Connect with a verified veterinarian in minutes. Licensed vets are available 24/7 to answer your questions. No need to worry about your furry family member.
Most people are familiar with the Peanuts comic strip and the dog named Snoopy, that’s one of the main characters! Snoopy has many adventures, especially as the Flying Ace, having to pretend battles with the Red Baron!
But have you ever wondered what kind of dog Snoopy is? If you’re curious about Snoopy’s dog breed, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve gathered information about this amazing dog breed so you can learn more about Snoopy and real dogs like him!
Snoopy’s Background in Peanuts
Charles Schulz was the creator of the Peanuts comic strip in the 1950s, with Snoopy first appearing on October 4th, 1950. That was just two days after the comic strip made its first debut! The Snoopy character was slightly based on a dog named Spike that Schulz had as a teenager.
And “Snoopy” wasn’t the iconic black and white dog’s original name! Schulz first named the character “Sniffy.” After all, most dogs are happy to go sniffing around. So, that was a great name choice! That is until Schulz found that another comic strip was using the same name for their dog. So, Schulz had to quickly come up with another name, and he chose “Snoopy!”
What Kind of Dog is Snoopy?
Snoopy is a Beagle! In the last section, we mentioned Schulz’s dog, Spike. Naturally, you’d think that the dog was a Beagle, but it wasn’t. Spike was a Pointer cross, but no one was sure what dog breed the other parent was. However, it’s thought that it may have been a Beagle as Spike strongly resembled this dog breed.
And in the comic strip, Snoopy and Charlie Brown (Snoopy’s pet parent and the main character) talk about Beagles quite often.
Review symptoms, medications & behavior to keep your pets healthy with a Vet Online in just minutes.
Ask a Vet Live NowIs Snoopy a Beagle?
In the comic strip, Snoopy calls himself a Beagle. However, we can make some comparisons between Snoppy and Beagles to see if he’s similar to Beagles or not.
Appearance: Snoopy vs Beagle
Snoopy has long ears and large eyes, which are similar to a Beagle. Beagles tend to have droopy ears, with large, round eyes. They also have a short coat that’s usually the traditional black, tan, and white color of the breed.
However, Snoopy’s black and white, with no brown whatsoever. For this reason, many readers of the comic believe that Snoopy can’t possibly be a Beagle. However, according to the AKC, there are black and white Beagles, though these are rare.
In addition, Snoopy has black ears, which are not typical of a Beagle.
Personality: Snoopy vs Beagle
While Snoopy may not strongly resemble a traditional Beagle, what about his personality? Let’s take a look!
Beagles are usually gentle, sweet-natured, and funny. They love to make you laugh; however, these dogs can also be a bit naughty. That’s because the dogs are highly intelligent and can cook up any number of things to have fun. Sometimes pet parents have a difficult time outthinking their Beagles!
What about Snoopy? In the comic strip, Snoopy has a great personality. He’s friendly, curious, and intelligent. He loves to have fun and is generally happy. He is constantly keeping everyone (including himself) entertained.
In addition, Snoopy loves to eat anything and everything. He does happy dances and loves eating junk food! This last is a typical trait of Beagles. They always love to eat and will eat just about anything that doesn’t eat them first. These dogs can easily gain weight if they overeat and don’t get enough exercise.
In addition, Snoopy is very loyal to Charlie Brown. This is another similarity the dog has with Beagles. They are faithful and loving with their families. However, Snoopy can also sometimes be stubborn, which is another trait he shares with real Beagles.
Is Snoopy a Beagle?
Yes, we’re pretty confident in saying that Snoopy is a Beagle. He bears a strong similarity with most aspects of the Beagle dog breed. We understand Snoopy’s appearance is different than a purebred Beagle. However, it’s important to remember that Snoopy is a character created for a comic strip. Most characters in comics don’t look like real people, animals, and so on.
What’s more, Snoopy calls himself a Beagle. So, we have to go with that!
How Tall is Snoopy?
No one knows for sure how tall Snoopy is. But we do have this information about Beagles. Beagles are usually 13 to 15 inches tall, and they usually weigh between 18 to 30 lbs.
Fun Facts About Snoopy
Here are some fun facts we gathered about Snoopy!
- Snoopy didn’t express his thoughts until two years after he first showed up in the comics.
- Snoopy’s name was given to the lunar module for Apollo 10!
- Snoopy has at least six siblings: Spike, Belle, Marbles, Olaf, & Andy.
- Not many people know that Snoopy has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! His star was created in 2015 and is located next to the star for Charles Schulz.
- the Charles M. Schulz Museum in California hosts several permanent Snoopy exhibitions.
- Snoopy also has a museum in Tokyo, Japan! The museum was created in 2016 and is called the Snoopy Museum Tokyo.
- Charles Schulz had fun letting Snoopy develop his wonderful imagination. The dog was sometimes the college student Joe Cool or he imagined himself to be the Flying Ace, a WWI pilot, who went after the Red Baron (German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen). Snoopy also pretended to be a writer and a lawyer (with a briefcase). One more infamous character of Snoopy’s imagination was his Beagle-scout character. His troop consisted of Woodstock (a bird friend of Snoopy) and other friends.
Summing It Up
So, there you have it! Snoopy is officially a Beagle! And it’s no wonder when you consider how smart real Beagles are! Snoopy belongs in the Beagle Hall of Fame!
When it comes to real Beagles, they can make wonderful family companions. They are great with kids, too. These dogs are best for active families that have plenty of time to have fun with their Beagle fur babies!
Connect with a verified veterinarian in minutes. Licensed vets are available 24/7 to answer your questions. No need to worry about your furry family member.
Tom
Tom has always loved to write since he was little - he wanted to be either a writer or a veterinary doctor, but he ended up being a professional writer while most of his works are based on animals. He was born in San Francisco but later moved to Texas to continue his job as a writer. He graduated from the University of San Francisco where he studied biotechnology. He is happily married and a soon to be father!
Review symptoms, medications & behavior to keep your pets healthy with a Vet Online in just minutes.
Ask a Vet Live Now