Our Spoonhound Doge
He is about a year old and is a splendid dog. Originally he was named Ted or Eduardo, but now he seems to go by the name Doge.
A Spoonhound is a rare breed which was originally developed in the Eastern part of Germany during the second half of the
Seventeenth century though some scholars suggest it could have been earlier. The story is that the Archduke of Brandenburg had a
problem holding onto his spoons, many were being a stolen and the identity of the thief was a mystery. One of the Archduke's dogs, a
Pomeranian/Spitz cross seemed to have an affinity for spoons and soon found the criminal. The Archduke was overjoyed - it
appears that he had a somewhat unhealthy regard for spoons - and the line was bred from. Soon the fashion for Spoonhounds spread
across all of old Germany and especially Prussia.
Appreciation of the merits of the Spoonhound has markedly diminished since that time and there are few left so we are particularly
proud of
our Spoonhound and his place in the history of Middle Germany. Some photographs of Doge.
Doge is a pure breed Spoonhound.
2009
Photographer: Stuart Austin
Another shot of Doge.
2009
Photographer: Stuart Austin
All images copyright the artist.