Otter Hound

Description:
Slender and big, Otter Hounds are around sixty-seven to sixty eight centimeters in height, have wiry coats and have a very big head that is quite narrow. The weight of the males is around thirty-seven to fifty seven kilograms, and the females anywhere from thirty two to fifty kilograms. Besides its coarse wiry and crispy hair, it has an impermeable outer coat that is a big oily to the touch and which facilitates the job it was bred for. This breed is also well known because of its keen sense of smell. This dog is slightly rectangular and should have a muscular and well-balanced body. The muzzle is square and the skull is slightly rounded; both are almost the same length. The eyes are dark, deeply inserted and the third eyelid is somewhat visible; the ears are long, hang and are lowly inserted; it has powerful jaws. The chest is deeper than it is in width; it has wide ribs; the tail is long and it thins at the tip, it has an abundant amount of fringes of hair on it and it carries it like a sable. This dog comes in a variety of colors such as grayish, sandy, reddish, blue and wheat, black and fire color, blue and fire color, black and crème, liver color, liver and fire color, fire color and white. 

Ideal owner:
This dog is a natural athlete, is strapping, and a swimmer and hunter by nature. However it is not that popular as a companion dog for some reason. However it does have all the qualities to be an excellent companion dog: its wiry coat is attractive, it's tall and proud, and it loves children and an active family. It has a very loud bark and is capable of shooing away the intruder trying to get into the neighbors house, which is an advantage. It loves the country and water and it is a very resistant sporting dog that is robust and easy to take care of. A lot of people are led to believe that this dog loves water (and it does) but it indeed prefers mud, yea that's right, mud. It is very important this dog gets plenty of exercise to keep it happy and in the right health conditions. As all good hounds, it is gregarious, kind, amicable, and devoted. The future owner will need to keep in mind that this dog is a tracing dog and that every time it puts its nose to the ground, its almost like it shuts out anything the owner tries to say at that moment. Make sure to keep this dog in a gated area… it's a must.

Growth:
The otter hound weighs around 500 grams at birth and should weigh around three kilograms at four weeks of age. At eight weeks it should weigh around ten to twelve and a half kilograms. At six months is should have reached around two thirds of its adult height. This dog comes in a variety of different colors and the change of color its coat has is considerable both during its growth and even afterwards. At around six or eight months its coat starts to grow out and its adult color becomes evident. Most puppies are born all black and they begin to show traces of their adult coat at the age of two weeks. In general the color of an otter hound lightens with age during its whole life. Anyone interested in getting this dog should make sure it looks healthy and ask for the radiological certificates. Make sure also that it has an extroverted personality. Inferior and superior prognathism is fairly common. During its growing stage it might look a little awkward and it might lose its appetite as well. Never pick out a puppy that is scared of people. The level of activity it needs reduces as it becomes older as well as the amount of food it needs.

General health:
This breed has in general two serious health problems, which are hip dysphasia and thrombosis. It is very important to get one that has good lineage since both of these problems are very extended in this breed. Canine thrombosis is a defect of the blood platelets and although careful breeding has reduced this problem, it is still necessary to get the dog tested when it is seven or eight weeks of age. Skin cysts have also been reported as well as tumors. The care its coat requires is vital to keeping its skin healthy and to prevent skin problems. Brushing it once a week is enough. These dogs need to do exercise with precaution during the first year of their lives so as to not cause orthopedic problems, to which swimming is excellent for them. This dog's life span is generally around ten years or more.