Here in Mendip area the hounds can still be seen out hunting but where did it all begin, I wonder?

I owned a lovely red and white basset hound called Hovis. I had him from a puppy until he died at 13 years old. He was a lovely dog and a fantastic companion.

Man hunting with dogs is thought to have started as far back as 1534 in the not-too-dissimilar county of Norfolk. The hunting of deer was the most popular thing up until the mid 1800s.

Road, rail and canals cutting across open country made it easier to hunt foxes as hunting deer needs huge areas of open land.

Fox hunting peaked in the late 1900s thanks to the middle classes who wished to improve their social standing.

As our own fox numbers decreased foxes were imported by the hunts to ensure plenty were still around to hunt.

The red coats worn by the huntsmen are called Pinks.

This is thought to be named after a London tailor of the same name who produced the clothing for hunts from the late 1700s.

The dogs themselves have been bred to hunt in certain climates or environments like water, land or a combination of the two. The Arabs even hunted with dogs in desert conditions.

Historically dogs have provided or helped to provide food, clothing and materials for man.

One of the first hounds used was the sight hound (greyhounds and whippets) who as the name suggests hunted by sight. Hence the reason they are quite happy to chase a stuffed hare around a track.

Scent hounds lack the speed of the former, relying more on following their quarry simply following their noses. They are built more for endurance. The obvious dog in this category is the bloodhound which originally hunted wolves, deer and larger game.

Latterly they were used as police dogs, even tracking down escaped criminals.

Some dogs hunt by both scent and sight and these are these "chase" or "hound" their quarry. The classic foxhound has been developed this way.

These are all sporting dogs of course but others are specialist dogs for shooting or the like. These could be retrievers, pointers or setters.

Terriers are smaller of course but brave and committed hunters in their own right. They have been used mainly as hunters of vermin.

Some breeds were bred and trained to be targeted at certain prey. The Irish wolfhound was a deer hunter, basset hounds were badger hunters, while beagles still hunt hare and rabbit.

We may not see many moose or bears on the Somerset Levels but you've guessed it, elkhounds and mastiffs were bred to hunt them.

Gerry Urch