Page 118 - ShowSight - April 2020

BREEDING WITH INTENTION
“ In this series, we will attempt to answer those questions for
dog breeds in each of the groups, or clusters of breeds within groups,
where appropriate. To be certain, a great deal of literature exists on the individual history of most breeds; however, the real or perceived ”
divergence in field/work and show dogs is seldom, if ever, explored.
What are the actual or perceived similar- ities and differences between the purebred show dog and field/work dog? What have breeders done to breed dogs that can do the job for which they were intended, if it still exists, and if not, what simulations exist that are as close to the original intent as possible? In this series, we will attempt to answer those questions for dog breeds in each of the groups, or clusters of breeds within groups, where appropriate. To be certain, a great deal of literature exists on the individual history of most breeds; however, the real or perceived divergence in field/work and show dogs is seldom, if ever, explored.
I am most familiar with the Hound Group, as not only did I “grow up” in that Group with Basset Hounds (for the past 45 years) and Salukis, I still own, breed, and exhibit Basset Hounds. When I say “grow up”, I mean that I was immersed in all things Hound through my association with breeders, exhibitors, field trailers of (and hunters with) breeds within the AKC-des- ignated Hound Group.
The Hounds can be roughly divided into the Scent Hounds, Sight Hounds, and Multi-Sense Hounds. By Multi-Sense, I mean those that hunt by a purposeful combination of sight, scent, and hearing. The Scent Hounds can be further sub- divided into those that are traditionally hunted on foot (Basset Hounds, Beagles, Bloodhounds, Dachshunds, Harriers1, the five AKC-recognized Coonhound breeds, Otterhounds, Petit Bassets Griffon Ven- deen, Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen and Plott Hounds), and those hunted on horse- back (American Foxhounds, English Fox- hounds and Harriers1). To be sure, there are many more, particularly in France, which are recognized by the FCI and are hunted on foot and on horseback. How- ever, hunting has, to a large extent, become
sport rather than a necessity to modern life and nutrition.
At last report, there were 59 Beagle packs and 19 Harrier packs in the United Kingdom registered with the Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles (AHMB), and there were 12 Basset packs registered with the Masters of Basset Hounds Asso- ciation. Dogs from registered packs may be exhibited at any of the Scent Hound-specif- ic shows. The Harrier was no longer recog- nized by The Kennel Club as of 1971, with the last Harrier registered with The Kennel Club in 1915. They are, however, still active with the AMHB. The Masters of Foxhounds Association (United Kingdom) represents 171 packs of Foxhounds that hunt in Eng- land and Wales and a further eight in Scot- land. The coordination and compilations of stud books for Hounds in these packs, as well as for packs of other Hound breeds, are maintained by The Hunting Office. There are six Fellhound packs in Cumbria. Because of the terrain, mounted hunting is not feasible in the Lake District. These Foxhounds are lighter and more agile than Hounds bred by horse-followed packs and they are bred to cope with difficult terrain, thus hunted on foot. Keep in mind that in England and Wales the hunting of live mam- mals, namely fox, deer, hares, and mink is prohibited by the law of 2004, so hunters have had to come up with alternative scent- ing methods. The law does not cover the use of dogs in flushing out unidentified wild animals causing harm to your property or the environment.
“In the section on Associations: Modern English and Old English Foxhounds, the website for the Festival of Hunting states, “The modern English Foxhound has evolved over the last 100 years and consists of a mix- ture of different types, with the ‘pure’ or ‘old English type’ regarded by some as not suit- able for hunting, because the Peterborough
(FoxHound show) fashion had become exaggerated with too much bone.” See the following link https://festivalofhunting.com/ judging/ for an idea of what judges look for at Hound shows.
In the United States, hunting packs of Beagles and Basset Hounds are registered with the National Beagle Club of Amer- ica (NBC) or the Masters of Fox Hounds Association (MFHA). There are approxi- mately 35 Beagle and 18 Basset Hound packs and one Harrier pack in the US. The Hounds of the Harrier pack are active still in the field as well as in AKC conformation shows. One Beagle pack that I know of also successfully exhibits its Hounds at AKC conformation shows.
The MFHA recognizes hunts and reg- isters in its stud book individual Hounds of the following Foxhound breeds: Ameri- can, Crossbred, English and Penn-Marydel Foxhounds, and Harriers. In order for these Hounds to be exhibited at MFHA Hounds shows, such Hounds must be registered or be eligible for registration with the MFHA. There are eight Hound shows in the US and one in Canada yearly with 136 US hunts and ten Canadian hunts listed in the most recent available register of 2017. Note that “Crossbred” is a category unto itself within the MFHA study book. The Penn-Marydel was also a crossbred at one time and has evolved into a distinct breed of Foxhound to serve the hunts of the Eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware region.
Why all the history and data on this sub- set of the Scent Hounds? It gives us a very clear indication, if one looks at the numbers of Foxhounds hunted versus the number of Foxhounds exhibited, that the vast major- ity of these pack Hounds, except the Har- riers, are not exhibited at AKC, UKC, or FCI shows. Why is that? Has form followed function in either realm? Are the hunters more interested in the actions or work of >
1 Harriers are generally hunted on horseback, but have also been hunted on foot.
116 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2020