle shed.
How to groom a beagle
There are essentially three key things to do when grooming your beagle:
Brush your beagle regularly
Brushing your beagle regularly is important to reduce excess shedding, don’t get me wrong, they will still shed, but it’ll be reduced.
In terms of a brush, it needs to be a proper dog brush, with bristles that are much coarser than human hair brushes, this digs deep and pulls out any loose hair. The added benefit of this is it can pull out any ticks/fleas that may be hiding on your beagle.
Bathe your beagle
It’s a good idea to bathe your beagle occasionally to remove any dirt and odour from their coat. Use a neutral dog shampoo (we use Animology dogs body) as these are less irritating on their skin compared to traditional shampoo.
It’s a good idea to bathe your beagle once every 2-4 months, too often it is not good for their skin and can cause irritation.
Clean their ears
Beagle’s are best known for their soft, floppy ears but unfortunately the downside of such a distinctive feature is that they can be prone to harbour dirt and bacteria, which can lead to ear infections.
You’ll know if your beagle’s ears need to be cleaned as they’ll be shaking their head often.
To prevent this, I suggest using an ear cleaner. We use Pro Pooch Ear Cleaner once every two weeks, as the all natural ingredients don’t tend to annoy Bella (too much!).
You can also use cotton swabs (for dogs) once a week to help maintain good hygiene and prevent infection, we use bamboo cotton buds from Amazon.
If you take your dogs out on particularly muddy walks, then you may need to clean their ears more often.
If you do take your beagle out for muddy walks, it’s best to invest in a good harness to stop them from going where they shouldn’t!
Brush their teeth
Just like humans, dogs need to have their teeth cleaned often to help prevent cavities and keep their breath (somewhat) fresh.
Naturally this can be a challenge, so we use Vet’s Best Dental Care Finger Wipes, as these are less intrusive and more comfortable for Bella and do the job just as well.
Other options include more traditional toothbrushes, although we found these harder to do.
I suggest doing this every night, ideally before bed.
How often do Beagles need to be groomed?
Ideally you should groom your beagle as often as your see fit, however, we recommend the following timeframes:
Brushing: Once a week at minimum.
Bathing: Once every 2 to 4 months (not more due to skin irritation)
Clean their ears: The vet suggested we clean Bella’s ears once a week with a swab, and once every 2 weeks with the liquid.
Brush their teeth: I recommend doing this every night.
Ultimately, there is some leeway here on how often you do things, the only hard rule is to not bathe your beagle too often or it can irritate skin.
With that said, here are some of my recommendations for Beagle grooming gear.
Best grooming brush for a beagle
Ultimately, a brush is a brush, you want to have one that’s made of stainless steel and is specifically made for shorter coats so it can effectively deshed your beagle. Here are 3 of my favourite grooming brushes.
Best Overall: Thunderpaws Best Professional Deshedding Tool
Why I like it: This is the one I use for grooming bella on a regular basis, it’s durable, made from rubber so has a good grip and effectively de-sheds Bella to the point where I think I’ve got another dog there’s so much hair!
Thunderpaws claim this will de-shed up to 95% of loose hair, which will definitely help with keeping the dog hair from taking over your home!
Cheapest: TadKeep Professional Dog and Cat Brush
Why I like it: Similar to the Thunderpaws one – this deshedding tool should effectively deshed your beagle with minimal fuss, although this looks to have less bristles, so it may not be as effective as the Thunderpaws alternative.
TadKeep claims that the 4 inch stainless steel brush will effectively deshed your beagle whilst giving it a massage, how fancy!
Final Thoughts
To wrap up, yes Beagle’s do need to be groomed, but just not as often or as heavily as longer or curly haired breeds, such as the cockapoo or golden retriever.
For a beagle, I recommend brushing their coat relatively often, once a week or so, to help keep the shedding at bay.
I also suggest bathing them once every 2 to 4 months, to ensure they’re free of bacteria and smelling fresh.
Due to their long floppy ears, they’re often prone to ear infections. Cleaning their ears with specialist cotton buds once a week and then with a deep cleaning liquid once every two weeks will help prevent infection.
Finally, I suggest cleaning their teeth every night, just like you would your own, you can either use a special toothbrush or finger pads, whichever you find easiest.
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