Spanish Hound

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Spanish Hound or Sabuesos Espanoles (Spanish Scenthound) is a scenthound breed that originated in Iberian Peninsula, Spain. This multi-talented dog has been used since hundreds of years exclusively for hunting purposes. Though considered specialist in small game hunting, the dog has proved its abilities and skills in hunting all kinds of game including wild boar, hare, brown bear,red deer, roe deer, fox, wolves and chamois. Its first description was done by King Alphonso XI in 14th century.

The Spanish Hound is a medium size, rectangular and long, solid boned dog that stands between 20.5 to 23.5 inches and weighs about 55 lbs. It comes with a long and proportionate head, medium width, convex and slightly doomed skull and moderately rectangular muzzle which narrows down to large, light or intense black nose. Medium size, almond shaped dark eyes hold expressions of sadness and intelligence. The soft ears are large, long and hanging. Broad, strong and muscular neck has thick, loose skin the forms a dewlap. The clearly rectangular body has a well developed chest, straight topline, long back and strong, slightly raised loin. The tail is carried down in repose and raised in sabre fashion when the dog is in action. The dense, flat, short and smooth coat comes in white and orange colour in irregular markings.

This breed is NOT recognized by AKC however it is recognized by FCI and UKC.

Color

This breed comes in white and orange colors that are distributed in irregular markings. Orange may range from lemon to russet brown.

Coat

The Spanish Hound has a short, flat, smooth and dense coat.

Personality

The Spanish Hound is a through and through hunter of all sorts of game. It is a very hardworking and tenacious hunter with great varieties of beats (barks) that it so frequently use during the hunt. Different kinds of voices that this dog produces indicate different stages of the hunt. This hunting dog possess a marked independent character because it has been bred to hunt alone or with one or two more hounds, because of that this breed is not properly a packing breed. These hounds need a powerful management to get the dog only work on the track of the hunting species its owner wants to hunt. Though the dog is affectionate and loyal, it is most commonly used as hunting dog and it may not prove a good pet with its independent nature.

Care

This hunting breed will need to be brushed and cleaned thoroughly after the hunt. Its body should be checked for burrs and thorns.

Training

This independent breed needs a very firm and experienced owner to train it. This breed is certainly NOT for first time, or weak owners.

Activity

This working breed has very high energy levels. It is not uncommon for Sabuesos Espanoles to spend 4-5 hours running during a hunt. As such, this breed is suitable for rural or suburban setting where the dog will have plenty of space and time to play and use its high energy levels.