The Hound Group – Hounds, Please!

The Hound Group – Hounds, Please!

To introduce the 32 breeds of AKC’s Hound Group is to acknowledge that there are many recognized breeds of dogs—though hounds are truly in a league of their own. Of course, Canis familiaris (or Canis lupus familiaris) has been given many monikers through the ages, but the name bestowed upon this distinguished collection of purebreds is perhaps more revered than all others. In English, the term “hound” is reserved for a rather rarified collection of independent hunters that have largely been the responsibility of a community’s more elite members (with some notable American exceptions and despite any insistence otherwise from Elvis Presley).

Sighthounds are among the oldest types of dogs still in existence today. Hailing from the Fertile Crescent roughly 9,000 years ago, the ancestors of today’s “gazehounds” were likely dispersed along the Silk Road where they ultimately produced specialized versions of themselves, each adapted to regional hunting conditions and local prey animals. Wherever they managed to gain a foothold, hounds were distinguished from common village dogs by virtue of their hunting prowess. As a result, only members of the nobility were entitled to ownership. Czars in Russia, Sheikhs in North Africa, and Earls in Scotland have all enjoyed the privilege of companionship alongside the exquisite hunters of wolves, gazelle, and deer. Today, it’s the sighthounds who are privileged, pursuing plastic bags instead of prey and enjoying a life of leisure beside people from every strata of society.

Today’s scenthounds were more recent arrivals to both high society and the hunt. Likely descended from the hounds of Ancient Greece, the ancestors of today’s trackers and trailers were produced by crossing sighthounds with molosser-type dogs. Those crosses were eventually dispersed throughout Europe by the Celts and others who utilized their hounds for both hunting and guarding. In particular, the Romans were fond of these large and imposing hounds, and brought them to the far reaches of the empire where they were cared for by nobles and the clergy. In Belgium, monks undertook a selective breeding program which produced the St. Hubert’s Hound, and in England, the Talbot Hound is thought to have been the ancestor of several of today’s popular and well-known breeds. Both France and England perfected their “pack hounds” in the kennels of the aristocracy and landed gentry, but it was in the United States that they were employed by the average citizen to “tree” the native fauna and put food on the table. “You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog,” according to Elvis, and that’s a darned good thing for a dog to be.

Through the articles and interviews assembled in this issue, SHOWSIGHT has endeavored to celebrate the swift sighthound and sensational scenthound breeds of the Hound Group through the words of the breeders and exhibitors who know them best. We hope you enjoy!