Harrier (dog) Totally Explained

Everything about Harrier Dog totally explained

ť This article is about the dog. For other uses, see Harrier (disambiguation).
The Harrier is a small to medium sized dog breed of the hound class, used for hunting rabbits ("hares"). It resembles a foxhound but is smaller, though not as small as a beagle.

Description

Appearance

The Harrier is similar to the English Foxhound, but smaller. They are one of the few truly medium-sized breeds of dogs. Harriers stand between 19 and 21 inches at the shoulder, and adults weigh between 45 and 60 lbs. They have short hair, hanging ears, and come in a variety of color patterns. A humorous, yet fairly accurate short-hand description of a Harrier is that of "a Beagle on steroids." It is a muscular hunting hound with a short, hard coat. It has large bones for stamina and strength. The Harrier is slightly longer than tall, with a level topline. The tail is medium-length, carried high, but isn't curled over the back. The skull is broad with a strong square muzzle. The rounded ears are pendant, and the eyes are either brown or hazel. The wide nose is black. The expression is mellow when the dog is relaxed and alert when he's excited. The teeth should meet in a scissors or level bite. The feet are tight and cat-like, and the front toes may turn inward.

Temperament

The Harrier is cheerful, sweet-tempered, tolerant, and it's excellent with children. This pack dog is good with other dogs, but should be supervised with noncanine pets unless it's raised with them from puppyhood. It prefers life in a pack with people, dogs, or both. This active dog likes to go exploring, sniffing, and trailing, so be sure to keep it on a leash or in a safe enclosed area. Some Harriers like to bay.

Health

This breed's lifespan is generally 10-12 years. Hip displasia is known to occur in this breed.

Care

Exercise

The Harrier requires daily exercise, such as long vigorous walks or runs. Allowing them to play in open space (so long as it's enclosed and safe) makes exercise fun and easy. Without appropriate exercise, the Harrier can become hyperactive, overweight and/or destructive. This dog was bred to run and work all day long and can't be satisfied by a sedentary lifestyle.

History

Sources have widely conflicting stories about the origins of this breed. According to one, the earliest Harrier types were crossed with Bloodhounds, the Talbot Hound, and even the Basset Hound. According to another, the breed was probably developed from crosses of the English Foxhound with Fox Terrier and Greyhound. And yet another, the Harrier is said to be simply a bred-down version of the English Foxhound. The first Harrier pack in England was established by Sir Elias de Midhope in 1260 and spread out as a hunting dog throughout the west of England and into Wales. Although there are many working Harriers in England the breed is still not recognised in that country.
In any case, today's Harrier is between the Beagle and English Foxhound in size and was developed primarily to hunt hare, though the breed has also been used in fox hunting. The name, Harrier, reveals the breed's specialty. The Harrier is still fairly rare in the United States, but has a long history of popularity as a working pack dog in England.

References

Further Information

Get more info on 'Harrier Dog'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://harrier__dog.totallyexplained.com">Harrier (dog) Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.