Hare Indian Dog Info

The hare Indian dog inhabited areas near the Mackenzie River and the Great Lake of America, where it hunted moose and reindeer by sight, aided occasionally by its powers of scent. Although its general body shape gave the suggestion that it would today have been included in a Pastoral Group, its head shape, elongation and sharpness of muzzle caused the early canine authority,' Stonehenge', to include it in the section relating to domestic dogs which hunted chiefly by sight and killed their game for use by man. Depth of chest, tucked-up flank and muscular quarters marked this as a dog of speed. Although light in frame and not designed to hold any animal of considerable bulk, its length of toe and the width of web between each allowed it to bound over the snow without sinking. Easily able to overtake its quarry, it held this at bay until hunters arrived. Coat color was white with patches of grayish-black or brown, and the erect ears were wide at their base and pointed at the tip, giving an appearance of great vivacity and sprit. The dog featured here was one of three Hare Indian Dogs housed in London's Zoological Gardens. They were gentle and confident but none survived for long due to lack of exercise. In their homeland these dogs were good tempered and manageable, and were valuable to the Indians, who lived almost entirely off the produce of the chase. They never barked but howled and whined, although the youngest of the three at the Zoological Gardens, born a few days after its parents' arrival, barked like the dogs housed close by.