Hunting Dog Breeds

One of the first things humans used dogs for was hunting. Dogs have a keen sense of smell that allows them to track prey over vast distances. Throughout history, dogs played a vital role in helping humans hunt. Over time, humans started carefully crossing dogs to promote certain personality traits we wanted to promote in them. There are many breeds known today that were created with that exact goal.

Hunting dogs developed their own style, and not all hunting dogs can hunt all prey. Terriers and Dachshunds specialize in hunting small game, gun dogs are great for pointing, retrieving, and flushing, hounds are speed hunters, and cur-type dogs specialize in hunting larger prey. Check out these amazing hunting dog breeds.

Breed

Size

Group

Breed Characteristics

Energy Level

Grooming Needs

Exercise Needs

Trainability

Intelligence

Kid Friendly

Dog Friendly

General Health

Hunting Dog Breeds

The Afghan Hound is the most elegant dog breed you could ever imagine. They are tall, thin, and impressive. They attract looks wherever they go and they can thank that to their stunning coat...

Alpine Dachsbracke is a medium-sized scent hound originating in Austria. These dogs were used for tracking wounded animals such as deers, boars, hares, and foxes. They were extremely good at...

American English Coonhound is a sweet, good-natured, and loving dog that was bred for hunting purposes. They are excellent workers, but when they off duty they can be great family...

American Foxhound is a sweet, independent, and good-natured dog that fits great into family life. They get along well with kids, dogs, and other animals. Because of their high prey drive, yo...

The American Leopard Hound is an American dog breed whose ancestors came to the United States with the Spanish conquistadors. It is a hunting breed that is considered to be a mediu...

The American Water Spaniel is an all-American dog breed that was carefully bred and created as a versatile hunting dog. These dogs absolutely love water, and if you live near any body of wat...

Anglo-Français de Petite Vénerie is a medium-sized dog breed used for hunting. This dog was developed a few hundred years ago to hunt small games such as rabbits. Thi...

Ariège Pointer (Braque de l'Ariege) is an elegant, muscular and well-proportioned dog originating from France. These dogs were developed in the 19th and 20th centuries....

The Ariegeois or the Ariege Hound is a French dog breed developed for pack hunting. This breed first came to life around the year 1912. It is a part of the Scenthound breed and sha...

The Basset Artésien Normand (Norman Artesian Basset) is a short legged hound type dog. The breed has origins in France. The word basset refers to short-legged hounds. This b...

Artois Hound is a fairly uncommon dog breed that originates in France. They are medium-sized dogs with muscular bodies that have been used for hunting since their beginning. They were favore...

Austrian Black and Tan Hound is a medium-sized well-musculed dog that originates from Austria. These dogs were used for hunting small game – foxes and rabbits. They are excel...

The Azawakh is an ancient hunting hound that originated in the Sahel region of the Sahara Desert. The breed is named after the Azawakh valley in the Sahara. Developed by nomadic tr...

Barak Hound (Bosnian Coarse-Haired Hound) is a medium-sized dog originally used for hunting large games. Mostly they were used for hunting foxes, hares, and wild bores. These dogs...

Basenji is unique, smart, and independent and one of the oldest dog breeds in the world. He originated as a hunting dog in central Africa. Even before the pyramids were built, these dogs were known...

Basset Fauve de Bretagne is a smart and cheerful small dog breed originating from France. These dogs have been used for hunting on different terrains and for different types of gam...

The Basset Hound is a dog breed from the scenthound family initially bred for hunting and tracking small game such as hare, rabbits, and foxes. This breed has an extremely good sense of smel...

The Bavarian Mountain Scenthound is a German hunting breed that originated in Germany’s historical region of Bavaria. It is a highly praised hunting breed that has been used by German...

The Beagle is a friendly, curious, and outgoing dog breed from the scent hound family. The Beagle has nearly 220 million scent receptors which make them excellent at picking up sce...

Beagle-Harrier is a French dog breed from the scenthound family. Many people refer to these dogs as „Beagle on steroids“. Originally they were bred for hunting purposes...

The Billy is a large dog breed of the scenthound type originating from the central-western part of France. The Billy breed was first bred by Monsieur Gaston Hublot de Rivault sometime in the beginn...

The Black and Tan Coonhound is an American hunting dog breed. It belongs to the scenthound family and they were mostly used to track prey with their superb sense of smell. These do...

The Bloodhound is a large scent hound with an extraordinarily keen sense of smell, originally bred to track deer and other game. This breed is capable of discerning scent over grea...

From the beginning, the Blue Gascony Basset was bred as a scent hound, especially for hunting small game, like rabbits, foxes, and hares. These dogs hunt by scent in packs of 4-8 d...

Group

Characteristics

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