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Dogs

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Rowan
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Dogs

Post by Rowan » Wed September 17th, 2008, 12:53 pm

Okay, so this is rather a mundane question, but as I've been reading Manda Scott's third book, Dreaming the Hound, something occurred to me that I haven't thought to question before. Much is made of the presence of war hounds and I was wondering if anyone here would know what breed these dogs would've been. Would they be a breed that is recognisable today or some mixed breed?

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LCW
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Post by LCW » Wed September 17th, 2008, 6:16 pm

I think they would look similar to today's breeds that are descended from the Molosser or Alaunt type dogs. Mastiff's, Bullmastif's, Presa Canario's, Caucasion Shepherds etc. I've also read of Wolfhound type dogs described as "war hounds" though.
Books to the ceiling,
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I'll have a long beard by the time I read them. --Arnold Lobel

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Rowan
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Post by Rowan » Wed September 17th, 2008, 6:41 pm

Thanks lila! :)

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Post by annis » Wed September 17th, 2008, 8:53 pm

Rowan, apparently there was an actual breed known as Pugnaces Britanniae, which is now extinct.

I've seen deerhounds and wolfhounds mentioned as well in stories about Celtic and Dark Age Britain. I remember that in Kathleen Herbert's book "Ghost in the Sunlight", the heroine goes out accompanied by her wolfhounds for protection.

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Rowan
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Post by Rowan » Wed September 17th, 2008, 9:55 pm

Thank you annis.

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LCW
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Post by LCW » Wed September 17th, 2008, 11:46 pm

Cool link, Annis! I think while we might not know exactly what these dogs looked liked, we can say for sure that they were gigantic and had temperaments that would not be tolerated today.

I think it's sad that the trend today seems to be to "genericize" the domestic dog! There are different breeds with different qualities, personalities, and temperaments for good reasons!! I prefer a little "spunk" in my dog and I whole heartedly support breeding working and sporting dogs rather than just show ring dogs. IMO, a dogs temperament and personality are every bit as important as how it looks. Many of the champion AKC dogs can't even do the jobs that they were originally bred for! It's sad!!
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them. --Arnold Lobel

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LCW
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Post by LCW » Wed September 17th, 2008, 11:49 pm

Here's a representation of what those dogs might've looked like:

The Jennings Dog
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them. --Arnold Lobel

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Post by annis » Thu September 18th, 2008, 1:34 am

I don't know if it's just me, 1lila1, but i couldn't see an image of the dog, though i did find him here,and he certainly looks like a powerful beast.

You guys made me curious about wolfhounds, so I looked them up and discovered that they were known among the Celts from at least the 1st century BC and probably much earlier. The size alone would scare the bejaysus out of an enemy, and apparently the Irish trained them later to pull an amoured man off his horse!
Here's Alchflaed of Bernicia from "Ghost in the Sunlight"out riding along the shore with her hunting spear and wolfhounds.

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Alaric
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Post by Alaric » Thu September 18th, 2008, 8:23 am

IIRC the Romans used to use an ancestor of the Rottweiler to hunt scattered enemies, particularly in forests in Germania.

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Post by annis » Thu September 18th, 2008, 9:33 am

That's really interesting, Alaric. When I went hunting for more about Roman wardogs, I found this article about the history of dogs in war which is quite fascinating. The bit about the Roman war dog battalions was pretty out there.
Last edited by annis on Thu September 18th, 2008, 9:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

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