The use of dogs for tracking down deer, hare, and other game revolutionized hunting thousands of years ago. In ancient Greece, a type of dog referred to as a Laconian hound was depicted as a determined tracker that would never give up on sniffing out their targeted prey. For this reason, these hounds became an indispensable part of hunting in Greece, infiltrating Constantinople and eventually spreading throughout Europe. The Laconian hound contributed to the breeding of the scent hounds of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Hubert in Belgium, dating to around 1000 AD. The Norman staghound, a now extinct breed, was an early descendent of the St. Hubert hound and, with a tall stature, was best suited to track deer. When a mutation occurred in a Norman staghound litter causing short-legged, bloodhound-type dogs, a new breed of scent hounds emerged.
