A rare breed

With their webbed feet, supersensitive noses and abundant energy, otterhounds were perfectly adapted to track their prey, but the dog is now disappearing in Britain. Luc ap Rolant asks, can they survive?

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Have you ever seen an otterhound? Appearing in many different colour combinations - wheaten, sandy, black, blue, tan, liver, grizzle and white - this playful breed is friendly, energetic and affectionate, with a bearded face and drop ears hanging down the side of its head. Its big personality matches its size, with male otterhounds weighing up to a hefty 52kg, compared to a golden retriever at around 30kg.

But despite its good looks and conviviality, the otterhound today is a rare sight and at risk of becoming extinct. Otterhound numbers worldwide are only in the hundreds. In the pandemic puppy boom of 2021, a record-breaking 349,013 puppy births were registered - but just 42 were otterhounds. And by late 2022, only 14 otterhound puppy births had been registered, compared to the most popular breed, the Labrador retriever, with 61,559 puppies recorded. Small wonder that the Kennel Club describes the otterhound as "one of the rarest of all the vulnerable native dog breeds". So why the decline? The answer, it seems, is fashion.

Bill Lambert, spokesman for the Kennel Club's Save Forgotten Dog Breeds campaign, explains. "There are more than 200 dog breeds in this country, each with different personalities, characteristics and needs, and yet people are increasingly opting for the fashionable or obvious choices. Sadly, it seems that TV, celebrities and social media - rather than responsible research - are normally the guiding force behind our choice of dog, and which breeds move in and out of fashion."

The Kennel Club's aim, says Bill, is to maintain "a rich diversity of breeds, so that people can get a dog that is truly right for them. One of the main reasons there is such a decline in popularity of these dogs is because people simply don't seem to know of them."