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.
