The Many Sounds of a Hamiltonstovare
If you are looking for a quiet breed then turn around and run the opposite direction as fast as possible. Hamiltonstovare have been bred for over 100 years to be a vocal breed that uses their exceptional voice to inform the hunter of where they are and by association the hare.
Like any other scent hound, the voice of each individual is as unique as a human fingerprint. I can tell each one of my hounds apart just by their voice alone. Selene has a very jovial voice, Alice's is crisp and clear, Raven's is sweet and pleading, and Rolo's is loud and with loads of self-confidence.
Hamiltonstovare have more than one bark. They have a proverbial vocabulary of noises and sounds that all have very different meanings. They have a breed type defining bark that they use when hunting that is very atypical to what most people think of when they think of scent hounds. The hunting bark is more like a scream than anything but it should be filled with excitement and purpose. The “hunting scream” as I like to call it is designed to be heard over miles. The reason that this breed is generally not advised for apartments is partly because of their voice and just how loud that particular bark truly is.
The other barks sound more like a variations of “Roo.” Some Hamiltonstovare can make excellent watch dogs and will alert to new people around them. My Alice will let me and everybody that she can know if anybody comes remotely near my driveway and her bark is very confrontational and sounds like a warning to anybody that wishes to do anything. Rolo, Raven and Selene couldn't care less if a new person showed up and would either glomp them or kiss them silly.
As further evidence regarding how closely Hamiltonstovare bond with their people, they will have conversations with their people. They know when you are talking to them and will answer accordingly. One time, I left Alice alone for a while and came home and it sound like she said “where were you?” Hamiltonstovare also do this rumble that some might mistake for a growl but it truly is a noise of complete happiness. They will grunt and rumble while their entire body wags and wiggles in total delight. Hamiltonstovare will make random grunts from time to time, those can be very comical from time to time. Alice also earned the nickname of “Cow puppy” because at times it sounds like she is mooing. The one thing that is almost identical is their whine, all four of my Hamiltonstovare make the exact same whine and it can be annoying at times, so we do anything to prevent that from happening.
Rolo's voice is very diverse in a rather interesting way, he can make a full range of vocalizations from bark, grunt, rumble, growl, roo, howl and hunting scream. When either Michael or myself comes home from work, Rolo howls that resembles a car alarm. He tosses his head back and just goes to town but he only does that when somebody comes home.
Living with at least one Hamiltonstovare means that you learn to deal with purposeful noise. The sounds that come with a Hamiltonstovare are part of what make them great. Every Hamiltonstovare owner has stories of their dog's sounds in some way, shape or form. As that voice is so vital to them, debarking is not advised ever for this breed. The breed have highly developed vocal chords that tend to vary from the average dog, so the procedure can be risky and even lethal. It is a part of my contract that debarking is a banned procedure in my contract and is grounds for me to obtain the dog on grounds of abuse. Enjoy their voice, embrace it, laugh at it and most of all; love it.