Otterhound Club of America collection

CLUB HISTORY The Otterhound Club of America was founded on 13 August 1960 by thirteen Otterhound owners. These owners gathered at Dr. Hugh Mouat’s home in Amsterdam, NY following the judging of the Southern Adirondack Dog Club Show. At this meeting, officers were elected: Dr. Mouat as president, Leon Fry as vice president, Margaret Bloomer as Secretary and Samuel Schiller as treasurer. Part of the club’s purpose was to “encourage and promote the breeding of OH’s, striving as nearly as possible for perfection”. Other goals included creating an AKC approved standard for the breed, holding shows under the rules of AKC and the general protection and advancement of the breed.

Dr. Hugh Mouat, known now as “Mr. Otterhound,” was the leading arbiter of Otterhounds in the US, his interest originally peeked by a 1934 visit by two breeders in 1934. He subsequently started the country’s first ambitious breeding program in 1937. Alhough there are AKC records of the exhibition of six Otterhounds in a show in Claremont, Oklahoma in 1907, the first breed champions did not appear until Ch. Bessie's Countess and Ch. Bessie's Courageous, Otterhounds from Dr. Mouat’s first litter, earned the title. On 13 December 1950, Dr. Mouat was presented the award of honor by Dog World Magazine for his efforts to preserve the Otterhound. He kept close records of his famous kennel, Adriucha Kennel and wrote “How to Raise and Train an Otterhound” which was published in 1963.

The first Otterhound fun match was held at Dr. Mouat’s home in 1971. This event has been held annually since and has become a favorite OHCA gathering. Dr. Mouat was a profound influence on the presence of Otterhounds in the US and on the OHCA.

The OHCA submitted their constitution and by-laws to the AKC in December 1961, but the AKC deemed them unacceptable due to lack of individuality; there were only 57 members of the OHCA and only 45 AKC registered Otterhounds. In an attempt to strengthen the breed, two dogs were imported from the UK in that year. These imports were likely from one or both of the two most famous packs of Otterhounds in the UK, Dumfriesshire in Scotland and Kendal and District in the Lake District of England.

In 1968 the Western Otterhound Fanciers (WOHF) was founded by ten Otterhound owners on the west coast. The organization aimed to increase awareness and presence of the breed on the coast and support show entries. A monthly newsletter, the WOHF Whistle, was also a function of the club. WOHF and OHCA collaborated to create a standard for the Otterhound which they completed in 1971. The standard was approved by AKC and published in the AKC Gazette in November, 1971. WOHF was a successful regional club until 1973 when it was dissolved by vote in order to give full support to the OHCA.

A new constitution and by-laws for OHCA were voted on and accepted in the spring of 1974. These were sent to the AKC on 14 June 1974 and were formally accepted by AKC on 22 August 1974. The club held its first national specialty in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1981. At this event, Ch. Follyhoun First in Line was Best of Breed and Ch. Follyhoun Fair Warning went Best of Opposite. The club has also held a regional specialty in Louisville, Kentucky every year since 1994.

There was continued work put into the first Illustrated Standard, originally published in 1971. One change includes the name of the breed itself from Otter Hound to Otterhound in 1987. Thereafter, continual debate over phrasing took place and minor wording revisions were made several times in the 1980s. The most recent standard was approved in 1995.

Another activity the club participates in is Otterhound rescue. This is not a big undertaking due to the small number of unspayed and unneutered Otterhounds in the US. The club does voice frustrations over being contacted for the rescue of shaggy strays that are not actually Otterhounds. However, the OHCA has successively rescued several Otterhounds in the last few years.

The club has also conducted two health surveys, which were distributed to Otterhound owners across the US in 1996 and 2003. These surveys indicated that most Otterhounds are in relatively good health and have no major health problems until old age. The club encourages DNA testing for all Otterhounds in order to eliminate health issues in breeding stock.

The club now consists of about 100 members in the US and some international members living in Canada and Europe, especially the UK. There is no Otterhound Club in Canada, though there is one in the UK with which the OHCA corresponds. Today, there are less than 1000 Otterhounds worldwide and less than 350 in the US.

BREED HISTORY There are references to “otter dogges” as early as the 12th century, but these dogs may not have bore much resemblance to the modern-day Otterhound. There were ten “Master of Otterhounds” beginning with King John who reigned from 1199-1216. Queen Elizabeth I, who reigned from 1558-1603, became the first “Lady Master of Otterhounds”. However, these dogs were so called because of the purpose they served and may not necessarily be closely related to the Otterhound of today.

