This Norwegian scent hound is named after the area of its origin: the city of Halden in southern Norway, right on the Swedish border. The Halden Hound was created there in the latter half of the 19th century by crossing foxhounds from England, Beagles and local scent hounds. Early on, these breeding efforts gave a rather uniform type of scent hound, thus providing the basis for a new breed. However, there were always problems linked to the narrow breeding basis.
. Halden Hound
. Halden Hound Breeders
. Halden Hound Puppies
outbreak of canine parvovirus in 1931 and the Second World War nearly wiped out the Halden Hound, but a few committed individuals started breeding the dog again after the war. In 1952, the Halden Hound was approved as a separate breed. Thereupon, interest in the breed grew and numerous champions were made up. However, the breed’s popularity started to dwindle from the mid-1950s, and has thus never been large in numbers.
Even though the breeding population always has been small, no considerable extent of hereditary diseases (such as HD) has ever been recorded in the breed. In recent years, the number of Halden Hound Puppies registered by the Norwegian Kennel Club varied between 7 and 21 per year. This figure is considered to be threatingly low, and must be increased considerably if a viable future shall be ensured for the breed.
APPEARANCE
The Halden Hound is a medium-sized, rectangular dog, strongly built, but should not appear heavy. The head is medium-sized and the skull slightly domed. The occiput and stop are not very pronounced. Ears are medium high set and hanging. Rather long and strong neck. The tail extends approximately to the hock joint and is carried low. A dense undercoat is covered by a short, straight overcoat. Coat colour is usually white with black patches and tan shadings on head and legs. The desired height at the withers is 52-60 cm for males, 50-58 for bitches.
UTILIZATION
The Halden Hound is a good hunting dog with a strong hunting desire and a friendly nature. The breed is characterised by strong nerves and by being especially sociable and trusting. Many Halden Hounds have done very well in hunting trials. They can thus be characterised as an excellent combination of a hunting and companion dog. Due to its good temperament and open nature, the breed is also easy to train.
The demand for puppies has been somewhat low in recent years, and the supply of puppies has not even always been sufficient to meet the demand. At times, there has also been a lack of buyers for the few available puppies. Considerable amounts of patience and commitment are thus needed if you are interested in getting a puppy of such a rare breed. Luckily for the breed, those that are lucky enough to secure a Halden Hound puppy are hopefully aware of their responsibility for helping to increase the breed’s numbers. The most important way of securing the future of the Halden Hound is to further develop and maintain a large and viable breed population. Anyone already considering getting a scent hound can contribute to this by choosing a Halden Hound.
A canine semen bank has been established for all Norwegian dog breeds. The semen bank is being jointly developed by the various breed clubs, the Norwegian Kennel Club and the Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre. The aim is to deposit semen from ten dogs of each of the seven native Norwegian breeds (in addition to the Halden Hound , these are the Norwegian Buhund, the Norwegian Elkhound Grey, the Norwegian Elkhound Black, the Norwegian Lundehund, the Hygen Hound and the Norwegian Hound). Preferably, the semen shall be stored for ten years and can be used, for example, in case of a sudden crisis within a specific breed or if there is a need for ”old” genetic material in breeding.
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