The drever is one of the short-legged hunting hounds of Europe. As opposed to breeds of similar physics, it has been bred towards becoming a hound that hunt both hare and roe deer (and is also used for fox and red deer), and that keeps going for longer periods of time. The breed has become the most popular hunting hound amongst roe deer hunters of Norway and Sweden, especially in the northern regions.

Updated: 06.01.2004

The drever is originally a swedish breed., and arose, like most breeds of today, from a mix of different breeds. The most important ancester is the german dachsbracke, which also is the ancester of the dachs breeds. In addittion, the drever "concist" of some beagle. It has still a lot in common with the beagle, but has more body and less feet. In other words, the proportions of a drever isn't what you really expect of a normal dog. Basically, its body is just as large as the body of the common hunting hounds, but it has short legs. The max height of a drever is 41cm, which is about 15 cm (approx. 6") shorter than a normal sized hunting hound.

The size has its practical reasons. Roe deer, and other species of deer, are prone to stress. Especially in areas where you can expect heavy snow in late autumn. Because of this, the hounds used to hunt them have to move slowly. One way of achieving that is using a small dog. Another way is using a normal sized dog, with short legs. Like the drever.

In northern areas of Scandinavia, the population of roe deer is a lot smaller than further south. Mainly because of harsh winter conditions and predation by lynx and fox, as well as less feed for the deer, the populations never grow as strong as in southern parts of the region. The normal quota of roe deer in my area, is 1 deer per 50 hectare. The annual take is usually a lot lower. Because of this, you have to hunt differently than in areas with large populations of deer. In northern areas, the problem is usually finding the deer. Further south, the problem is getting them on safe shooting ranges. In other words - in the south a hound should chase the deer just a short while, then return to you and find a new one. In northern areas, the hound should stick with the deer for a longer period of time, giving you the opportunity to get that specific deer. Secondly, you need a hound that tolerate harsh conditions. Steep hills, cold weather, some amount of snow - the hound have to cope with all this and still perform.

Drever Nemi at 2 months age

Comparison of the drever vs other breeds.

In general terms, and my opinion, of course...
The drever chase the deer for a relatively long period of time (usually 1-2 hrs +), it tolerates harsh conditions well, and it isn't too fast. In my opinion, the beagle is a little too fast, and have become too popular a breed for non-hunters (in other words, hunting abilities aren't concidered in all breeding). The dachs is not too bad a breed, but in my opinion they're a little too small and doesn't cope with much snow. The basset breeds are originally bred for denser populations of game, and  usually doesn't chase their quarry as long as the drever (30 min +). In my opinion, the drever chase their quarry long enough, have the right size and speed, tolerate harsh conditions perfectly, and are great hunting hounds alltogether...

Hunting is one thing, but being the owner of a hunting dog means you have a working buddy for a short period of the year, and an unemployed buddy for most of the year. In other words, your dog should have certain abilities as a family dog as well. In my experience, the drever have such abilities. I have never seen my own drever (Viggo) showing agression towards people. He tolerates just about anything, and just lurks away if it gets too hot. He's really not a cozy, cuddly kind of dog, but mostly like to lie at his place minding his own beeswax. In other words, sleeping. I'm not going to claim that I've housetrained him well - he doesn't crap on the floor (too often) but he does beg for food, etc. All in all, however, you rarely notice him indoors. Until you sit on him or something like that...

Short FAQ:

I've often been asked about drever breeders in the US/Canada. I know some drevers have been sold to North America, but I don't know if there are any alive today, or if there are any breeders. I've also been asked a few times from people who own a dog with unknown origin, if it is a drever. The chances are not on your side, I'm afraid. Most lightly, its a mix with either beagle, basset or other hunting hounds as one of the parents/grand parents.

I've made a page about Viggo, my first drever. You'll find it here: