Sir Walter Scott referred to the Deerhound as “the most perfect creature of Heaven,” and breeders today likewise speak passion­ately of the breed. Those who know the breed appreciate its sterling attributes, in no small respect because of how those traits have withstood the test of time. Tracing Breed History The earliest clues to breed […]

This handsome silver-gray dog native to Scandinavia, is, by his own demeanor, an aristo­ crat among Northern dogs. The Norwegian Elkhound roamed with his Viking masters and served as a multipurpose guardian, herder, hunter, and protective companion for thousands of years before finding his way to the United States in the early 20th century. The […]

The covert’s utmost bound Slyly she skirts; behind them cautious she creeps, And in that very track, so lately stain’d By all the steaming crowd, seems to pursue The foe she flies. -William Somerville, The Chace, 1735 William Somerville’s lyrical descrip­tion of a hare sneaking around behind a pursuing pack of hounds and tracking them […]

The history of dogs might be very different without the people of Phoenicia. These seafaring traders sailed the Mediterranean from what is today Lebanon 2,500 years ago, During their trip, they did business in luxury items. As they went, it's assumed that the Phoenicians disseminated Egyptian hounds throughout the ancient world. The prevailing theory suggests […]

The combination of talents and physical traits has given the Beagle a singular spot in American culture. Read more about the history of this quintessential family dog.

Senate Bill 128 seeks to designate the Treeing Walker Coonhound as the official state dog of Kentucky. The bill states that the Treeing Walker Coonhound is a native Kentucky dog breed, developed in the 1800s by two Kentucky breeders.  Dog lovers in the state are urged to contact your state senators and representatives and ask […]

Every dog has a job. The job of hunting furred game over rough terrain or heavy brush requires, first and foremost, a great nose to find the scent of the prey. The dog needs to move on the trail at a speed that allows the hunter to follow on foot, and he must have the […]

"There between the graves, a beautiful red fern had sprung up from the rich mountain soil. It was fully two feet tall and its long red leaves had reached out in rainbow arches curved over the graves of my dogs. ... I had heard the old legend about the red fern. How a little boy […]

For decades after the Revolutionary War, America had been trying to secure a treaty of commerce with Turkey. In the spring of 1831, President Andrew Jackson sent an unlikely man to solve the problem. The proud and inflexible Commodore David Porter was a 50-year-old naval hero, who had fought in the First Barbary War, the […]

For millennia, the Cirneco dell’Etna has lived in the shadow of Mount Etna. Scrambling over the rocky, volcanic Sicilian soil in pursuit of rabbit, these small red dogs were invaluable sources of sustenance and protection for their peasant owners. But by the time the 20th Century dawned, the Cirneco was facing its own sunset of […]