Vintage illustration of a talbot
hound, now extinct (public domain)
Previously
on ShukerNature, I documented the little-known history of a truly remarkable
creature – Mexico's hump-backed izcuintlipotzotli, a truly bizarre-looking
breed of domestic dog that for still-undetermined reasons is now extinct (click
here
to access my article). Needless to say, extinction among species of wild animal
and even among breeds of domestic farm animal is well-documented, and is also,
as it should be, a cause for much concern.
Conversely,
the tragic reality that a sizeable number of domestic dog breeds have also died
out, and for a variety of different reasons, has attracted far less attention
or interest, even though some of these breeds were once very familiar – so much
so, in fact, that in a number of cases their names still live on today even
though they themselves are long gone.
Engraving of Mexico's
mysterious hump-backed izcuintlipotzotli (public domain)
In an
attempt to rectify this sad situation, I plan to prepare an occasional (i.e. non-consecutive) but ultimately
multi-part series of ShukerNature blog articles restoring to public prominence
a veritable dynasty of deceased dog breeds (and which may therefore yield the
most comprehensive popular-format coverage of this neglected subject ever
published when complete). I'll be surveying a very diverse array of examples,
grouped in the traditional classification categories utilised by official
canine organisations and shows, and accompanied by many seldom-seen but fascinating
illustrations of these lost breeds.
And
how better to begin this major survey than with a selection of gun dogs that
are now gone and hounds that no longer abound.
POINTING OUT SOME VANISHED GUN DOGS
As
will be seen throughout this article, there are a range of different reasons
for the extinction of domestic dog breeds, but two of the most common ones,
which arise time and again in the histories of such breeds, is that they died
out either through a gradual loss of interest in perpetuating them; or, by
being used in crossbreeding to yield new breeds, their own original, pure-bred
form eventually disappeared. Both of these reasons certainly explain the
disappearance of certain breeds of gun dog.
Morphologically
and behaviourally speaking, the principal groups of gun dog are spaniels,
retrievers, setters, pointers, and a somewhat looser assemblage commonly
referred to as griffons. They include some extremely famous, distinctive
breeds, but there were once a number of others that back in their time were no
less famous or distinctive but are now extinct. Take, for example, the English
water spaniel.
Painting of an English water
spaniel (public domain)
As its
name implies, this breed was used for aquatic purposes, as in procuring
waterfowl, and was said to be able to dive and swim as efficiently as any duck.
White and tan (or liver) in colour, it resembled a curly-coated springer
spaniel, as opposed to the very dissimilar Irish water spaniel, which it
pre-dated. It sported long ears and legs, and is thought to have genetically
influenced several modern-day breeds, such as the American water spaniel, the
curly-coated retriever, and quite probably the English and the Welsh springer
spaniels too. Known as far back as Shakespearian times, this once-popular breed
has been extinct for almost a century, the last-known specimen being reported
in the 1930s.
Another
now-deceased spaniel with aquatic proclivities was the Tweed water spaniel,
again used for hunting ducks and other waterfowl. A much more localised breed
than the English water spaniel, however, and with a very curly but uniformly liver-brown
coat like the Irish water spaniel, it was only known from the Tweed area of
northernmost England, close to the Scottish borders. It seemingly owed its
demise to being used extensively in the development of the curly-coated and the
golden retrievers as new, distinct breeds, and had vanished as a breed in its
own right by the end of the 1800s.
Vintage illustration of a
Tweed water spaniel (public domain)
A third
curly-coated spaniel was the alpine spaniel, a notably large breed native to the
Swiss Alps, where the local monasteries' Augustinian canons utilised it for
mountain rescues of lost or injured travellers, especially near the Great St
Bernard Pass, and it was the predecessor of the modern-day St Bernard dog, as
well as the clumber spaniel. Due to the adverse environmental conditions habitually
faced by its breed, however, coupled with an outbreak of disease, by 1847 the
last known alpine spaniel specimen had died, and upon whose death the entire
breed, therefore, was also dead.
