Hound

A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey.

Description

Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. They have either a powerful sense of smell, great speed, or both. There are three types of hound, with several breeds within each type:

• Sighthounds (also called gazehounds) follow prey predominantly by speed, keeping it in sight. These dogs are fast and assist hunters in catching game: fox, hare, deer, and elk.
• Scenthounds follow prey or others (like missing people) by tracking its scent. These dogs have endurance, but are not fast runners.
• The remaining breeds of hound follow their prey using both sight and scent. They are difficult to classify, as they are neither strictly sighthounds nor strictly scenthounds.

List of hound breeds

See also

• Dog type
• Hunting dog
• Scent hound
• Sighthound

References

External links

• The dictionary definition of hound at Wiktionary
• Media related to Hounds at Wikimedia Commons