Artois Hound
{{Infobox Dogbreed
| image = Artois from 1915.JPG
| image_caption = Artois Hound
| name = Artois Hound
| altname = Chien d'Artois
Picard
Briquet
| country = France
|weight = {{convert|28| - |30|kg|abbr=on}}
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|height = {{convert|53|-|58|cm|abbr=on}}
|maleheight =
|femaleheight =
|coat =
|color =
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| kc_name = Société Centrale Canine
| kc_std = https://www.centrale-canine.fr/le-chien-de-race/chien-dartois
| fcistd = http://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/028g06-en.pdf
}}The Artois Hound or Chien D'Artois is a medium-sized breed of dog. A scent hound, the Artois was breed in northern France as a pack hunter. It is a rare breed today, but was popular in France before the 20th century. The breed was heavily crossbred and had to be reconstructed in the 1970s to more closely resemble the historical breed.
Characteristics
The Artois is a medium-sized, muscular dog about {{convert|53|to|58|cm|in}} high at the withers and {{convert|28|to|30|kg|lbs}}. They have a square-shaped muzzle and long, low-hanging ears. Their tail is long and carried upwards in a "sickle" shape. The coat is short and typically dark fawn tricolor, "similar to a hare or badger".{{Cite web |title=Chien D'Artois Breed Standard |url=https://fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/028g06-en.pdf |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=FEDERATION CYNOLOGIQUE INTERNATIONALE}}
A scent hound, the Artois is a small pack hunter with a strong pack instinct. They have been used to hunt small game, as well as deer and wild boar. Like many hounds, they have a loud musical bark.{{cite book |last=Arthus-Bertrand |first=Yann |title=Dogs |publisher=Cassel & Co |year=1993 |isbn=0-304-35630-1 |page=384 |author-link=Yann Arthus-Bertrand}}{{Cite web |title=Breed Standards : Chien d’Artois |url=https://www.ukcdogs.com/chien-d-artois |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=United Kennel Club (UKC)}}{{Cite book |last=Morris |first=Desmond |url=http://archive.org/details/isbn_9781570762192 |title=Dogs : the ultimate dictionary of over 1,000 dog breeds |date=2002 |publisher=North Pomfret, Vt. : Trafalgar Square Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-57076-219-2 |pages=699}}
History
The Artois Hound are from Artois, in northern France. A similarly named dog was referenced as early as 1609, with Prince Alexandre de Gray mentioning "a pack of little d'Artois dogs" in a letter.{{cite book |last1=Wilcox |first1=Bonnie |url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofdogbreeds0000wilc/page/278/mode/2up?view=theater |title=The Atlas of Dog Breeds of the World |last2=Walkowicz |first2=Chris |date=1989 |publisher=T.F.H. Publications |isbn=978-0-86622-899-2 |pages=278–279 |url-access=registration}}
During the 19th century, the Artois Hound was increasingly crossbred with British breeds. Le Couteulx de Canteleu, in the 1890 Manuel de Vénerie Française, writes that it was difficult to find a purebred Artois, but the breed remained one of the best breeds for hare hunting. In the 1880s, Ernest Levair in Picardy had attempted the re-establishment of the old Artois type. Another prominent breeder contemporary to Levair, Mallard, also bred Artois, but his dogs were much less similar to the historical descriptions of the breed. For all their efforts however the Second World War was very damaging for the breed and after the Second World War, the Artois was all but extinct.
In the 1970s a few aficionados, in particular Audrechy, decided to reconstitute the breed from a few remaining specimens, including those of the Prince de Conde. Thanks to their efforts the modern day Artois closely resembles the original.
The modern Artois Hound is recognized by the FCI and the United Kennel Club.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
=Other sources=
- {{cite book |last=Shaw |first=Vero |date=1881 |title=The Illustrated Book of the Dog |url=https://archive.org/details/b28086077/page/n575/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater |publisher=Cassell & Company |pages=505–506}}
{{hounds}}
{{French dogs}}