The Transylvanian Hound is an ancient Hungarian dog breed, which was primarily used for hunting.
History
The Transylvanian Hound came with the invading Magyar tribes in the ninth century, who brought in hounds and crossed them with local breeds and Polish hounds.
The breed was kept by Hungarian kings and princes for hunting various game (i.e. foxes, boar, etc.). In the beginning of the twentieth century, the breed was nearly extinct and in 1968 new efforts began to save it. The only area outside of Hungary where it exists is in Romania.
Hunting
The breed was developed in the Carpathian Mountains, an area rich in forests, meadows, and rivers. Thus it can be used to hunt over any type of terrain, even during frozen winters or sultry summers. The two varieties are used for different specialised purposes. The long-legged variety is for hunting boar, stag, and lynx, while the short-legged variety is for hunting smaller burrowing animals, especially fox and hare.
