The German Hound (''Deutsche Bracke'') is a

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

originating in

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

, a region of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The German Hound is of the

scenthound Canton_of_Bern.html" ;"title="Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an officer of the Canton of Bern">Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785 Scent hounds (or scenthounds) are a Dog type, type of h ...

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

, used for hunting both large and small game.

Appearance

The German Hound is a small hound, 40 – 53 cm (16 – 21 ins) at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

, with long, drooped ears and a long, narrow tail. It is distinguished by a long, somewhat narrow head, and a rectangular body, described as "elegant". The

coat A coat is typically an outer garment for the upper body, worn by any gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners (AKA velcro), ...

has hard, almost bristly, short fur, usually tricolor (red to yellow with a black mantle), with white markings called Bracken marks - a white muzzle, chest, legs, collar, and tip of the tail, and a blaze on the head.

History

In 1896, the Deutschen Bracken Club, encompassing all of the local types of Bracke in northwest Germany, was formed in Finnentrop and moved to Olpe in 1911. The breeds were merged in 1900 as one breed and were officially designated Deutsche Bracke. This breed was formerly called by a variety of old regional names such as "Olpe Bracke", " Sauerländer Bracke" and " Westphalian Bracke", and other local types now blended into one breed. The only breeds of Bracke in the area today are the German Hound and the

Westphalian Dachsbracke The Westphalian Dachsbracke is a small, short-legged scenthound, a breed of dog originating in Westphalia, a region of Germany. The Westphalian Dachsbracke was used in Sweden to develop the Drever. Appearance The Westphalian Dachsbracke (''We ...

. The Westphalian Dachsbracke is a short-legged dog, possibly a cross of a Bracke with the

Dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: 'badger dog'), also known as the wiener dog or sausage dog, badger dog, doxen and doxie, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, with varie ...

. Hunting with the Bracke in early times was done with hunters on horses following the hounds, as developed by the ancient

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

chasing

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

and modern-day fox hunters. Another sport, developed in the 16th century, did not require the expense of horses and big kennels, and used

firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...

, called ''Brackade''. Hounds hunting this way tenaciously followed the game while voicing cries that communicate to the hunter where the dog is and what type of game it is following. Today the Deutsche Bracke is usually used to hunt deer, but also

rabbits Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

and

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

. Often, it is hunted singly as a leash hound, to hunt on smaller areas. The space needed to hunt a pack of hounds is described by the breed club as a minimum area of 1,000 ha (2471 acres). Related to the hunting with Bracke is the use of horns to communicate with the dogs, a custom that continues today. Hunting horn 3

The German Hound was recognized by the ''Verband für das Deutsche Hundewesen'' (German Kennel Club) through the Deutschen Bracken Club was formed in 1896 and continues today, and oversees breeding and hunt testing, as well as preserving traditions of Bracke hunting. The German Hound was the first Bracke to be registered as a distinct breed, in 1900, and by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The (; FCI; ) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs and purebred registries. The FCI is based in Thuin, Belgium and has 98 members and contract partners (one from each country). History The FCI was founded in 1911 un ...

as breed number 299 in Group 6 (Scenthounds), Section 1.3 (Small hounds). Of the major kennel clubs in the English-speaking world, only the

United Kennel Club The United Kennel Club (UKC) is a kennel club founded in 1898 in the United States. In contrast with the American Kennel Club, which is non-profit and which only clubs can join, the United Kennel Club is a profit-making corporation, open to indivi ...

in the U.S. recognises the German Hound, in its

Scenthound Group Canton_of_Bern.html" ;"title="Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an officer of the Canton of Bern">Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785 Scent hounds (or scenthounds) are a Dog type, type of h ...

. The German Hound also may be recognised by any of the many minor registries, rare breed groups, hunting clubs, and internet registry businesses under its original name, discarded antique names, translations of the name, or variations on the name. The German Hound is strictly a hunting dog, and seldom seen outside its native country. Outside its home country, purchasers of dogs represented as German Hounds should research the dog's background, especially if it is registered with one of the minor clubs that require little to no documentation before accepting a dog or litter for registration.

Names

Historically, the term Bracke was used in German to mean scenthounds. ''Brack'' is an old

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

word for a

coastal marsh A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, ...

periodically inundated by storm surges with salt water – the English word ''brackish''. In Europe, scenthounds are usually separated into running hounds (free running packs, which either drive the game back to the hunter, or the hunter follows as they run, or the hunter waits until the dogs' cries communicate that game has been found and held, and then goes to that spot) and leash hounds (which follow the game or track wounded or dead game while being held on a leash by the hunter). The Bracke are usually used as running hounds, in packs, to hunt rabbits or foxes in a type of hunt called ''Brackade''.

Health and character

No specific diseases or claims of extraordinary health have been documented for this breed. According to the original German breed club, although it is a hunting dog, it is affectionate and benefits from living with the family rather than in a kennel. It is a very persistent tracking dog with a good sense of direction.

Related breeds

The German Hound is related to the

Westfälische Dachsbracke The Westphalian Dachsbracke is a small, short-legged scenthound, a breed of dog originating in Westphalia, a region of Germany. The Westphalian Dachsbracke was used in Sweden to develop the Drever. Appearance The Westphalian Dachsbracke (''Wes ...

(Westphalian Dachsbracke, FCI No. 100) and the

Drever The Drever is a breed of dog, a short-legged scenthound from Sweden used for hunting deer and other game. The Drever is descended from the Westphalian Dachsbracke, a type of German hound called ''Bracke''. The breed name ''Drever'' was chosen th ...

, also called the Swedish Dachsbracke (FCI No. 130). The Finnenbracke (FCI No. 51) is from Finland. The

Alpenländische Dachsbracke The Alpine Dachsbracke () is a small dog breed, breed of dog of the scent hound Dog type, type originating in Austria. The Alpine Dachsbracke was bred to track wounded deer as well as boar, hare, and fox. It is highly efficient at following a trai ...

(Alpine Dachsbracke, FCI No. 254) is from Tyrol, in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, as is the Tiroler Bracke (Tyrolean Hound, FCI No. 68).

References