The Schneagle is a hybrid dog, and while he is not as rare as some other hybrids, little is known about his origins. However, we can study the history of his parent breeds in order to understand the beginnings of the Schneagle. The Beagle is traditionally a hunting dog. He once hunted with nobility in Europe, and in modern America, he accompanied hunters after a variety of game. It is thought that the Beagle is a descendant of the Talbot hound, a dog that was brought to England by William the Conqueror around 1066. During the time of Edward II and Henry VII, extremely small Beagles (known as Glove Beagles) were very popular. Their name came from a legend that they were small enough to be held in a gloved hand. Elizabeth I kept another variety of Beagle known as the Pocket Beagle (again, small enough to fit in a pocket). Although the smaller Beagles were good at hunting, they weren't very fast due to their very short legs. In fact, during the 1700s, fox hunting became more fashionable, and, had farmers not kept packs of Beagles for hunting small game in the countryside, the Beagle might have become extinct. In the mid-1800s, Reverend Phillip Honeywood developed a pack of Beagles which are thought to be the ancestors the modern-day Beagle. Honeywood bred the dogs for hunting skills; a fellow Englishman by the name of Thomas Johnson bred Beagles that were both attractive and skillful hunters as well. It was also at this time that the Beagle became larger as a result of breeding to larger dogs. However, once the Beagle was imported to America, hunters began breeding the Beagle to smaller hunting dogs to decrease their size yet again. The American Kennel Club began registering the Beagle in 1884.
The Miniature Schnauzer is a born hunter as well. He was bred to hunt rats and guard farms across Germany. He is the result of interbreeding the Schnauzer, the Miniature Pinscher, the Affenpinscher, and perhaps the Poodle. There are no definitive records about how the breed was developed, so his exact parentage is unknown. The earliest recorded Schnauzer is a female, Findel, n 1888. An interest in the Miniature Schnauzer took place after World War I, a time when dog breeding was difficult to say the least. His popularity remains steady today.
