Scent Hounds

Dog Breeds - ABC List

Dog Breeds Index

Sporting - Gun Dogs

Non-Sporting Dogs

Working Dogs

Herding Dogs

Terrier Dogs

Toy Dogs

Hound Dogs

Miscellaneous Dogs

Sighthounds

Hunting Dogs

Rare & Other Breeds

History of Dogs

Big & Small Dogs

Dog & Puppy Names

Pictures of Dogs

Dog Drawings

Puppies

Dog Facts

Famous Dogs

Dog Symptoms Sorter

Canine Health

Teacup Dogs

Dog Types

Dog Quiz !

General Information about Scent Hounds
All of the dogs listed below belong to the collection of dogs referred to as Scent Hounds, which specialise in following the scent or the smell of its quarry. It wasn’t until the mid 1500's that hounds began to be classified according to their type and purpose, i.e. sight hounds, scent hounds, etc. It is not necessary for Scent Hounds to be as fast and agile as Sighthounds - they do not need to keep their quarry in sight. Scent hounds are built for endurance. They can follow a scent for long distances and even across running water.

Information about Scent Hound characteristics
Scent Hounds have distinctive characteristics, features and traits which are perfect for their purpose. They have large noses which have deep, open nostrils and their lips are loose and moist, designed to pick up scent particles and follow the trail of an animal. Their ears are long which concentrates the scent on the nose. Their bodies are designed for endurance, an essential asset when following any scent trail.

Dog photograph

Information about Scent Hounds and Hunting
Hunting takes different forms and as man opted for hunting their quarry either on foot or on horseback so the scent hounds were selectively bred to suit either form of hunting. Cross breeding was designed to produce either small legs, to enable a man to easily follow on foot, or longer legs suited to keep up with a man on horseback. Most scent hounds were used in packs - making a loud, deep baying noise alerting hunters to their location.

Bay Dogs

To discover more about specific breeds of scent hounds, their origins, history, temperaments and characteristics please follow one of the following links: