The Hound Dog Breed Group

The Hound Group includes the various breeds which helped man to hunt for centuries all over the world. These dogs are roughly divided into two groups; those that hunt by sight, and those that hunt by scent or smell.

Sight Hounds were one of the earliest groups to emerge (they are clearly depicted in Egyptian tomb paintings and early Persian manuscripts). In their middle-eastern birthplace, they were bred selectively to chase, capture and kill prey in open country. These are silent hounds,  known for their keen eyesight, lean and graceful appearance and amazing sprinting ability.

Scent Hounds evolved much later than Sight Hounds and were very much a European invention. Medieval France was particularly keen to develop such hounds, and produced both griffons and bassets. Scent Hounds are more heavily built and slower moving. They were used to scent out prey and put it up for the chase. They excel in endurance rather than speed, able to follow a scent trail and run the quarry to exhaustion.

Spitz breeds were generally considered Northern Territory dogs, but they are spread throughout the world and there is no evidence to suggest that they came from one specific region. The existence of so many indigenous Spitz breeds suggests that they may be the oldest type of domesticated dog.