Other
extinct breeds of spaniel include the Spanish and Italian spaniels (the former
large with dark brown/black and white fur, the latter smaller with chestnut/liver
and white fur); the Scottish spaniel (white with red flecks, once bred at
Rossmore Castle, Ireland, but not seen since 1908); and the Norfolk spaniel.
An engraving by Thomas Bewick
of an alpine spaniel (public domain)
Also
known as the Shropshire spaniel the Norfolk spaniel owed its more familiar name
to a now-disproved theory that it had originally been developed and bred by the
Dukes of Norfolk. Moreover, there is still much controversy as to whether it
truly constituted a distinct breed, because it varied greatly in appearance,
although 'typical' examples tended to resemble large English cocker spaniels,
with black and white or liver and white coats. In 1903, the Norfolk spaniel
officially ceased to exist when the English Kennel Cub formally incorporated
its breed into that of the newly-defined English springer spaniel.
Another
lost breed of gun dog is the pyrame, which resembled a fairly small
black-and-tan cocker spaniel with short hair. Its limbs and squat muzzle were predominantly
reddish-chestnut in colour, as was a pair of small spots above its eyes, but
its back, haunches, head, and ears were black, the latter being very large and
pendulous. Its head was small and rounded, and its tail was turned up at the
back. It was used in England as a gun dog in the same way as other land-based
spaniels, but it died out more than a century ago.
Dash II – rare photograph of
a living Norfolk spaniel (public domain); plus a charming vintage painting of a
Norfolk spaniel (public domain)
Also
worthy of note here are two separate but both now-bygone breeds of water dog.
Indigenous to Newfoundland, named after the latter territory's capital city, and
with its origins dating back to the 1500s, the St John's water dog was
technically a landrace rather than a strict breed. That is, it was bred to
fulfil a specific purpose rather than exhibiting a standard, well-defined
morphological form or pedigree.
Having
said that, many specimens were retriever-like and shared a medium-sized,
sturdy, black-furred appearance, often characterised with white,
tuxedo-reminiscent chest markings. It was used in its native homeland to
retrieve the nets of sailors, hauling them back onto the boats. Surviving until
as recently as the 1980s, the St John's water dog helped to give rise to all of
the major modern-day breeds of retriever, as well as to the Newfoundland itself,
a burly working dog.
Three photographs of St
John's water dogs (all public domain)
The
Moscow water dog was a short-lived Soviet breed originally developed during the
post-WW2 1940s in what is now Belarus from the Newfoundland and various
European shepherd dogs. Never officially recognised by major kennel clubs outside
what was then the USSR, it was one of several new breeds produced solely by the
USSR's state-run Red Star Kennels, in order to provide its armed forces with
working dogs (in the more general, non-show-specific sense of this term).
The
desired purpose of the Moscow water dog was to rescue drowning sailors, but
unfortunately it preferred to bite them rather than retrieve them, so its
production was discontinued. By the 1980s, moreover, it had been officially
homogenised with the Newfoundland as a single breed, and was thus categorised
as extinct as far as its constituting a separate breed was concerned.
Two photographs of Moscow
water dogs (both public domain)
France's
diverse array of pointer breeds, known collectively as braques, are all
descended from the original braque. This was a large, sleek-furred breed reminiscent
of the English pointer in shape, and whose white coat was handsomely speckled
with patches or flecks of liver/chestnut.
Its
ancestry dates back many centuries, but even as long ago as the 15th
Century it was already being used to create what became various of the
modern-day braque breeds still existing today. Of these, some authorities claim
that the braque de l'Ariège or Ariège pointer is the closest in form to the
ancestral braque.
Beautiful painting of a
braque du Puy (public domain)
Sadly,
one of the modern-day braque breeds is itself now extinct, the braque du Puy or
Dupuy pointer. Created in Poitou during the 1800s for hunting in the lowlands,
it sported the ancestral braque's coat colour and markings, but was also very
greyhound-like by virtue of its lithe, gracile build.
Reconstituted
specimens, resembling Dupuy pointers outwardly, are occasionally produced
today. However, they do not correspond to the latter breed genetically.
