Tyrolean Hound

The Tyrolean Hound is an Austrian mountain scent hound, bred to work alone on steep alpine ground.

History

It descends from the old Austrian bracken and was standardised in the Tyrol in the late nineteenth century. Emperor Maximilian I is recorded hunting with hounds of this type in the fifteenth century. Its job is to track hare and fox, and to follow the blood trail of wounded game, working out of sight of the hunter on terrain a pack could not cover.

Temperament

The breed is known for being hardy, independent and even-tempered, friendly with its household and persistent to the point of obsession on a line.

Care and training

It needs a great deal of exercise and secure ground; recall competes with a nose it was bred to obey. The dense double coat suits alpine weather and needs little.

Health

Generally robust from working selection, with ear infections the usual complaint. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.