Ibizan Hound

Ibizans are strong and healthy dogs. They are fast, and they can jump fences from a standing position. They are adaptable and affectionate family pets. Their coats are red, white, or some red-and-white combination. Ibizan hounds can have longer wiry coats and bushy moustaches.

Ibizan Hound breed facts

Phoenician sailors are said to have brought these dogs to the island of Ibiza in the eighth century. Hannibal, himself an Ibizan, took some of these dogs with him on his famous trip across the Alps.

Ibizan Hound history is traceable back to approximately 3400 B.C.

Information you should know before owning an Ibizan Hound

Ibizan Hounds are very neat dogs who clean themselves much like cats.

Ibizan Hounds require a great deal of exercise and should only be allowed off leash in a fenced in area. They are very agile dogs, able to jump great heights from a standstill. It is recommended that Ibizan Hound owners have fences at least 6' in height.

The Ibizan Hound is even-tempered, affectionate, loyal, and friendly, and makes an excellent family pet.

Ibizan Hound history is traceable back to approximately 3400 B.C. The Glory that was ancient Egypt was a most fitting setting for this regal hound, which was owned and hunted by the Pharaohs. Numerous artifacts found in the tombs of the Pharaohs now reinforce the existence of such a dog in those long past times.

The tomb of Tutankhamen proved a treasure trove when discovered in 1922. Anubis, "The Watchdog of the Dead," a long-honored deity, was well represented by a full-sized true to life statue, which is the identical duplicate of the Ibizan Hound of today. It was originally thought that the jackal had been the original model, this miscalculation due to the fact the Ibizan was extinct in its land of origin at the time of the discovery.

We can but surmise the movement of the breed from Egypt to the island from which it now derives its name. The hardy sea-traders of Phoenicia were well traveled in those days and had entry to many lands. It was the Phoenicians who discovered the island known as Ibiza in the 8th or 9th century B.C.

This breed survived the hard life that the Ibizan group of Islands has imposed on it. Only the fittest could survive, as food is scarce, and the natives used these dogs to assist in providing the necessary food to sustain their lives.

The first Ibizans reached the United States in mid-1956, imported by Colonel and Mrs. Seoane of Rhode Island. Eight pups were the result of the first breeding, along with several other imports these form the foundations of the breed here. Over the years the breed has flourished in this country. The Ibizan Hound Club of the United States has been most stringent in impressing upon the owners and breeders of this hound the importance of fully retaining the fine qualities of this dog first and foremost, and has kept its pledge to preserve it true to form.