If you are a fan of Schulz’s iconic comic strip Peanuts, and also an avid dog lover, then you might have wondered what dog breed is Snoopy? Well, Snoopy is a beagle, but to know why to read on.
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Snoopy is the famous pet from the iconic comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles Schulz. Peanuts is one of the most famous cartoons of all time. It had two main characters Charlie Brown and his dog, Snoopy.
Snoopy first appeared in the comic strip on October 4, 1950. He is shown as a loyal, innocent, and good-natured dog. Avid comic strip readers and dog lovers have often wondered what dog breed is snoopy? In this article, let us look at the answer to this question and some more:
- A bit about Snoopy, the friendly dog from Peanuts
- Why is Snoopy a Beagle?
- What Did Snoopy Actually Look Like?
- How Tall Is Snoopy?
- Is snoopy a pitbull, bull terrier, dalmatian or a beagle?
About Snoopy
The comic strip Peanuts revolved around a dog named Snoopy and a group of children. Around 355 million people worldwide followed this comic strip, and it was written in 21 languages.
This comic strip was written by Charles Schulz and used to be printed in newspapers until February 13, 2000. This amounted to be around 17897 comic strips over the last 50 years.
This comic strip has been one of the longest strips written by a single artist. Charles Brown was the comic strip’s main character, but Snoopy stole the show. Snoopy is the first character that people think of when they hear the name Peanuts.
Snoopy’s Development
In the early years of the comic strip, snoopy’s behavior was shown like an average, everyday pet. Then slowly, it was shown more like a human than a dog. Snoopy’s character was a silent dog in the initial two years but eventually changed to a talking one.
- Schulz changed the dog’s sleeping location from the doghouse to its rooftop.
- Eventually, Snoopy was changed from being quadrupedal to the bipedal dog.
- He was a part of Charlie Brown’s baseball team and played baseball in 1952.
- Once he started to walk on his hind legs, he appeared more like a human than a dog.
Why Is Snoopy A Beagle?
To any casual observer today, Snoopy may not seem to have any common traits of a beagle. This is because beagles look different in today’s modern-day than they did way back in the 1930s.
Beagle dogs are popular pets who are known to be outgoing, intelligent, and even-tempered. In the 1950s, they used to be the most loved dogs by Americans. Beagles are tri-colored dogs with white, black, and brown patches. Their long floppy ears are one of the most common and loved traits, and a trait tht Snoopy also shares.
Personality
Snoopy had been shown in the comic strip as a loyal, imaginative, funny, and good-natured dog. Snoopy used to be always happy and do the happy dance, which annoys one of the comic characters named Lucy.
This was because of her belief that no one can ever be happy all the time. And Snoopy just thinks that Lucy is jealous as she never used to be as happy as he is. Snoopy keeps everyone happy and entertained all the time with his musical talents. This is similar to what a Beagle does with its howling.
Snoopy is shown as a friendly and loving character and is always trying to be affectionate and cheer people up. Lack of meal was the only thing that used to upset snoopy. Snoopy loves eating and celebrates meal time with a happy dance.
For him eating junk food was one of the great joys in life. This trait is similar to a beagle who always hunts for food. Beagles are known to have food whenever you offer them.
Also, Snoopy being a dog, used to hate cats and made rude remarks on cats who attacked him. However, in the comic strip, he was shown to be nice to the cats next door.
Most of the time, Beagles are lazy at exercising and enjoy lying all day long. Snoopy loves having a nap and being lazy, which usually annoys Frieda, a supporting female character of the comic strip. It was often shown in the comic strip, snooping, sleeping on the top of his doghouse, sometimes all day. He always used to find easy ways out of life.
Snoopy is an energetic dog who keeps himself around children and imagines games to play. This is similar to what a beagle does. A beagle needs 60 minutes of play every day.
Appearance
Many people think Snoopy is not a Beagle because it is black and white. But as per the American Kennel Club, there are black and white beagles. They are just not as common as tricolored ones.
