- Dogs suitable for experienced owners
- Extra training required
- Generally healthy breed
- Enjoys vigorous walks
- Enjoys more than two hours of walking a day
- Large dog
- Some drool
- Requires grooming once a week
- Chatty and vocal dog
- Barks and alerts to visitors/anything unusual
- Generally friendly with other dogs
- May need additional training to live with other pets
- Great family dog
- Needs a large garden
- Best suited to countryside
- Cannot be left alone
Key Facts
Lifespan: | 14-17 years |
Weight: | Between 23-27kg |
Height: | 53-61cm for males and 49-57cm for females |
Colours: | Tricolour coat of black, tan and white |
Size: | Medium/large |
Kennel Club Groups: | Hound |
Ratings
Family-friendly: | 5/5 |
Exercise needs: | 4/5 |
Easy to train: | 3/5 |
Tolerates being alone: | 3/5 |
Likes other pets: | 3/5 |
Energy level: | 5/5 |
Grooming needs: | 4/5 |
Shedding: | 1/5 |

Personality
Alert, determined and independent, although perhaps a little more inclined to listen to a human than some of their ancestors, the Hamiltonstovare is not a dog for the inexperienced or faint-hearted! If left bored, unsupervised or lonely, they will become vocal and destructive. The Hamiltonstovare will enjoy a home where someone is home all the time, and with people who enjoy fell-running, Cani-X or scent-based sports/games. They are good with children on the whole but this is a fairly large hound and when young, can be quite boisterous and bouncy!

History and Origins
Country of Origin: Sweden
One of Sweden’s most popular hound breeds, the Hamiltonstovare was developed in the late 19th century by one of the founders of the Swedish Kennel Club, Count Adolf Hamilton.
Count Hamilton used a mixture of popular hounds to create his perfect breed - particularly the Foxhound, Harrier, Holsteiner and Heidebracke.
Unlike most of their ancestors however, the Hamiltonstovare is not bred to work in a large pack. Instead, they were developed to be used singly or in pairs, to flush fox and hare to waiting guns. First recognised in 1921, the Hamiltonstovare has remained a relatively rare breed, with a core of breed supporters who endeavour to keep the breed going.

Did You Know?
Although the Hamiltonstovare is considered a Swedish breed, much of their ancestry comes from German and English hounds.
In the past, in both Germany and England, owning hunting hounds was illegal for anyone not a member of royalty or nobility. This was because all the game and of course the land itself, belonged to the noble and royal families and so ownership of such a hunting dog, including the type that became the Hamiltonstovare, was illegal, and could result in heavy penalties as just owning one implied the owner was poaching!