E - Elkhound, English Setter, English Working Cocker Spaniel
I thought that 'E' would be easy but that was not the case. However a number of dog breeds are classed as 'English' so I knew that I could include some of those.
Regular visitors to my blog will know that I worked in Norway for a number of years so really I should include their National Dog.
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| Elkhound (Norwegian Elkhound by the River - by Dmitry Guskar) |
Its original name was Norsk Eighund or Norwegian Moose Dog. It was used to track down and hold the moose (elk) at bay until the hunter arrived.
President Hoover had an Elkhound named Weejie but I can't find any photos of them. I must confess also that I haven't read the 1928 novel 'Orlando: A Biography' by Virginia Wolff in which Canute, an Elkhound appears. A quote from the book includes the request, "Buy for me from the King's own kennels, the finest elkhounds of the Royal strain, male and female. Bring them back without delay." Now I have to read the book to find out whether Canute was one those.
Gun dogs are bred to serve a specific function Some like the English Setter have acted as trained 'bird' dogs for over 400 years.
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| English Setter - Ranger (Chromolithograph as published in Cassells Illustrated Book of the Dog by Vero Shaw 1881) |
A characteristic of this breed used to set and point upland game birds is its 'feathered' tail which can be seen even better in a wet shot like this.
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| English Setter - Gucci Prostejovska (by Nick Jerinic - CC BY-SA 3.0) |
English Working Cocker Spaniels have less floppy ears than the Cockers we saw in the 'C' posts. They are used to flush game birds, but sit when a bird gets up and/or a gun goes off. This enables them to watch where the bird falls and they receive the command to retrieve and bring it back to hand.
However the two I meet in my village are just pets.
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| English Working Cocker - Milly |
She wants to be off across the fields already while Barney is told to sit.
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| English Working Cocker - Barney |
9 comments:
Hi Bob .. well that Elkhound reference in one of Virginia Woolf's books is interesting to know about - and one to read to find out ..
Love the photos and the painting .. and the Setter feathering ..
Cheers Hilary
The last dog sure looks like my Misty, although my Misty is larger, but the cocker hair and ears is so alike. Great photos as always, a dog lover's dream here.
Love the Elkhound picture. Lovely pix of lovely dogs. Makes me wish we still had a dog. Never been a big Spaniel fan though. Except maybe the King Charles.
Beautiful dog, the Elkhounde. But having to deal with all that hair would be a job, for sure. Shedding in the spring...
A great blog theme for the #challenge. I am going to share it on my faceook page for friends who love dogs. Stopping by on the 5th day of the #atozchallenge.. Congratulations on your blog. I know you are going to make new blogging friends this month. I'm writing about gardening and related topics and having a wonderful time. If you have time or interest, come and visit.
A fine posting for "E." Of course I love the Elkhound best, being half Norwegian :)
Shells–Tales–Sails
Oh my gosh, Barney looks so much like my dog! He is a mix of spaniel and poodle and he definitely has more of a spaniel face.
Hello there. Dogs are nice, but cats are my favourite. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the challenge!
Entrepreneurial Goddess
You sure have A LOT of dogs in your village! Wow! I love the look of the English Setter, and the English Working Spaniel is adorable! There is a very strange and yet sweetly wonderful little movie call "Dean Spanley" with Peter O'Toole, Sam Neill, Brian Brown and Jeremy Northam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Spanley It is well worth seeing, even if it seems silly and a bit slow in the beginning. It's really about life from a dogs perspective.
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