Dog Names Meaning Chief

The Fox and the Hound, a classic tale presented on screen by Disney, has become a family favorite. One of the major characters is a curmudgeonly wolfhound by the name of Chief. Chief is a hunting dog that is getting on in age, and his owner, Amos, gets a new puppy by the name of Copper. Copper and his best friend, a fox named Tod, are the main characters in the story. However, Chief plays a large role in the upbringing of the younger hound and makes a significant impact on the film. After Copper and Tod become friends during the first part of the movie, they are split up, in part due to Chief’s understandable animosity towards foxes. Copper leaves on a hunting trip with Amos and Chief to learn the ropes, and the two become close as Chief mentors the pup, teaching him to follow and hunt all sorts of animals, particularly foxes. When they return, Tod attempts to visit Copper, but Chief once again gives chase, culminating in an intense scene in which Chief is hit by a train and breaks his leg, prompting Copper to take a different view of his old friend and vow to get revenge. 

Interestingly, while Chief is still a major character in the book that the movie was based on, The Fox and The Hound by Daniel P Maddox, he is a much different animal than is portrayed in Disney’s version. In the book, the friendship between Tod and Copper is essentially non-existent, Tod is a mischevious fox who simply enjoys taunting hunting dogs. The relationship between Chief and Copper is a much different situation as well, while the dog portrayed by Disney was a Wolfhound, in the book Chief is another type of scenthound entirely, a Trigg hound, and instead of being a much older and wiser mentor to the pup, he is an angry and jealous competitor of Copper’s, who is fiercely devoted to his owner. The rivalry between the two climaxes when a bear attacks the farmer and his dogs, and while Copper is unable to defend his owner, Chief bravely attacks the bear, giving the hunter just enough time to gather his wits and shoot the predator. In the book, as in the movie, Chief catches sight of Tod on his property and takes off after him, but the train doesn’t just knock the dog off the rails, it kills him. Copper vows revenge on the fox not to avenge the Chief’s death, but to appease his owner’s grief.