| King's White Hound | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Other names | Chien Blanc du Roi |
| Origin | France |
| Breed status | Extinct |
| Dog ( domestic dog ) | |
The King's White Hound, the Chien Blanc du Roi in French, was a now extinct breed of scent hound from France. The breed was said to be the favourite of the French kings from Louis XI to Louis XIV.
The King's White Hounds were said to have descended from a pure white St. Hubert Hound named Souillard that was gifted to King Louis XI by a poor squire from Poitou in 1470. [1] The hound was passed to the king's daughter, Anne de Beaujeu, he was widely used at stud and his white progeny gradually replaced the hounds in the king's pack until the whole pack was white. [1] [2] Several notable infusions of outside blood were added to the pack, in 1500 Louis XII introduced an Italian Pointer called Greffier, in 1520 François I introduced a powerful Grand Fauve de Bretagne called Miraud, and in 1560 Mary, Queen of Scots gifted a Talbot Hound named Barraud to her husband François II, all of these infusions improved the breed. [1] [2]
The White Hounds reached the height of their fame during the reign of Louis XIII (1610–1643) when they were renowned throughout Europe for their speed, being able to run a stag down in half an hour and kill four stags in a day's hunting. [3] By this time the breed displayed many sighthound features and hunted as much by sight as by scent. [3] By Louis XIII's death the hunt employed over 90 hunt servants, and under Louis XIV the pack consisted of over 100 hounds and costs continued to rise. [1] [2]
Towards the end of Louis XIV's reign (1643–1715) the king was becoming too infirm to follow the fast paced White Hounds on horseback, wishing to follow the hunt from a carriage from 1700 the hounds were crossed with the slower Norman Hounds to slow them down. [1] [2] [3] At the beginning of his reign (1715–1774), Louis XV wanted to revive the pack, so his son the Count of Toulouse procured English Staghounds which were crossed with the pack. [2] [3] In 1725 the pack was dispersed and the king adopted a new pack consisting of English Foxhound crosses. [1] [3]
The King's White Hounds are believed to have been foundational in the development of a number of French hound breeds, including the Grand Griffon Vendéen, the Porcelaine and the Billy, the latter is sometimes called the Chien Blanc du Roi. [1] [4]
The King's White Hounds were large, powerful hounds, initially they were deep scenting, long eared scent hounds close to the St. Hubert Hound, later they displayed many features of sighthounds. [3] Charles IX said of them they "were as tall as grey-hounds, with heads as fine as braques ..." [3] Whilst initially all white in colour, despite their name the White Hounds in fact came in a number of colours from pure white, to white with yellow, red or black spots or patches, to badger or pure black. [3] They were said to have great courage and were not easily distracted by the large retinue of hunt followers that followed the royal hunts. [3]
The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog in the hound family. The Basset is a scent hound that was originally bred for the purpose of hunting hare. Their sense of smell and ability to ground-scent is second only to the Bloodhound.
Scent hounds are a type of hound that primarily hunts by scent rather than sight. These breeds are hunting dogs and are generally regarded as having some of the most sensitive noses among dogs. Scent hounds specialize in following scent or smells. Most of them tend to have long, drooping earls and large nasal cavities to enhance smell sensitivity. They relatively need to have high endurance to be able to keep track of scent over long distances and rough terrain. It is believed that they were originally bred by the Celts.
The Chien Français Blanc et Noir is a breed of dog of the scenthound type, originating in France. The breed is used for hunting in packs and descends from the old Hound of Saintonge type of large hunting dog.
The Grand Bleu de Gascogne is a breed of dog of the scenthound type, originating in France and used for hunting in packs. Today's breed is the descendant of a very old type of large hunting dog, and is an important breed in the ancestry of many other hounds.
The Billy is a large scenthound originating from central western France.
The Anglo-Français de Petite Vénerie is a medium-sized breed of dog used in hunting as a scenthound, usually in packs. It is one of the Anglo-French hound breeds which were created by crossing French scenthounds with English (Anglo) foxhounds. The name Petite Vénerie does not mean that dogs of the breed are petite or small, but rather that it is used to hunt small game.
The Bruno Jura Hound is a breed of scenthound from the Jura Mountains on the French-Swiss border.
The Taigan, and also known as Kyrgyz Taighany, is a breed of sighthound from Kyrgyzstan. The Taigan is found in the alpine Tian Shan region of Kyrgyzstan on the border with China, it is closely related to the Tazy and the Afghan hound.
Anglo-Français and Français hounds are a general dog type of hunting dog that include ancient French hounds and breeds created by mixing the French dogs with English (Anglo) Foxhounds. There are seven dog breeds that are described as Anglo-Français and Français hounds.
The Chien Français Blanc et Orange is a breed of dog of the scenthound type, originating in France. The breed is used for hunting in packs and descends from the old Hound of Saintonge type of large hunting dog.
The Bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, it is known to French speakers as le chien de Saint-Hubert. A more literal name in French for the bloodhound is le chien de sang.
Rache, also spelled racch, rach, and ratch, from Old English ræcc, linked to Old Norse rakkí, is an obsolete name for a type of hunting dog used in Great Britain in the Middle Ages. It was a scenthound used in a pack to run down and kill game, or bring it to bay. The word appears before the Norman Conquest. It was sometimes confused with 'brache', which is a French derived word for a female scenthound.
The Chien-gris a.k.a. Gris de Saint-Louis is an extinct breed of dog which originated in Medieval times. Like the Chien de Saint-Hubert, it was a scent hound, and formed part of the royal packs of France, which were composed, from about 1250 till 1470, exclusively of hounds of this type. According to King Charles IX, (1550–1574) they supposedly were introduced to France through Saint Louis, who had encountered these hounds while a prisoner during the Crusades, and subsequently received some as a gift. Old writers on hunting liked to ascribe an ancient and remote origin to their hounds, and these were claimed to be originally from Tartary. They were large, and, even though they did not have such good noses, were preferred by the Kings to the St Huberts, which were said to be only of medium size.
A limer, or lymer, was a kind of dog, a scenthound, used on a leash in medieval times to find large game before it was hunted down by the pack. It was sometimes known as a lyam hound/dog or lime-hound, from the Middle English word lyam, meaning 'leash'. The French cognate limier has sometimes been used for the dogs in English as well. The type is not to be confused with the bandog, which was also a dog controlled by a leash, typically a chain, but was a watchdog or guard dog.
The St. Hubert Jura Hound is a breed of scenthound originating in the Jura Mountains on the French-Swiss border.
The Poitevin, also known as the Chien de Haut-Poitou, is a breed of French scenthound from the province of Poitou, this predominantly pack hound was created in the 17th century to hunt wolves.
The Buckhound was a breed of now extinct scent hound from England; they were used to hunt fallow deer in packs.
The Staghound, sometimes referred to as the English Staghound, was a now extinct breed of scent hound from England. A pack hound, the breed was used to hunt red deer, it became extinct in the 19th century when the last pack was sold.
The West Country Harrier, sometimes called Somerset Harrier, is a breed of scent hound from the south west of England that is used to hunt hare in packs. The West Country Harrier is often considered to be a variety of the more common Harrier breed, which is sometimes referred to as the Studbook Harrier.
The Norman Hound was a now extinct breed of scent hound from France.
