Celtic Hounds
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The Celtic hounds were well respected by royalty and warriors. They were given as gifts to men of honour and many warriors and chiefs took the name as a title to show their loyalty and courage.
Celtic Hounds can be found in Celtic jewelry designs and paintings as far back as the 17th century. Dogs expecially Celtic Hounds symbolize hunting, healing, and the Otherworld in Celtic legends. Hounds were the traditional guardian animals of roads and crossways and are believed to protect and guide lost souls in the Otherworld.
Many Irish myths and legends include mentions of hounds. For example Fionn McCumhal and his dogs Bran and Sceolan whose mother, Tuiren, was Fionn MacCumhal's aunt transformed into a hound by a Sidhe. Perhaps the best known legend is that of Prince Llewellyn 's hound Gelert, who many argue to be either Greyhound, Scottish Deerhound, Irish Wolfhound or even a mix of all these breeds. Other legends involving Celtic hounds include Cuchulainn (The Hound of Ulster) or (The Hound of Culann) who killed a blacksmiths hound with his bare hands. When Culann, the blacksmith asked who would now guard his shop the young Cuchulainn offered to take the dogs place thus gaining himself the title of 'The hound of Culann'. The offer was turned down and Cuchulainn went on to become one of the greatest warrior legends of that era, but the nickname stuck.
The Irish Wolfhound was used to hunt Wolves and Deer, but they were also used as war dogs to attack men on horseback and knock them from their saddles to be killed by others. The Deerhound being more placid was a somewhat reluctant wardog and was more used for the hunting of Deer. The Greyhound being lighter and smaller was more suited to the hunting of hares and small mammals. These Celtic hounds were often called the Irish Greyhound and the Scottish or Rough Greyhound and had many other names according to area. Another breed of dog the Galgo Espanol is also though to be a descended of the Celtic hound as is the Austrian black and tan hound and the Tyrolean Hound.
