The Kerry Beagle ( ga, An Pocadán Ciarraíoch) is the only extant

scent hound Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an officer of the Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785 Scent hounds (or scenthounds) are a Dog type, type of hound that primarily hunts by scent rather than ...

breed native to Ireland.

Description

Appearance

Despite its name, the Kerry Beagle is a small hound. is an Irish word for small, given to the dog because it is smaller than other hounds; with its height being between 56–61 cm (22–24 in), and its weight up to . The Kerry Beagle has a broad head, a short coat and long ears, black and tan is the more common colour but the coat may be tan and white, blue mottled and tan or black. The breed's looks suggests speed and endurance.

Temperament

This breed of dog is a pack hound and does hold the hunting instinct strong. They do however make very good pets as they are good with children and other dogs. They require a lot of exercise, regular twice to three times daily walks and free runs.

History and use

The Kerry Beagle believed to date back to the 16th century; detailed pedigrees date back as far as 1794. By the 1800s the Kerry Beagle's numbers had dwindled in Ireland, with only one major pack maintained, the famous

Scarteen Scarteen () is a townland in the civil parish of Ballyscaddan, County Limerick, near the village of Knocklong. It is best known for the Scarteen Hunt, a fox hunting pack of Kerry Beagles based at Scarteen House, a big house owned since the 1 ...

of County Limerick belonging to the Ryan family, which still exists today.Alderton, p 86. Originally bred as

stag Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

hounds, today they are used to hunt

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

and take part in drag hunting. The Kerry Beagle was taken by many Irish immigrants to the Americas, and is considered a foundation breed in the development of the Coonhound and American foxhound. The name 'Beagle' is thought to derive from the Irish word meaning 'small'. The Kerry Beagle was only recognized by the Irish Kennel Club in 1991.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Alderton, David, ''Hounds of the World'', Swan Hill Press, Shrewsbury, 2000, . * Cunliffe, Juliette, ''The Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds'' Parragon, 2001, . * Fogle, Bruce, ''The Encyclopedia of the Dog'', DK Publishing, New York, 2009, . * Hancock, David, ''Hounds: Hunting by Scent'', The Crowood Press Ltd, Marlborough, 2014, . * Holland, Anne, ''Hunting: portrait'', Little Brown, London, 2003, .

External links

Scarteen
website {{Irish dogs Dog breeds originating in Ireland