Southern Hound

		Southern Hound
		He is not recognized by the F.C.I.


Origin			Great Britain
Translation			Francis Vandersteen

The Southern Hound was a large breed and was known to appear as a cross between a Bloodhound and an English Foxhound. They were thick-boned and averaged 63.5 centimeters in height. They had broad chests and ribcage-like barrels. They walked in a way that made them seem to wobble, and their legs often seemed bent as a result. They had a longer tail that was often erect when following a trail and were also known to be quite muscular. Their muzzles were long and they had large, thick ears that fell to the side of their heads. A large dewlap of extra skin formed on their chests with extra skin around their backs although there were no obvious wrinkles. They came in a variety of colors, including Beagles' famous tricolor patterns as well as a number of mixed colors of black, brown, beige, white.
This was a loyal dog that found pleasure in following a scent trail for long periods without getting bored. Often, they were known to get so excited by the scent trail that they would wag their tails and lick the ground. They were pack dogs and had a low level of aggression towards other dogs. They were mostly relaxed dogs, moving at a slower pace than other scent dogs. After following a trail for hours, they would also track the animal, meaning they were capable of showing aggression towards other animals.

The Southern Hound was a popular breed long before records were kept of it, making it uncertain where its ancestors came from. We know that the Southern Hound was bred in Wales and southern England. We also know that the breed was popular during the Renaissance. What we don't know is when this breed was developed and how it was developed. Both mysteries are still debated to this day.
During the Renaissance, only the wealthy nobility could afford hunting dogs, not to mention that it was illegal for the lower class to own them too. The nobility set aside land specifically for hunting as a means of political, social and personal status. On their hunts, they took packs of dogs that rode alongside their horses.

Although there are many theories about the origin of this dog, the most popular is that it was brought to England in 1066 by Norman armies. The Norman armies were linked to the Vikings and headed for northern France, where they eventually stayed. France was known for its finest hunting dogs, especially those created and kept by monks. We can credit the monks of the Saint Hubert monastery with creating what is now known as the Bloodhound and was then known as the Chien de Saint Hubert.
The Normans brought several dogs to England, including the Bloodhound, the Talbot and the Grand Bleu de Gascogne. While some say the Talbot was simply a white Bloodhound, others claim it was its own special breed. Whatever the case, these three breeds that were imported were all mixed with perhaps a few unknown British dog breeds to create new breeds. This included the Southern Hound. People who believe that the Southern Hound was bred from French breeds believe that the Southern Hound was created between the years 1200 and 1400.
There are also those who believe that the Southern Hound was in fact the original hound in Britain. This would mean that the Southern Hound existed before the Norman invasion and before the Roman Empire in 43 AD. Others say they bore little or no resemblance to the hunting dogs of the time, and were in fact Terriers or Spaniels.
There is also a theory that combines the last two theories above. Some say that the Southern Hound was a cross between dogs native to England at the time and dogs imported from France by the Normans. This theory suggests that they were bred and became their own breed around 1100 AD, perhaps earlier.
Similar breeds at the time include the North Country Beagle and the Talbot. The Talbot was probably how the Southern Hound received its popular base coat of white. The North Country Beagle, also known as the Northern Beagle, had no dewlap, was taller, thinner and had a higher-pitched voice than the Southern Hound.

The Southern Hound was known to have the best nose for sniffing out trails other than the famous Bloodhound. They were able to follow a trail that was several days old and could follow it for hours or even days without tiring. They were known to walk very slowly along the trail, although this was not a problem for the nobility as they could easily follow on horseback. Once the trail had been followed to its end, the animals, usually deer, were either shot with an arrow or hunted and killed by the Southern Hound. This dog was most likely used by the nobility from the 13th to the 17th century, until the economy, environment and government changed radically.
Due to political and agricultural changes in England, hunting was changed forever. New crops were being imported, which meant that more land was being farmed and less was being used as hunting land. The population of deer, wild boar and other frequently hunted game was now smaller than it had ever been. This meant that hunting was less frequent than before. These changes, however, facilitated the growth of the red fox population. Red foxes were now considered vermin, as they destroyed crops, hunted farmers' lamb, stole eggs, injured horses and cattle and killed chickens. Because the red fox was now compared to rats and other vermin, the red fox was not hunted by the nobility until the 1500s.
Since red foxes were a huge problem for farmers, they began illegally keeping scent hounds such as the Southern Hound to get rid of the troublesome vermin. Many poor farmers owned only one or two Southern Hounds, although in the 1500s farmers began to band together and keep packs of up to 10 to 20 scent hounds. Most of these scent hounds were probably North Country Beagles, while others were mixed breeds. The new popular sport became foxhunting, created by farmers. The nobility soon appropriated the sport, although Southern Hounds were not well equipped for the job.
As the Southern Hound was too slow to hunt foxes, the nobility began to use other dogs more suited to fox hunting. They mixed the Southern Hound with the North Country Beagle and other breeds such as Greyhounds, Bulldogs, Terriers and Colleys. Thanks to this breeding, the nobility created the English Foxhound, which began to replace both the North Country Beagle and the Southern Hound.

The Southern Hound was soon no longer needed as a pure breed. Instead, they began breeding the Southern Hound with other dogs to create a variety of breeds. As well as creating more English Foxhounds, they also created the Otterhound by breeding the Southern Hound with Terriers and Griffons. By the 1700s, the Southern Hound had become extremely rare to find.
Some believe the Southern Hound became extinct before the 1800s. Others think the Southern Hound lived alongside the Welsh until the mid-nineteenth century, as it was used to hunt skunks and follow old fox tracks. We don't know any of this for sure, but it is said that the last reports of a living Southern date back to 1881. Some say that the last Southern was used to breed with a Bloodhound and that the blood still exists in the Bloodhound today. There's no proof of this, so we'll never know for sure.