Otterhound

Amiable and boisterous; single-minded on a scent.
An Otterhound
Photo: Canarian
Adult weight
36–52 kg
80–115 lb
Lifespan
10–13 yrs
Class · Family
also Field

What it's like

Bred to work in packs, the Otterhound is generally amiable, even-tempered and sociable with people and other dogs, and often boisterous. Once on a scent it is independent and single-minded. The breed is now rare and appears on the Kennel Club's list of vulnerable native breeds.

Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Easy-going, simple routines
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Friendly with everyone
Independence
Decides for itself
Around the home
Sensitivity
Hardy, takes a busy home in its stride
Voice
Very vocal
Prey drive
Likely to chase small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

It has a wire or harsh coat. Loose hair stays caught in the coat until it is brushed, stripped or clipped out. Plan on a brush once a week, plus hand-stripping two or three times a year. It needs plenty of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

An Otterhound is a large dog, about the weight of a grown Rottweiler. It is one of the heaviest large breeds.

It is a big, strongly built hound with a large head, long hanging ears and a rough, shaggy double coat. The outer coat is harsh and the undercoat woolly and slightly oily. The ears have a distinctive fold along their leading edge, so they hang as if draped. A wide range of colours is accepted, including grizzle, sandy, black and tan, and liver, and the breed's voice is deep and carrying.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
Otterhounds reach half their adult weight at about 5 months. They grow fastest between 4 and 5 months old. They keep growing past their first birthday, longer than a Beagle does. Most males grow into the size large-breed puppy foods are made for.
Fully grown
13 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight6
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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02040602m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
6.3–9.1 kg 13.9–20.1 lb
6.3–9.1 kg 13.9–20.1 lb
3 months
10.2–14.6 kg 22.5–32.2 lb
10.2–14.6 kg 22.5–32.2 lb
4 months
15.1–21.7 kg 33.3–47.8 lb
15.1–21.7 kg 33.3–47.8 lb
5 months
20.4–29.4 kg 45.0–64.8 lb
20.4–29.4 kg 45.0–64.8 lb
6 months
25.3–36.4 kg 55.8–80.2 lb
25.3–36.4 kg 55.8–80.2 lb
7 months
29.2–42.0 kg 64.4–92.6 lb
29.2–42.0 kg 64.4–92.6 lb
8 months
31.9–45.8 kg 70.3–101.0 lb
31.9–45.8 kg 70.3–101.0 lb
9 months
33.6–48.3 kg 74.1–106.5 lb
33.6–48.3 kg 74.1–106.5 lb
10 months
34.7–49.9 kg 76.5–110.0 lb
34.7–49.9 kg 76.5–110.0 lb
11 months
35.4–50.8 kg 78.0–112.0 lb
35.4–50.8 kg 78.0–112.0 lb
12 months
35.8–51.4 kg 78.9–113.3 lb
35.8–51.4 kg 78.9–113.3 lb
15 months
36.2–52.0 kg 79.8–114.6 lb
36.2–52.0 kg 79.8–114.6 lb
18 months
36.3–52.1 kg 80.0–114.9 lb
36.3–52.1 kg 80.0–114.9 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Otterhounds live yet. The 10–13 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Otterhound is a British pack hound bred to hunt otters, its webbed feet and oily coat made for trailing through water and over land; a French influence is generally felt in its ancestry. After England banned otter hunting in 1978, the masters of the last two purebred packs, together with breeders and the Kennel Club, registered the surviving breeding hounds and placed them with new owners4,8.

Hounds were kept to hunt otters along English rivers and streams from medieval times, and the Otterhound is linked to that tradition. King John is often said to have kept such hounds in the early thirteenth century. The breed took its modern form in the nineteenth century from uncertain ancestry, often thought to include the Bloodhound and rough-coated French hounds. Its work was slow and patient: it followed an otter's scent along banks and through water, giving voice as it went.

Breed standard

The Otterhound is judged against standard no. 294, in group 6, Scenthounds and related breeds4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Otterhound figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a large breed is most likely at the later end.

Compare with related

Spinone Italiano
Pointing dogs · Large
Bloodhound
Scent hounds · Giant
Black and Tan Coonhound
Scent hounds · Large
Rhodesian Ridgeback
Scent hounds · Large
Or compare the Otterhound with any breed you choose
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Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·