Elvis Presley may have made hound dogs popular with his 1956 remake of the song, “Hound Dog,” but ancient literature is replete with reference to Hounds. Zenophon the Greek discoursed at length on the care of hounds. This article highlights the breeds included officially in the Hound Show Group. There are many more hound breeds throughout the world but space does not permit mention of them.

 

A general grouping falls in three classifications — trailing hounds, coursing hounds, and miscellaneous.

 

Dachs has Hunting Desire

Trail Hounds, as the name indicates, are keen to follow a trail or ground scent in the field. I can group the short-legged, long-backed breeds here—basset hound (a. French breed), the dachshund, (really French in origin just as the poodle is German in origin). Do not be misled by the clowning dachs—he’s got a keen nose and usually delights to follow a game trail in the woods.

 

Beagle has Baritone Bark

The foxhound group is a familiar one. There are both American and English foxhounds. President Washington was a devout fancier of the foxhound and the chase. The harrier is a medium-sized foxhound. The beagle, belonging to the same general family, is the smallest, and perhaps with his baritone bay, the most melodious of all breeds.

 

Bloodhound: A Gentle Breed

The black-and-tan coonhound is the only one of a half dozen distinct coonhound varieties recognized for show and stud book (although there are minor stud books which embrace all coonhounds). The bloodhound is among the oldest of purebreeds, not at all bloody or vicious as his name implies; and his bloodlines have been used to modify or create other breeds. There is bloodhound blood somewhere along the line in coonhounds and bassets.

 

Use Sight in Preference to Nose

Coursing Hounds, having swiftness of action, pursue or course their game by sight rather than by the slower method of following the aura of scent. This does not mean they do not have scenting ability. The general greyhound family, perhaps the oldest of distinct canine families, includes the greyhound proper, the medium sized greyhound or whippet, and the toy size, the Italian greyhound.

 

Many Members of Greyhound Family

But the family is large and includes longcoated breeds. Among these are the afghan, the saluki or gazelle hound, perhaps the most graceful-moving of all breeds. The borzoi or Russian wolfhound. Scottish deerhound: and its large cousin the Irish Wolfhound, tallest and longest of all breeds.

 

The Miscellaneous Group brings together an interesting assembly of breeds. The basenji or barkless (but not noiseless) dog from the African Congo. Norwegian elkhound, an all-purpose dog in its native Norway and really not too much at home in the hound group. The otterhound, a rough and-ready water dog, ancestor of the airedale.

 

Ridgeback is from Africa

And the latest addition to the so-called royal canine family—the Rhodesian ridgeback, a medium to large-sized, short-coated, tan-colored hunting dog from Rhodesia, getting its name from this African area and from a ribbon of hair about one and a half inches wide, which runs along and on the backbone from base of shoulders to the rump but in the opposite direction to the ‘lay’ of hair, that is, it points toward the head.

Tags: bloodhound, coonhound, coursing hound, foxhound, greyhound, hound dog, trail hound, wolfhound

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