Harrier Facts You Should Know (with Pictures).

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Harrier Breed Overview

The Harrier is a medium-sized dog.

The adult Harrier stands 19 to 21 inches tall at the shoulder.

The Harrier belongs to the Hound Dogs group.

Dogs in the Hound Dogs group, like the Harrier, were bred to pursue and hunt warm-blooded animals. Hounds hunt by using their good sight or their good sense of smell. Dogs that belong to the Hound Group have strong prey drives and often will stop at nothing to catch what they are pursuing.

The fact that Harriers belong to the Hound Dogs group is one of the reasons why Harriers have the personality and temperament that they have.

The temperament of the Harrier is generally described as:

  • Active
  • Cheerful
  • Friendly
  • Outgoing
  • Sweet
  • Tolerant

History of the Harrier Breed. Where Harriers came from

As a breed, the Harrier has been used as a hunting dog since the 13th century in England and the surrounding areas.

Harriers are similar to Beagles and Foxhounds, and they all are derived from similar ancestry.

A Harrier is smaller than a Foxhound and more significant in size than a Beagle and has a notable tri-colored appearance that is similar to the Beagle and Foxhound breeds.

Harriers can hunt rabbits, hares, and foxes and are good at agility exercises.

Harriers aren’t just successful at being hunting dogs but can also make excellent companion animals.

The Harrier’s intelligence and friendliness make it a popular breed at home in Europe.

However, this breed is rare in the United States, as there have not been successful breeding programs.

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What the Harrier Looks Like

Harriers resemble smaller English Foxhounds in their tri-color appearances.

The Harrier is a medium-sized dog and has a short and shiny coat.

The tri-color mixture may vary between the common black, white, and tan, or can be red, black, and white.

The skin of a Harrier is easy to keep clean as long as it is groomed weekly.

The Harrier can hunt foxes, rabbits, and hares and are fast, agile, and able to work independently or in a pack-like setting.

Harriers need a brisk walk every day to maintain proper health, but they’re not the fastest-paced of dogs.

This breed can do well in a home with children as long as younger children are supervised.

Harriers are an outgoing and friendly breed that prefer the company of people and other animals to being alone.

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Best Harrier Breeders

Harrier Breeders in the United States

We have researched reputable Harrier breeders that you can buy a puppy.

Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Harrier breeders in various states in the United States.

On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.

A few of these breeders are listed below.

  1. Jackpot & Kingsbury Hounds

    Puppy Price: $2000

  2. Blythmoor

    Puppy Price: $1800

Adopting or Rescuing the Harrier

You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Harriers included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.

These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.

In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.

Below is an adorable Male Harrier named Lilac- Courtesy that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Harriers like Lilac- Courtesy on pefinder.com.

Harriers like Lilac- Courtesy are available for Adoption! It is cheaper to adopt. Image from petfinder.com

You can find more Harriers that are available for adoption on petfinder.

How Long Harriers Live

The lifespan of the Harrier is typically from 10 to 12 years.

Harriers live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.

How Fast Harriers Can Run

How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.

Based on our analysis of the speeds of 4 different Harriers, the average speed of the Harrier is 25.0 mph (40.2 kmph).

The fastest speed on AKC record that the Harrier ran in a race is 33.01 mph (53.1 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Harrier is 20.61 mph (33.2 kmph).

Click here to see how the speed of the Harrier compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.

How fast Harrier can run compared to other mammals

Good Names for Harriers

Here are some really good names that are typical for the Harrier ranked by popularity:

  • Harold
  • Faucet
  • Chico
  • Stumps
  • Zoomi
  • Spencer
  • Bailey
  • Lilac
  • Blu

How Popular are Harriers with New Dog Owners?

Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.

The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Harrier.

The popularity of the Harrier averaged over the years is Number 184 out of about 200 dog breeds.

Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.

Health Problems in Harriers and How to Prevent Them

Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.

The Harrier is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.

From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.

Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.

If you want a Harrier puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Harrier breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.

The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Harriers for:

  1. Eye Examination- minimum age 12 months
  2. Hip Dysplasia

You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Harriers here.

Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Harriers

If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Harrier.

We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Harrier:

Other Things to Know About Harriers

Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Harrier that you need to know about the Harrier breed:

  • Harriers do not adapt well to apartment living.
  • Harriers do not have the tendency to drool.
  • Harriers are not very sensitive to their enviroment. They can tolerate noisy environments. They are also not very sensitive to the tone of your voice, firm or gentle.
  • Harriers are not easy to train.
  • Harriers can tolerate hot weather.
  • Harriers are great family dogs. They are very affectionate with family.
  • Harriers are highly intelligent.
  • Harriers have a high prey drive. They do not get along well with other pets.
  • Harriers are highly vocal. They have the tendency to bark and howl.
  • Harriers do things with high intensity. They can be very forceful.
  • Harriers get along well with kids. They are kid-friendly.
  • Harriers get along well with other dogs.
  • Harriers are very friendly towards strangers.
  • Harriers are very easy to groom.
  • Harriers are very healthy. They do not suffer from a lot of health problems compared to other dog breeds
  • Harriers have a high tendency to wander. They are easily distracted by other animals or objects.
  • Harriers have very high energy levels. They need a lot of exercise time to release their high energy.
  • Harriers require a lot of exercise. They are good for owners who like to exercise.
  • Harriers are very playful.
  • Harriers weigh 45 to 60 pounds when fully grown.
  • Harriers are 19 to 21 inches tall at the shoulder when fully grown.
  • Harriers have a lifespan of 10 to 12 years.