Polish Hunting Dog - Scent Hound Breed Of Poland

March 12, 2020

The polish hunting dog is a recent developed breed that is known for its braveness and strength. The dog is medium sized with strong bones which aid the dog to work in extreme and difficult mountainous region. As it was bred for doing hard work, the dog is ideal for active people who can commit to its exercise requirement.

The dog is extremely courageous, resilient and persistent at work. It is not aggressive but definitely suspicious with unknown people. The dog forms close bonds with its family members and proves to be a devoted companion. This breed is naturally protective towards it family and can be a reliable guard dog.

The dog looks handsome with its glossy coat of generally black and tan color. It has stable temperament and acts like gentleman inside home. It will never test its master patience level by defying the rules set for it. The dog’s superior scenting ability makes it one of the most sough scent hound. It can easily take down big predatory because it has right aptitude required for hunting.

Origin

The other name for polish hunting dog is ‘Gonczy Polski’. This breed originated in the 13^th century in Poland. Poland is known for its extreme weather condition and dense forest. Hunting became the favorite pass time and sport of polish.

The literature of Poland is full of scent hound dogs which were used in big and small games. This breed has been the favorite companion to hunter because of their brave nature and tenacious hunting skills.

Polish Hunting Dog Characteristics

The breed belongs to Poland and is a scent hound.
This breed is brave, trainable, intelligent and hardy.
The lifespan of this breed is 10-13 years.
It stands at a height of 22–26 inches.
The weight of the dog is 55-70 pounds.
The dog comes in black-tan and black color.
The average price of this breed is $600 - $800 USD.
The dog can live in apartment but an average sized yard is best for it. It is moderately active inside home and needs space to thrive.
The dog tends to quiet and barks only when necessary.
The dog gets along well with family animals of its own size.
It has high prey drive and it tends to chase small animals.
The dog loves children and is friendly around them.
It is not a hypoallergenic breed.
The dog sheds moderately and need infrequent grooming.
It is a healthy breed and is not prone to suffer from major health issues.

Appearance

The polish hunter is a medium sized dog with compact and athletic body. The dog’s body tends to be springy which help it in motility in mountainous region. The dog has proportionate head with elongated and well-formed muzzle. Its eyes are medium sized, expressive and dark in color.

The triangular ears are set lowly and are flat and hanging side by its cheeks. The neck is slightly arched with deep chest. The dog has strong jaw and teeth meet in a leveled bite. The tail of the dog is medium thick and gets curved towards the end. The gait of the dog is effortless and harmonious.

Size and Weight

The ideal size of the male breed is 55–59 cm and female is 50–55 cm tall. The male breed weighs around 55-70.5 lbs. and female breed weighs around 44-57.5 lb.

Coat and Color

The dog has weather resistant and waterproof double coat. The specialty about its coat is that the undercoat gets thicker and denser in winter. The topcoat lies close to its body and is coarse to touch. The dog comes in black and tan, red and brown and black color.

Temperament

Personality - The dog is a devoted companion because it has innate eagerness to please its family members. The dog is well behaved, calm and happy minded inside home. It loves to spend time and play with kids. This breed matures slowly so they are like puppies till 2 or 3 years of their birth. But the good news is that even puppies are easy to manage.
Behavior - The dog is highly prized for its stamina, keen sense of smell, and fearless disposition. It can single handedly take down big animals. This dog is literally an asset for hunters. It also excels in agility, rally and hurdle race of dogs. The dogs have gentle personality. They tend to be peaceful with family pets leaving non canine animals. However, they are intolerant towards other animals and strangers. It may react defensively with unknown face. This makes early socialization necessary for them. It is vigilant in nature and makes deep loud bark if strangers approach its territory.
Activities Requirement - The dog needs at least an hour of high intensive workout Give the dog opportunity to play and romp in a secured yard. You can also admit the dog to dog’s course where it can conduct number of dog’s exercise. The dog likes challenging task so make sure to increase the difficulty level of any dog’s task.
Trainability - The dog responds well to positive training session. As it has habit of chasing so introduce it to leash at an early age so that it gets habitual. Proper socialization of dog will make sure you have a well-adjusted pet inside home. This breed is naturally trained in its area of interest so no need to put efforts in making them train for what they’re known for i.e. hunting.

Feeding

The dog needs high quality diet which has more protein content. Give it boiled meat, bacon, lamb or beef to eat. They should be fed twice a day. Keep fresh water near to their area of eating.

Lifespan

The dog can live up to 11 to 13 years.

Health Issues

This breed is not hypoallergenic. It is a healthy dog and is not prone to suffer from any major health issues.

Grooming

The dog doesn’t require extensive care of its coat. It has short coat which requires only weekly grooming. The dog is naturally clean and doesn’t require too much bath. Weekly brush its coat to distribute natural oil found on its coat and to keep it mats and debris free.

The dog toes are prone to get affected by thorns, so check their toes immediately after they are back from hunting. Other grooming process like cleaning its ears, brushing its teeth and clipping its nails are same as other breeds of dogs.

Habitat

The dog needs spacious apartment or house with yard to live freely. It has weather resistant coat which means it can tolerate hot and cold climate equally well.