Beagle misconceptions

I heard a lady on the playground at school the other day say "anything but a beagle" when discussing with another mom what breed of dog to consider when selecting a new pup. I must say that I was apalled, and am continually surprised by people's misunderstanding of the breed. I have heard that beagles eat too much, howl too much, follow their noses to the point of getting lost on a regular basis, that they are stupid, and that they are difficult to train. I don't know if my beagles are exceptions to the rule, but I have found none of the above to be true.
Eat too much? - my female is so picky that she will only eat one brand of doggy treats, and when I fill her bowl with food, it usually sits there until the end of the day.
Howl too much? - sure, when a stranger comes to the door or when another dog walks past the house of course they howl, but compared to most of the smaller breeds of dogs, I'll take a little howling as opposed to alot of yapping any day.
Follow their noses to the point of running away? - I've taken my dogs hiking up the mountains numerous times, and my female is so aware of my presence that she never lets me out of her sight......................she runs ahead, and then looks back and waits until I catch up.
Stupid? Okay, here is where I really get my back up. I have had a cocker spaniel, a doberman, a terrier cross, a black lab, a shepherd/ lab, and a rotweiler. Although it may have taken my beagle a little bit longer to catch on to the whole potty training routine, once she got it, she got it. She can be left in the house an entire day, and I've NEVER had to worry about an accident, and overall I must say that she has been the smartest dog I've owned.
Behaviour is all about training. You discipline your children, you generally end up with well-behaved kids. You discipline your dog, you generally end up with a well behaved dog. Blaming the breed is no different than blaming the child. As pet-owners, we are the ones responsible for the eventual behaviour of our dogs.