PRESENTED BY
THE DOMESDAY BOOK OF DOGS
Bibarhunt
Bibar Hundt, Bibarhund, Beagle-Terriar (sic), Piparhunt.
This little 'sub-hunter' was an early form of terrier who "flourishes beneath the earth". At least one author believed that the game was driven from underground into nets, others might suggest it was handy for fur or feather, while Lallemant likened it to a Basset. Bibarhund/Bibarhunt is quite possibly the earliest actual 'breed' name we have for a terrier.
If the dog was a hunter of feather then they must have been ground nesting birds unless it hunted after the fashion of spaniels or setters. Whereas the modern basset hound is too big to go to ground the French had such a plethora of Basset types that it seems likely they may have had a breed closer to the Dachshund in size that was able to get to ground: ideally chest circumference must be less than 14" (36 cms) to enable a terrier to follow its prey to earth: as dogs crawl into an earth shortness of leg is unimportant.
In his seminal yet somewhat unappreciated work of 1929 Pierce O'conor considers many antiquated texts that may hint at the origins of the terrier in general. An A.D. 630 ordinance from Dagobert the first, King of the Franks mentions "those dogs called Bibarhunden, and which hunt underground" (Clifford Hubbard, Dogs in Britain, regards this ordinance as a reference to an early Dachshund or Fox Terrier type), although Canute writing at the start of the eleventh century makes no mention of the breed in his forest laws. The Dukes of Burgundy hunted fox and badger below ground with a kennel comprising of Bassets and "petit chiens Anglais". Basset means dwarf whereas petite of course means small, so here we have a distinction between the two morphs. This naturally leads us to some conclusive possible conclusions:
By Charles Du-Fresne sieur Du-Cange, Osmont, 1733
See Otter terrier
Clifford L B Hubbard, MACMILLAN, 1948
In his seminal yet somewhat unappreciated work of 1929 Pierce O'conor considers many antiquated texts that may hint at the origins of the terrier in general. An A.D. 630 ordinance from Dagobert the first, King of the Franks mentions "those dogs called Bibarhunden, and which hunt underground" (Clifford Hubbard, Dogs in Britain, regards this ordinance as a reference to an early Dachshund or Fox Terrier type), although Canute writing at the start of the eleventh century makes no mention of the breed in his forest laws. The Dukes of Burgundy hunted fox and badger below ground with a kennel comprising of Bassets and "petit chiens Anglais". Basset means dwarf whereas petite of course means small, so here we have a distinction between the two morphs. This naturally leads us to some conclusive possible conclusions:
- The Bibarhunt was bassetised though surely a long body, short legs, powerful forequarters and low centre-of gravity lend themselves to pushing through low, dense undergrowth a lot better than slipping easily into underground lairs. Du Fouilloux certainly described a small rough-haired Basset as being used for otter hunting.
- The breed was an early proto-Miniature Dachshund. Some accounts suggest that the Bibarhund was weasel-shaped but the familiar Dachshund shape appears to have become more exaggerated over recent decades and we have no way of knowing how widespread the Bibarhunt could have been.
- The Bibarhunt was terrier-like but as noted earlier the Burgundians, at least, made a distinction between the two types, i.e long body, short legs, pronounced sternum versus short body, slightly longer legs, small chest circumference.
- The Bibarhunt may literally have been a dog used for hunting beavers and when, as the beaver (Castor fibers) died out in Western Europe so the Bibarhund, too, vanished into oblivion. Several descriptions describe a dog who hunts fibers "canis qui fibers venatur".
- The Bibarhund in Britain may have morphed into the now-extinct Otter terrier.
Oddly enough when Europeans first reached The Americas they discovered that the Amerinds used a similar dog to the bibarhund for hunting beaver, which became known as the 'short-legged Indian dog'. From Pferd, 1987 "A Jesuit, Le Juene, in 1633 described how Indians of the Quebec region hunted beaver with 'petit chien ... that pursue and take it easily.'" Grinnell, 1897, supplies a description of an Amerindian beaver-hunting method. ”Until their intercourse with the white men had taught them the value of the beaver, they did not attempt to trap these animals. At the same time they killed some and had dogs trained to hunt them. When a beaver dam and house were found; it was the practice to break away the dam so as to let out the water, and then to find the hole where the beaver usually went in. The dogs which were small enough to enter this hole, and yet were pretty good-sized animals, went into the hole, found the beaver, and worried it until it became so angry that it followed the dog out. As the dog backed away, barking at the beaver, it made short rushes at him, and finally the dog backed clean out of the hole, and the beaver jumped out after the dog. Then the man standing there with a club knocked the beaver on the head.”
References
By Charles Du-Fresne sieur Du-Cange, Osmont, 1733
The dog, his various breeds and varieties, history of its dissemination and destinies, education, use, Diseases and enemies.
Friedrich Ludwig Walther, 1817
Sporting Terriers: their history, training & management.
Pierce O'connor 1929
Dogs of the American Indians. 1987
Friedrich Ludwig Walther, 1817
Fisher, William Richard, 1887
Forest and Stream. The Native American Hunter. 13-11-1897.
Pierce O'connor 1929
Dogs of the American Indians. 1987
Dogs in Britain
Clifford L B Hubbard, MACMILLAN, 1948
