Hound Dog Breeds
Dogs That Were Born For The Hunt!

Hound dog breeds are among some of the oldest dog breeds to be found in the world today.

Pharaohs were known to revere dogs that greatly resembled the Greyhound and the Ibizan. Evidence of this has been found on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs decorated with colored pictures of dogs bearing very similar appearance.

Dogs in this group are avid hunters. From the days when bows and arrows or spears were used in the pursuit of game, the dogs in this group offered a variety of skills to assist in the hunt. For example....

source:wikipedia

Types of Hound Dog Breeds

Sighthounds with their remarkable vision and great speed, could spot game in the far distance and chase it down.

Scenthounds with their keen sense of smell could pick up the trail of game and track it for miles.

What these dogs lacked in speed, they made up for in stamina. Among the "scented" dogs are the Bassett, the Beagle and the Otterhound which can follow scent trails even through water.

Smaller hounds: Many of the smaller hound dog breeds have been used to hunt the hare, foxes and badgers. They are very capable in forested and mountainous terrain.

Some were developed to track down and kill their prey. While others were expected to corner their quarry and hold them at bay until the hunter arrived on the scene. You're probably familiar with the "baying" noise that some of these dogs make.

Quite a few dogs in this group have also been used for hunting of a more "sporting" nature, but some of these sports have now gone out of favor, such as fox hunting.

The Hound dog breeds are an interesting and diversified mixture, exhibiting different levels of energy, a variety of sizes and shapes from small to very large, and a wide range of coats and colors.

Meet The Hound Dog Breeds

Afghan Hound	American Foxhound	Basenji	Basset Hound
Saluki	Irish Wolfhound	Norwegian Elkhound	Otterhound
Dachshund	English Foxhound	Harrier	Greyhound
Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen	Black and Tan Coonhound	Bloodhound	Borzoi
Beagle	Ibizan Hound	Rhodesian Ridgeback	Pharaoh Hound
Whippet	Scottish Deerhound

Showing Off the Hound Dog Breeds

And here, for a closer look, are the hound dog breeds being shown by their handlers at the well-known Crufts Dog Show, England, in 2018.

You will notice there are quite a few more breeds in the UK hound group than the ones classified by the AKC including the expanded six varieties of Dachshund.

This is a long video but well worth watching, so set aside some time to sit back and enjoy!

These magnificent hounds all look so good, I'm sure the judge must have had a hard time making his selections.

Just for fun, try to guess which ones he chooses before the judge makes his announcement.