In the times of Edward II, who reigned from 1307-1327, a huntsman named William Twici left the first description of the kind of dogs that made up otter packs. He describes them as “a rough sort of dog, between a hound and a terrier”. This sounds a bit like the modern-day Otterhound, but the description is too vague to draw any conclusions about what kinds of dogs these early otter trackers were. The Otterhound as we know him today probably took shape in the late 18th century.

According to AKC, the exact origin of the Otterhound is a mystery. Many suspect Bloodhounds and several rough coated French hound breeds are the ancestors of the Otterhound, and this is the theory that OHCA endorses. Another source claims a complicated lineage including the Mastiff, St. Hubert hound, Talbot hound, Welsh hound and Southern hound as well as some types of terrier. We do know that the Otterhound was bred to terriers in the UK to create the Airedale, but the Otterhound’s own origins are less clear. Dogs were used by hunters in Britain for centuries to track otters. Otter hunting was initially performed out of necessity in order to keep otter from destroying fish, an important food source. It later became a sport, though never a major one. Otter hunting continued throughout the 19th and part of the 20th centuries, reaching its peak during World War I. The sport was the only form of hunting available from April to September, a fact that helped to increase its popularity.

The Otterhound’s keen sense of smell and webbed feet made him an excellent tracker and swimmer, ideal for otter hunting. His rough double coat is also ideal for a swimmer as its oily nature can withstand water well. However, otter hunting was banned in England in 1978, Scotland in 1980 and it had never caught on in the US, so the Otterhound no longer has a specific working role to fulfill. The dogs still remain great trackers, with the highest number of tracking titles per dog registered in the AKC almost every recent year. The first Otterhounds were brought to the US in the early 20th century. The earliest American show records for the breed are from 1907, when six Otterhounds were shown in Claremont, Oklahoma. However, the breeds’ numbers remained quite low in the US and very few were shown until the 1940s. Dr. Mouat, graduated from Cornell Veterinary School in 1929 and soon after became interested in Otterhounds. He began his own breeding program in 1937 and produced the first Otterhound Champions in 1941. He established his kennel named ‘Adriucha’, a Mohawk name meaning “valiant warrior”.

Dr. Mouat continued to import Otterhounds from the UK in order to improve his breeding stock, primarily drawing on the Dumfriesshire and Kendal and District Kennels. His kennel produced some of the most famous early American Otterhounds, including Champion Adriucha’s Zola’s Prixa UD. Zola was placed in the Otterhound Club of America Hall of Fame as a Utility Dog.

Dr. Mouat began placing his dogs with interested breeders all over the country in order to propagate the breed. Despite his efforts, the number of Otterhounds remained small in these early times due to a prevalent blood disease, canine thrombocytopathy, which severely limited litter size. Dr. Mouat spear-headed blood testing to breed out this disease. However, numbers of Otterhounds remain low even today with less than 350 registered with the AKC. The Otterhound is currently the 153 most popular breed out of 154 breeds recognized by the AKC. There were only 7 litters in the US registered with the AKC in 2004. Some other health issues that have affected Otterhounds more recently include seizures, Panosteitis, which causes intermittent lameness and Cryptorchidism, the failure of one or both testicles to descend. Another health problem that is common in most big dogs including Otterhounds is hip dysplasia, a term encompassing various hip joint problems. Breeders have been working to breed these conditions out of the Otterhound. Due to their efforts Otterhounds are generally healthy dogs.

The Otterhound is known for its even temperament and loyalty to its master. Otterhounds are big, strong dogs and are often described as amiable and boisterous. They tend to get along well with other dogs due to their history of working in packs to hunt. Their gait is described in the AKC standard as “shambling” and “loose”. The most prevalent color is grizzle and tan, but any combination of colors is acceptable.

There is an Otterhound Club of America Registry of Merit as well as a Hall of Fame. These honors are awarded to Otterhounds who have achieved excellence either as sires or dams or in the show ring, agility or tracking. Some of the other most honored Otterhound Kennels include Scentasia, with six Otterhounds in the Hall of Fame, and Hooter's, with four Otterhounds in the Hall of Fame. Follyhoun has also produced a number of National Specialty Best of Breed winners including the first winner in 1981, Champion Follyhoun First in Line.