If you look at Schulz’s dog Spike’s picture, you will easily see that it was a black and white Beagle.
Beagles have long and droopy ears, square noses, and big eyes. Snoopy has a lot of personality traits of a Beagle, from long floppy ears to his active personality.
Except for the physical appearance of a real-life beagle, Snoopy has many characteristic features of a beagle. Beagles are a happy breed of dogs and full of energy.
In the initial comic strips, Schulz drew Snoopy walking on four legs but was shown to be carefree. Beagles are loving, delightful, and friendly creatures similar to Snoopy. Snoopy was well known for his intelligence and always gets in trouble like Beagles would.
What Did Snoopy Actually Look Like?
The personality and design of Snoopy kept changing with time as the writer’s style changed. In the initial years of the comic strip, Snoopy appeared as a black and white dog walking in four legs. And earlier, he did not belong to Charlie Brown.
Gradually Snoopy became a major character of the story, and his appearance looked more like a human. His ears became small and thin, and he was shown walking on two legs. He was shown with a thick and wound muzzle and not a slender snout.
The things that remained the same throughout were his black ears, oval-shaped nose, and black saddle mark wearing a black collar.
Snoopy was a pleasant creative dog with great imagination. He had many such traits as a beagle. He imagined himself as a lawyer, college student, and author. He used to imagine himself speaking but never said a word. He only makes a woof sound.
Beagles are always portrayed as loyal dogs. In the comic strip, Snoopy has always shown as a faithful dog of Charlie Brown and has proved to be a loving and loyal dog to his owner.
Snoopy has won a lot of laurels, some of them are:
- The Apollo 10 lunar module was named after him.
- Snoopy has a star alongside Schulz on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- He is the inspiration behind NASA’s Silver Snoopy Award.
How Tall Is Snoopy?
No one would know the actual height of Snoopy. But a lot of intelligent people have worked on it. Charlie Brown was eight years old when the story was written. The average height of an eight-year child would be approximately 50 inches. Snoopy is around 5/9th of this height when you look at the comic strip. This makes him 15 inches tall.
If you look at beagles, they are also approximately 15-inches tall, which fits right into the theory that Snoopy is a Beagle.
Spike Vs. Snoopy
The creator of the comic strip, Schulz, has described Snoopy as having similar traits to that of a beagle. Though he knows he cannot live without his owner, still he was shown as an independent dog.
Snoopy is also shown as a teenage dog. Schulz’s childhood dog, Spike, also had a similar appearance as Snoopy: black and white. Though, Spike was a mixed breed of pointer and hound.
Is Snoopy a pitbull?
Snoopy appears to be a beagle. Snoopy was shown as a beagle but modeled as Schul’s childhood dog named Spike in the starting years. Until 1960, snoopy was never shown as a beagle.
Is Snoopy a dalmatian or a beagle?
Snoopy from the comic strip, Peanuts is a beagle. He is shown as a loving pet dog of Charlie Brown in the comic strip.
Is Snoopy Black And White?
In his childhood, Schulz, the creator of the comic strip, Peanuts, had a dog named Spike. He had similar colors to Snoopy. It is believed that Schulz has modeled Snoopy on his childhood dog. Spike had a white body and black marks on his face and ears.
Is Snoopy a bull terrier?
No, Snoopy is a Beagle from all records. He does not share any characteristics of a bull terrier.
A Few Final Words
In the beginning, Schulz created Peanuts as completely black and white. But later, he started drawing colored strips. However Snoopy was still black and white. Maybe because his own dog, Spike, was black and white.
So now we know about the personality traits of Snoopy. He may not be a real beagle but has similar personality traits to a beagle. He is shown as a loving and loyal breed with long floppy ears. He resembles Schulz’s childhood dog spike.
No matter what breed Snoopy is, he has similar personality traits that any pet owner would want: love, affection, and loyalty.
We hope this article answered all your questions about Snoopy. If you have comments or questions regarding this famous cartoon character, you can write to us in the comments box below and we will quickly get back to you.