A living braque du Puy
photographed in 1932 (public domain)
HUNTING DOWN SOME ERSTWHILE HOUNDS
Hounds
include among their number some of the earliest recorded breeds of domestic
dog, dating back thousands of years, such as the saluki, sloughi, and Afghan
hound. Conversely, in much more recent historical times several notable breeds
of hound have become extinct.
Two of
the best known of these are undoubtedly the St Hubert hound and the talbot
hound. Although by no means of uniform appearance (Charles IX of France
actually preferred pure-white specimens), the most familiar, popular
representation of the St Hubert hound is that of an all-black or black-and-tan mastiff-like
breed, extremely powerful in stature and heavy-boned, with a long body but
quite short legs and a very well-developed sense of smell. According to
tradition, it originated in the Ardennes, Belgium, in c.1000 AD, bred by the
monks at the Saint-Hubert monastery, but some have suggested that it may have
arisen in France.
Early engraving of an
original St Hubert hound (public domain)
Several
modern-day breeds owe their origin to the St Hubert hound, most famously the
bloodhound, which is itself sometimes even dubbed the St Hubert hound. Tragically,
due to having been interbred with several other breeds to yield new ones, by
the early 19th Century there were scarcely any pure-bred St Hubert
hounds remaining, and by the end of that same century the true, original strain
had gone.
No
less renowned in its time was the talbot hound, famed for its pure-white coat
and dropped ears, and still frequently commemorated even today not only in many
British heraldic devices but also in numerous public house or inn names and
advertising signs throughout Great Britain. It was referred to in English
literature at least as far back as the mid-1500s, and some authorities consider
that it actually owed its origin to the afore-mentioned white specimens of St
Hubert hound that were sometimes bred and maintained by French monarchs.
A talbot hound depicted on
The Talbot pub sign, Worcester Road, Hartlebury, in Worcestershire, England (©
PL Chadwick/Wikipedia – CC BY-SA 2.0 licence)
By the
end of the 18th Century, however, the talbot hound had ceased to
exist as a delineated breed, as did two other related forms, the northern hound
(aka the North Country beagle) and the southern hound, both of which were very beagle-like in appearance and
had been utilised with the talbot hound in the creation of the modern beagle
breed now existing today. The talbot hound is also believed to have participated
alongside the St Hubert hound in the bloodhound's development.
Due to
the extensive crossbreeding that has occurred down through the centuries between
France's varied native hounds, several early original breeds have become
extinct. The St Hubert hound is one, and the Vendéen hound is another - a very
sizeable, rough-coated, pendant-eared, reddish-brown dog used for boar hunting.
However, some intimations of it are preserved in the slightly smaller but
still-surviving grand griffon vendéen, which itself originated as far back as
the 16th Century, the first and largest breed of griffon vendéen to be
established.
Vintage illustrations of the
northern hound (top) and the southern hound (bottom) (both public domain)
Another
former French breed of hound was the chien-gris de Saint-Louis or St Louis grey
dog, which originated in France during medieval times, certainly being known as
far back as the 13th Century when royal packs of hunting hound were
composed almost exclusively of this breed. Serving like the St Hubert hound as
a potent scenthound, it earned its name from its predominantly grey coat colour
(although its long limbs and forequarters were tan or red), and from the
canonised French king Louis IX's especial interest in it. It was rough-coated
like the Vendéen hound, and gave rise to some of France's modern-day griffon
breeds, particularly the griffon nivernais.
In
addition to this quartet of famous breeds, several less familiar but no less
noteworthy hounds have also disappeared. One very sad loss, for instance, is
the long-haired whippet. Very similar to the typical smooth-coated whippet in
general build and shape, it was instantly differentiated by way of its fairly
long, harsh, wiry coat. However, this very distinctive-looking hound was bred
out of existence in favour of its smooth-coated counterpart by about the end of
the 19th Century. Today, some whippets sporting a long silky coat
exist, but these are very different from their extinct wiry-haired predecessor.
