Otterhound

The exact origin of the otter hound breed of dogs still remains a mystery. It is however a popular belief that these dogs originated in the country of France. This breed of dogs is quite an old breed. These dogs were a result of a cross between a blood hound and a rough haired terriers, harriers and griffons as well. These dogs were bred mainly for the advantage of the fishermen of France. These fishermen once found that the otters were feeding on all the fishes they caught and thus to stop these otters, they made a pack of dogs consisting of only these otter hounds. This is how these dogs get their name.

These dogs are known to have an extremely well sense of smell. It is said that these dogs in the mornings could still smell the otters that passed the waters the previous night. As the number of the otters went down, these dogs are started losing their popularity and their numbers dropped as well. They were on the verge of extinction. Only a handful of dogs remained. There were added to the list of animals to be protected in the year 1979. These dogs have now come out of the list but are still extremely rare. They are now used for the purpose of hunting racoon.

These dogs as mentioned earlier are sent hounds. They are quite large in size. Their body is quite rectangular in shape. They have a very large head that is proportion with their large size. This large head of theirs is also quite narrow. Their muzzle is as the same length as the length of their skull. Their muzzles come to a well defined, abrupt yet a clear stop. They have a large nose which is accompanied by a pair of wide nostrils. Their teeth usually meet to form a very strong and an equally powerful scissor bite. They have a pair of very deep set eyes. They color of these deep set eyes varies from dog to dog. The color of their eyes is usually such that it complements the color of their respective coats. The dogs that have the presence of dark colored rims will usually have the presence of darker colored eyes and the once that have the presence of slate or liver colored rims have the presence of hazel colored eyes. They have a pair of low set ears. These low set ears are such that when folded they tend to reach at least till the top of their noses. Their ears are generally left folded. They have a very muscular neck. And this muscular neck has the presence of an abundant amount of dewlap. They have a high set tail. Their tail is generally quite long. Their tails are thicker at the base and towards the end it tapers to form a point.

These dogs have webbed feet. Their feet are very deep and thick. Their feet are accompanied by well arched toes. These dogs are double coated dogs. Their coat, when allowed to grow naturally, grows up to the length of 3 inches to 6 inches. Their outer coat is oily in nature. It is rough and coarse. It generally has a broken appearance.