Hamiltonstovare

Swedish hunters in the nineteenth century needed a hound suited to their own conditions: deep snow, thick forest, long winters, and hunting laws and traditions that favoured a single dog working on its own rather than a pack. Count Adolf Patrik Hamilton set out to build one, crossing imported English Foxhound blood with German hounds from Hanover, Holstein and Kurland along with native Swedish stock.

Hamilton showed the first two representatives of the type, a pair named Pang and Stella, at a Stockholm dog show in 1886, and the breed was accepted as the Swedish Hound. In 1921 it was renamed Hamiltonstovare in the Count's honour, and the Federation Cynologique Internationale recognised it in 1955.

The breed also had to be selective about its quarry. Swedish hunting practice required a hound that would run hare and fox but leave deer and elk alone, and generations of selection produced dogs that generally ignore larger game. Hamiltonstovare are still among the most numerous registered breeds in Sweden, but they are genuinely rare elsewhere. The Kennel Club recognises them in Britain, and in the United States they are recorded in the American Kennel Club's Foundation Stock Service.

This is a medium-large, well-balanced hound with an unmistakably foxhound-like outline. Males stand about 21 to 24 inches at the shoulder and females about 19 to 22 inches, with weights typically in the region of 50 to 60 pounds. The build is rectangular and athletic, with good bone, a deep chest and strong straight legs made for covering snow-covered forest for hours.

The coat is a double one, with a harsh, close-lying, weather-resistant topcoat over a short soft undercoat that thickens considerably in winter. Grooming demands are correspondingly light, though the seasonal moult is noticeable.

Colour is fixed and distinctive: an upper black saddle over a tan head, ears, legs and underside, with white markings on the blaze, muzzle, neck, chest, feet and tail tip. The head is longish and rectangular with soft, high-set drop ears that lift slightly when the dog is alert. Eyes are dark brown and calm, and the tail is carried straight or in a gentle sabre curve.

Hamiltonstovare have a deserved reputation as friendly, even-tempered dogs. They are affectionate with their families, sociable with visitors, and generally reliable with children, which is why so many Swedish households keep them as pets as well as hunting dogs. In the house an adult is typically calm and undemanding, and they are not habitual barkers indoors.

Outdoors is a different animal. This is a hound bred to work independently at a distance, and that independence is deeply wired. He can be stubborn, he will make his own decisions, and once he has a line his hearing becomes remarkably selective. A Hamiltonstovare who slips a lead in open country may be gone for a very long time.

The hunting voice is loud, musical and used freely while trailing, so a rural home or at least understanding neighbours help. They get on well with other dogs and can live happily with cats they have grown up alongside, but small pets and free-ranging poultry are asking a lot of a hare hound. They are alert enough to announce a visitor but far too friendly to be considered a guard dog.

The classic Swedish job is solo hunting of hare and fox in forest and snow: the hound casts about until he finds a line, drives the quarry on a wide loop, and gives tongue continuously so the hunter can position himself. A good Hamiltonstovare works for hours, navigates back to his handler afterwards, and has enough sense to abandon a line that has gone cold. Swedish breeders continue to test working ability through field trials.

For owners who do not hunt, the same qualities translate well into tracking, scent work, mantrailing and canicross. He is an excellent companion for running, cycling and long hikes once mature, and he takes to obedience or rally reasonably well provided the training is interesting enough to hold his attention against the competing appeal of a nearby scent.