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OTTER HOUND |
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To the American eye, the Otter Hound seems a bit of an oddity, with most hounds being of the smooth type like Beagles and Coonhounds—a shaggy dog seems out of sync. But in France, a wide variety of rough-coated hounds have hunted for centuries. The great Griffons of Niv-ernais, Brittany and, especially, Vendee are most surely the direct ancestors of the Otter Hound. He was perfected in England, with additions of various hounds (including Bloodhound) and water spaniels. The greffier-rype
hound in France is a cold-trailer of great endurance, and these characteristics
were useful in developing a dog to hunt otter. Otters, once in abundance,
are predators that decimated the fish in English rivers. This furnished
an excuse for avid hunters, since otters were the only game in season
from April to September, Otter hunting thus became a minor sport during
the 18th century.
European otters,
weighing up to 24 pounds, live in holes dug in river banks with the entrance
under the water surface. These otters can swim for great distances underwater,
coining up only occasionally for air. The scent trail they leave on land
is called a "drag" and on water is termed a "wash."
The Otter Hound has an exquisite scenting ability like that of the Bloodhound,
and he easily can pick up and follow a drag ten to twelve hours old. When
pursuing a wash, the hounds sometimes swim as long as five hours, an activity
requiring the ultimate in both nose and endurance. His oily, thick undercoat
and webbed feet make him an Olympic-ability swimmer.
Several British
monarchs carried the title of Master of Otterhounds: John; Richard III;
Charles II; Edward II and IV; Henry II, VI, VII and VIII; and even Elizabeth
I. During the height of otter hunting in the latter half of the 1800s,
there were 18 to 20 packs in use throughout Britain each season. Famous
hounds, such as the Hawkstone Pack of the Honorable Geoffrey Hill, killed
more than 700 otters during a 20-year span. Squire Lomax of Clitheroe
was a stickler for the formality of the hunt, and the manner in which
his hounds worked was more important than the end result. During the
late 1860s, his famous pack was so well trained that it was said they
took their cues from him with only a minimal wave of his hand. Many
of the major packs of those times would send a "couple" of
hounds to the larger bench exhibitions, and the Carlisle and Kendal
working packs were also noted for their show winners.
The Otter
Hound, like previous hounds that hunted the wolf, was efficient enough
to almost annihilate his own existence. The otter numbers were reduced
so that fewer and fewer packs could be justifiably supported. In addition,
many hunt clubs began crossing the shaggy Otter Hound with Foxhound
to gain added speed. By 1900, there were very few purebred Otter Hounds
left in England, although a number of good specimens had been exported
to the United States. Today the breed is rare on both sides of the Atlantic,
save a few fanciers who sponsor it at shows.
Otters are
now a protected species in England, and otter hunting with dogs has
never been practiced in the USA, This canine's background of persistence
on a cold trail could perhaps make him useful on other game if anyone
cares to try.
His rough,
shaggy coat and large size make him the most distinctive of the
hounds in America. He requires brushing about once a week. Sometimes
the Otter Hound drinks by submerging his entire head in water. It
is always at that moment that he decides to show his love for his
master and lays his soggy beard in a lap!
These dogs have the independence of hounds yet possess great devotion to their masters. They are affectionate and boisterous, much like the children they enjoy playing with. Their hound attributes of a loud bugle and self-willed nature, combined with substantial size, need the skills of a knowledgeable trainer.
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