Hound Breeds

The Hound Breeds is quite a mix of sizes, attitudes and coat types; ranging from the disdainful elegance of the Afghan to the curious attributes of the Norwegian Lundehund by way of the unusual coat pattern of the Rhodesian Ridgeback and the massive gentle giant, the Irish Wolfhound; what they all have in common is that they were bred to hunt either by scent or eye and obedience is not their greatest virtue.

If you wish for a biddable dog who won't make you look ridiculous by totally ignoring your calls then another Breeds would make more sense. The Ridgeback is probably the most obedient of the hounds and the Afghan the most utterly independent, with all the others somewhere on a scale of 1 to 10 - 1 being the Afghan and somewhere towards 10 where most of the other Breedss start on their obedience score.

Hounds have long been valued for their independence of thought; in an unsentimental world where the best were valued the less good fell by the wayside so there have been hundreds, and in some breeds thousands, of years of breeding to create a hound that fulfils its purpose. For example the Lundehund is required to have at least six toes on each foot, has a double-jointed neck and its front legs can rotate 180º - all this to accommodate its job as a rock-climbing puffin hunter. Just as these physical attributes did not develop without selective breeding so mental attributes were bred for.

If a dog has been asked for many centuries to exhibit certain characteristics it is over-optimistic to expect them to become perfect housedogs in a relatively short period of time. Many of the hound breeds have only found their way into our sitting rooms within the last hundred years or less and those qualities that made them worth feeding by the huntsman who viewed them as primarily a working dog cannot be quickly modified.

In their own countries sighthounds have often been treated with great reverence; the Saluki (also known as the Gazelle Hound) was and remains the favourite of the Royals and Sheikhs of Arabia, the Afghan in addition to his role as guardian of the flocks was the Royal Dog of Afghanistan and in many parts of the West, particularly England and Ireland, Greyhounds were held in such regard that none but Royals and Aristocracy were allowed to own them and King Henry VIII incorporated a Greyhound into his Coat of Arms. Deerhounds are another breed who found their place in aristocratic halls in Scotland; they have been more or less domesticated for two hundred years, much as the Wolfhound has and so exhibit more domestic attitudes.

Many of the hound breeds are very beautiful. Having been bred to hunt, soundness and fitness for function are essential and generally they are dogs who do not exhibit many inherited defects although some breeds show a tendency towards eye problems or hip dysplasia. Mostly though, as they are not heavyweights, they remain fairly sound. As with all breeds of all Breedss it is essential to seek out a breeder who knows their breed inside out and is looking for the best possible home for their puppies and will offer you on-going support and advice.