Poland has five national dog breeds, and one of them, the Polish Hunting Dog, is the subject of this post.

Poland is a country of deep forests filled with big game, and the concept of hunting with scent hounds dates was already noted in literature as early as the 13th century. By the 17th century, at least two scent hounds were identified hunting breeds, but only in 1819 were their names mentioned in a book, Jan Szytier’s “Hunting Guide.” These were the “Polish Hound” and the “Polish Scent Hound.” As for its origins, that is subject to debate. Some believe it arose from a cross between the St. Hubert’s Hound with indigenous Polish dogs. Others theorize that the Polish Hunting Dog descended from various German and Austrian breeds. Either way, these dogs were clearly developed for scenting and hunting abilities.

In 1821, W.Kozlowski gave a description and provided illustrations of both types of the dogs in the magazine “Sylwan:” The Polish “brach” was a heavier dog, while the Polish scent hound was lighter. In time, the Polish Scenthound (or, in Polish, the Gończy Polski)  would be renamed the Polish Hunting Dog, and the first breed standard was written by the famous Polish cynologist, Josef Pawuslewich, who not only had extensive experience of hunting with the dogs, but became involved in developing the breed even further. It was through his involvement that the Polish Hunting dog was officially registered in the Polish Cynological Association.

This is a breed with a tremendous work ethic and stamina to match – attributes needed in the mountainous part of southern Poland. Sadly, even in that country, it is considered a rare breed, but one valued for its scent tracking skills.

The breed is recognized by the FCI which classifies it in Group 6 as a Scenthound.

Image by 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=259904