Two very handsome examples of
the chien-gris de Saint-Louis or St Louis grey dog (public domain)
Equally
intriguing was the pocket beagle, which, as its name suggests, was a miniature
version of the normal beagle, standing no taller than 13.5 inches. A pack of
pocket beagles was owned by England's Queen Elizabeth I, and they were carried
to the hunt on horseback. Three centuries later, Queen Victoria also owned a
pack, consisting of nine couples, and only averaging 9-10 inches high; in 1844,
these were depicted by artist William Barraud in a famous painting (reproduced
below).
More
recently, attempts have been made in North America to recreate this diminutive
hound, which was traditionally used to hunt hares and rabbits, and the American
Kennel Club does officially recognise beagles standing less than 13 inches high
as a category separate from those that are taller (13-15 in). The English
Kennel Club, conversely, does not make any such differentiation.
Queen Victoria's Master of
the Beagles Mr Maynard and her pack of pocket beagles, painted by William
Barraud in 1844 (public domain)
Another
very distinctive breed was the Brazilian tracker or rastreador brasileiro, a
highly efficient scenthound. Generally similar in shape, size, and form to the
North American coonhound from which it was partly descended, it received
official recognition as a distinct breed in 1967, from France's Fédération
Cynologique Internationale (FCI), but less than a decade later it had vanished,
and was formally declared extinct in 1973 by both the FCI and the Brazilian
Kennel Club.
Its
swift demise had resulted from an outbreak of disease coupled by the inimical
effects of an insecticide overdose. Attempts are currently underway to recreate
the Brazilian tracker in its South American homeland by a canine club called
the Grupo de Apoio ao Resgate do Rastreador Brasileiro.
Two rare photographs of
living Brazilian trackers (both public domain)
Even
more imposing was the American panther dog, bred specifically by Aaron Hall in
Pennsylvania, USA, during the mid-19th Century to hunt pumas (also
known in North America as panthers, cougars, and mountain lions). Part
bloodhound, part bulldog, part mastiff, and part Newfoundland, they were so
large that, once when visiting Hall at his hunting cabin, former State Game
Commissioner C.K. Sober was actually able to ride on the back of one of them!
They
were trained to hunt in pairs, and when a puma was cornered the pair would hold
it down on both sides until the hunter arrived to dispatch it with his rifle.
Following Hall's death in 1892, however, no effort was made by anyone to perpetuate
this unique if formidable breed, so the panther dog swiftly died out.
An Egyptian Old Kingdom
fragment depicting a tesem (public domain)
As far
as its date of origin is concerned, the final extinct dog breed to be reported
here is also the earliest breed – namely, the Egyptian tesem. In its loosest
sense, 'tesem' was used in ancient Egypt to denote any type of hunting dog, but
in its stricter, more precise sense it was employed as the name for a
particular breed of sight hound or gazehound that resembled a greyhound due to
its long limbs and slender body, but sported a tail that curled over its back
like that of a spitz, plus slim, pointed, pricked-up ears.
One of
the first, and most famous, examples on record of a tesem sensu stricto
was Akbaru, the so-called Khufu Dog, which was depicted on the tomb of King
Khufu (reigned 2609-2584 BC) from ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom period
(c.2686-2181 BC), and was wearing a collar. Other depictions of the tesem appeared
during the Middle Kingdom (c.2050–1710 BC), but it had been replaced by
depictions of a saluki-like breed with pendant ears and straight tail by the
time of the New Kingdom (c.1550–1077 BC).
Early Egyptian depiction of
two tesems, as confirmed by their curled tails (public domain)
In
Part 2 of this occasional ShukerNature series of articles on extinct dog breeds,
I plan to review a selection of examples from the Toy and Terrier categories.
These were often small breeds, but were once much-loved comforter and companion
dogs.
Yet
for all manner of different reasons, they gradually diminished in both popularity
and number until eventually they ceased to exist, except for their likenesses,
captured forever like faint canine ghosts within the rare vintage photographs and
other images of them that still survive, several of which I'll be showcasing in
my article – so be sure to check it out when uploaded here on ShukerNature!
A rare colour photograph of a
St John's water dog with an Outport fisherman in La Poile, Newfoundland,
October 1971 (public domain)
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