To understand the unique Ibizan Hound, one must go back in time to the Sardes, early maritime traders often called, “peoples of the sea.” These merchants traded everything not nailed down: grain, finery, cloth, cattle – and dogs, and this is most likely how a beautiful, swift and intelligent hunter found its way onto the islands of Malta and Goza, and the Balearic Islands. The Sardes made these islands their outposts, and undoubtedly encouraged their dogs to hunt the rugged hills. Maybe they even forgot a few when they left for trips.

The Greeks, who along with their dogs settled on many of the same islands, named them: Meluss (Minorca), Kromyussa (Majorca), Pityussa (Ibiza) to mention just a few. After the Greeks came the Carthaginians of Africa, and Balearic legends say that the great Carthaginian general, Hannibal, took some of the island dogs with him as he crossed the Alps early in the second Punic War. Ancient Roman coins found on the Balearic Islands were stamped with the likeness of those dogs, and they bore striking resemblance to today’s Ibizan Hound. But the story isn’t done yet.

The dogs lived on the Balearic Islands for centuries, a stressed environment owing to war pressures and garrisons. Locals, most probably out of necessity, not only selectively bred these dogs by taking the sleekest runner to the keenest scent hound, but culled those that could not earn their keep by hunting successfully three ways: By sight, by scent, and by sound.

In modern times,  tourists rediscovered the Balearic Islands and found them to be wonderfully secluded vacation spots; the dog lovers among them became captivated by the Balearic Ibizan Hound, now an exquisite three way hunter.

Ibizan Hounds by annaav/adobe Stock