Episode 12: The Spitz Breeds

10/01/20 • 58 min

In this episode, we travel way back in time to some of the earliest types of dogs that developed alongside humans for the mutual benefit of dog and man. These dogs are classified as spitz dogs, named for their pointy ears and muzzle. While the various breeds are found around the world and used in a variety of working tasks, they all share a few key characteristics: a thick coat, pointy ears, a short muzzle, a tail that curls up and over their back, and an independent character that harkens back to their earliest ancestors.

Not all spitz dogs are currently used for hunting, though they can all trace back to early hunting roots. Today, spitzes are used to pull sleds, herd livestock, guard property, provide companionship, as well as hunt birds, small game, and big game.

One interesting example of the spitz, though now extinct, is the Salish Wool Dog. These small, white dogs were developed and raised by the Coast Salish indigenous people of what is now Washington and British Columbia. They were deliberately managed for their thick, luxurious fleeces, which were sheared each spring and spun into prized blankets and other textiles.

As for hunting spitzes, the most primitive style of hunting is that done with Korean Jindos. The hunter would release his pack of dogs, who went out into the forest and hunted down big game such as a deer or boar. Once the animal was down, one dog would return to the hunter to alert him to the kill and to lead him to the site, while the rest of the pack remained with the game to protect it from scavengers.

In Scandinavia, spitzes such as the Finnish Spitz are used to locate and tree forest game birds such as the Capercaillie. Once treed, the dog will carefully bark at the bird to hold its attention and distract from the approaching hunter. This allows the hunter to cautiously approach and take the bird from the tree with either small caliber rifle or a shotgun. Small game is taken in much the same way, with the dog holding the game at bay until the hunter can arrive. Large game such as moose require a similar approach, because the moose will often stand its ground and face down the dog while the hunter approaches undetected.

Overall, hunting spitzes represent a versatile range of skills in pursuing prey and working cooperatively with the hunter. Tune in to hear more discussion of this fascinating type of hunting dog and learn more about how they have been and continue to be used around the world.

As always, we thank you for listening and hope you’ll continue to reach out with your comments, questions, and ideas. We can be reached at [email protected].

Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.

Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast.

Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food

As always, we thank you for listening and hope you’ll continue to reach out with your comments, questions, and ideas. We can be reached at [email protected].

Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.

Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast.

Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food

Previous Episode

Episode 11: Duck Tolling and the Murray River Retriever

In this episode, we respond to some listener feedback about a couple of more unusual retriever breeds and a strange way of attracting ducks to waiting hunters.

First up, we discuss the Murray River Curly-Coated Retriever. A listener from Australia alerted us to this rare landrace which has been used for centuries along the Murray River of South Australia. This dog’s short, strong build and curly, brown coat share many similarities with other breeds developed around the same time. While its exact origin story is unknown, several theories abound. Could it be the result of Flat-Coated Retrievers mixed with curly coated water dogs such as the Irish Water Spaniel? Could it be an offshoot of the Curly-Coated Retriever? Or, most curiously, could it be a surviving landrace from the now-extinct Norfolk Retriever? Descriptions of the Norfolk Retriever certainly seem to fit the look as well as the working style of the Murray River dog.

Whatever the origins of the Murray River Retriever, it maintains a small but passionate group of enthusiasts who are striving to gain breed recognition within the Australian Kennel Club.

The last of the retriever breeds to cover in this series is the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. The “Little River Duck Dog” is a symbol of Nova Scotia and a nod to the rich history of duck hunting in local waterways across the eastern seaboard of North America. But what exactly is “tolling” and how did it originate?

We discuss the various origins of canine tolling behavior, which is when a dog plays along the shore to lure curious ducks closer to within gun range. Foxes exhibit this behavior in the wild, but there are no confirmed records of foxes and dogs breeding to form hybrids. Instead, domestic dogs were selected for a fox-like appearance and trained to mimic the fox’s behavior in cleverly luring ducks toward a waiting hunter.

The English and Dutch used similar methods to lure ducks into a cage, pipe, or trap called a “decoy”, but there are no records of them using guns to kill the ducks trapped while using a tolling dog. This unique method of hunting appears to have originated from French practices, which may well explain the origins of the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

We wrap up the episode with a discussion of the forthcoming Hunting Dog Confidential Magazine. We are in the final stages of editing Issue One and can’t wait to take readers on a journey to learn about hunting dogs from all around the world. The articles and photography are firsthand accounts from many of the sources that we’ve used for episodes of this podcast. If you are enjoying the podcast and like learning about the history and modern-day use of all kinds of hunting dogs, you will love this coffee-table-quality magazine. Subscribe at projectupland.com to get ahold of the first issue in October!

As always, we thank you for listening and hope you’ll continue to reach out with your comments, questions, and ideas. Who knows what other unusual types of dogs are out there? We can’t wait to find out. We can be reached at [email protected].

Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.

Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast.

Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food

Next Episode

Episode 13: Overview of Hounds

In this episode, we begin a broad survey of hounds, beginning with a linguistic exercise to uncover the meaning of the word “hound.” The general nature of the word perhaps explains the very broad range of hound dogs today.

Hounds are separated into categories such as sight hounds, scent hounds, leash hounds, podengos, and pariah dogs. Perhaps the oldest of these categories is the pariah dog, which is thought to have originated at the refuse piles out on the outskirts of early towns and villages.

Pariah dogs and podengos are perhaps among the most versatile of the hound dogs. They exhibit a combination of developed skills such as the use of their nose to locate hidden game, the use of their eyes to track running game, a bounding gait to overcome dense brush, their speed to overtake and capture game, and a retrieving instinct to bring the game back to the handler. An example of this type of hunting can be found with the Ibizan Hound, or the Podenco Ibicenco, which hunts rabbits in the brushy landscape of the island of Ibiza off the coast of Spain.

Sight hounds include commonly known breeds such as the greyhound, whippet, and wolfhound. These dogs rely on good eyesight, but more than that, they rely on speed to overtake their prey. Mixes between the sight hound breeds were called “long dogs” and were frequently used by poachers to take game off of private estates under cover of darkness.

Scent hounds include well-known favorites such as the foxhound, the bloodhound, and beagles. These dogs are known for their incredible sense of smell and the ability to follow a trail to find game. Scent hounds are often used in packs to run down prey, often using their incredible stamina to outlast the game.

Upcoming episodes will dive deeper into each of these categories of hounds, uncovering a surprising number of breeds both well-known and obscure. Hounds have an incredibly diverse history stretching all across the world as they were used to hunt a variety of prey in a variety of human cultures. Hounds eventually led to the development of many of our pointing dog breeds. Stay tuned to learn more about this unexpected origin story.

As always, we thank you for listening and hope you’ll continue to reach out with your comments, questions, and ideas. We can be reached at [email protected].

Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.

Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast.

Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food and supported by Dakota 283.