[ashley hammock]

That sounds great. I just sent in the DNA samples for Alice and Rolo who are my foundation dogs. I have their two daughters who will also be sent in as soon as I get the kits. What is interesting about this breed is that their color seems to follow a different set of rules than other tricolor hounds. Most tricolor hounds, like Beagles, Foxhounds, Coonhounds and Basset Hounds have a black saddle fades (in some cases dramatically) with age. Hamiltonstovare are born looking like Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and their black saddle fades to their adult color around 2 years of age, then stops and stays the same throughout the dog’s life. I am really interested to see what is revealed about one of Alice and Rolo’s daughters, Selene, her black saddle has stayed primarily in the adolescent stage for over a year now, none of the Hamiltonstovare breeders in the UK have ever heard of this happening. Some of the Swedish and Norwegian breeders have heard of it happening and they call it “puppy color”, nobody knows why it happens and the current idea is that it has to do with the gene responsible for coat texture as Selene’s coat texture is smoother than all of her littermates. Her two brothers and sister are all in gorgeous adult coats.

Another thing that will be interesting to see is if Hamiltonstovare are closely related to Beagles because Beagles aren’t in their ancestry at all, but we are constantly being asked if they are Beagles. Hamiltonstovare are originally from English Foxhounds, Harriers, other Swedish hounds and extinct German Hounds. I am also curious if this breed is closely related to Treeing Walker Coonhounds and American Foxhounds, the reason behind that is Hamiltonstovare were reportedly brought over to America in the 60’s to make the color of those two breeds more vibrant (Treeing Walker breeders deny it but the rumor has been around for a while). Also, Hamiltonstovare have a rescue problem in America and we see between 6-10 dogs come through shelters in a few states every year. Would it be beneficial to have those dogs submit DNA samples as well?

[ashley hammock]

This thread is very interesting. I breed Hamiltonstovare and there are less than 50 of the breed in America. Hamiltonstovare as a whole are an incredibly healthy breed with lifespans of 14+ being average which is remarkable for a large breed dog. What will be interesting is that Hamiltonstovare are one of the pioneer breeds for the Swedish Kennel Club’s mandatory hip x-ray scores before allowing the registration of litters. Also, the SKK (Swedish Kennel Club) has rules that limit popular sire syndrome. The Swedish Hamiltonstovare club has been tracking genetic diseases since the 1960’s and now the instance of dogs affected with hip dysplasia, cryptorchidism and epilepsy have dramatically lowered. In Sweden, their program for health testing and responsible dog ownership means that mixed breeds and rescues are incredibly rare. As the Hamiltonstovare is very rare in America, the national parent club is trying to follow the Swedish lead and allow more research regarding DNA. I’ve also contacted companies like Wisdom Panel about getting a DNA profile going for Hamiltonstovare but it is next to impossible to do with a rare breed because of the sample size needed. I am very interested to just see what the DNA says about my 4 Hamiltonstovare because DNA testing has never been done for the breed.

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