Types of Hound Dogs

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Types of Sighthound Dogs
The sighthound dogs are also called as gazehounds. These dogs rely on their sight and speed to hunt down prey. They are very useful in flat, barren landscapes. These dogs were developed in North Africa over 5000 years ago to track down animals in the desert landscapes. The sight hounds tend to use their speed and agility to pursue a prey. They have keen eye sight and can easily detect the slightest of movement. These hounds capture preys such as deers, hare and other fast prey.

Sighthounds have very flexible back and their legs are very long that allow them to take a long stride. These dogs have a deep chest with a large heart and efficient lungs. This body structure helps them get the required speed to hunt down animals. The sighthound dogs have mellow personalities. They are good watchdogs and have a strong instinct to chase small animals. Today, most of them are used as race dogs, open-field coursing and hunting. They prove to be good house pets as well. However, they require a lot of physical activity to keep them active and prevent them from getting bored and destructive. The following is a list of sighthound dogs:
  • Afghan Hound
  • Azawakh
  • Basenji
  • Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound)
  • Polish Greyhound (Chart Polski)
  • Spanish Greyhound (Galgo EspaƱol)
  • Hortaya Borzaya
  • Irish Wolfhound
  • Italian Greyhound
  • Ibizan Hound
  • Magyar Agar (Hungarian Greyhound)
  • Persian Greyhound (Saluki)
  • Pharaoh Hound
  • Scottish Deerhound
  • Silken Windhound
  • Sloughi
  • Whippet
Types of Scent Hounds
Scent hounds are one of the types of hound dogs that primarily use the power of smell to hunt down prey. They are said to have one of the most sensitive noses of all dogs. The scent hounds usually have long, droopy ears with large nasal cavities. Their lips are always moist as it helps them capture scent better. These dogs tend to run after the prey making loud booming noise. This is useful for the hunters to keep a track of the dogs when they go out of sight. These hounds are very useful in heavily wooded areas where spotting a prey is difficult. These dogs rely on smell or scent, and therefore, can easily chase the prey. These dogs are useful in hunting raccoons and foxes.

The scent hounds are not as fast as the sighthounds. This is because they do not have to keep a track of the animals hunted by sight. They just have to follow the smell and therefore, can travel miles in pursuit of the prey. It is said, some scent hounds are able to follow a several days old scent across running water! Most of these dogs hunt in packs and will run freely till they 'treed' a game. The dogs will then announce the hunt by baying and the hunter can follow the sound and reach the spot of game.

These TYPES OF DOGS are today kept as family pets. These dogs are good with other pets as well as children. They are however, difficult to train as they easily get distracted and are very stubborn at times. They may chase small animals like cats due to their instinct to hunt. The breeds of dogs under the scent hound type are as follows:
  • Basset Hound
  • Beagle
  • Black and Tan Coonhound
  • Bloodhound
  • Dachshund
  • American Foxhound
  • English Foxhound
  • Harrier
  • Otterhound
  • Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen
  • Plott
  • Redbone Coonhound
  • Blue Tick Coonhound
  • Leopard Curs
  • Black Mouth Cur
  • Treeing Cur

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