Otterhound
The Otterhound is an English dog breed. It is a scent hound and is currently recognised by the Kennel Club as a Vulnerable Native Breed with around 600 animals worldwide.
Ancestry
The first recorded Otterhounds known to resemble the current breed are in the North-West of England in the first half of the 19th century – for example, the Hawkstone Otter Hunt and Squire Lomax's Otterhounds. In the second half of the 19th century, French Griffons were outcrossed, including one-eighth Wolf cross/Griffon Vendéen from the Comte de Canteleu in Normandy. In the early 20th century the Griffon Nivernais was crossed into the breed, and one particular dog, Boatman, a Grand Griffon Vendéen/Bloodhound cross, became an ancestor for several kennels.Appearance
The Otterhound is a large, rough coated, and straight limbed dog. The head is deep but not wide with the rough coat giving it a beard or moustache of sorts. The nose is wide. The eyes are deep set with the haw only slightly showing. The ears are long and pendulous, they roll inwards as to create a 'drape' appearance. The neck is long a slight dewlap is allowed. The forelegs are straight from the elbow to the ground. Pasterns are slightly strung. Hind legs are well-muscled with heavily muscled thighs, in a normal stance the hind legs from hock to ground are perpendicular. Feet are large, round, and thick padded. The tail is thick at the base and never curls over the back. The coat is in length, dense, rough, and waterproof; appears broken. Height at the shoulder is for dogs and for bitches.Otterhounds generally weigh between.
Coat colours
Recognised colours are: whole coloured, grizzle, sandy, red, wheaten, and blue; with white markings permissible in all of them as well as lemon, blue, or badger pied markings.Hunting
hunting dates back to the early medieval period, with references to it found as early as 1360. The Otterhound, however, can only be traced back as a distinct breed as far as the 18th century, and the first record of Otterhounds at a dog show was in Leeds in 1861. To be equal to the otter, an Otterhound was said to need "a Bulldog's courage, a Newfoundland's strength in water, a Pointer's nose, a Retriever's sagacity, the stamina of a Foxhound, the patience of a Beagle, and the intelligence of a Collie."In 1978, due to the dramatic decline in otter numbers, the otter was placed on the list of protected species in Britain, and otter hunting therefore ceased. By 1977, nine registered packs of otterhounds were still in existence. A few hunts switched to hunting mink or coypu, but many of the original otterhound packs ceased to exist altogether. Hounds were often passed to newly founded minkhound packs. The Pembroke and Carmarthenshire Minkhounds are the only pack today with a pure otterhound pack. As the dogs had been selectively bred for their hunting capabilities, only a few of the bloodlines were suitable for breeding into companion animals.