| Group: |
Group 4 (Hounds) |
| History: |
|
| General Appearance: |
Short-legged hound of considerable substance, well balanced, full of quality. A certain amount of loose skin desirable. |
| Characteristics: |
Tenacious
hound of ancient lineage which hunts by scent, possessing a pack
instinct, a deep melodious voice and capable of great endurance in the
field.
|
| Head And Skull: |
Domed
with some stop and occipital bone prominent; of medium width at brow
and tapering slightly to muzzle; general appearance of foreface lean
not snipey. Top of muzzle nearly parallel with line from stop to
occiput and not much longer than head from stop to occiput. There may
be a moderate amount of wrinkle at brow and beside eyes. In any event
skin of head loose enough as to wrinkle noticeably when drawn forward
or when head is lowered. Flews of upper lip overlap lower
substantially. Nose entirely black except in light-coloured hounds when
it may be brown or liver. Large and well-opened nostrils may protrude a
little beyond lips. |
| Eyes: |
Lozenge-shaped
neither prominent nor too deep set, dark but may shade to mid-brown in
light coloured hounds. Expression calm and serious. Red of lower lid
appears though not excessively. Light or yellow eye highly undesirable.
|
| Ears: |
Set
on low, just below line of eye. Long; reaching well beyond end of
muzzle of correct length, but not excessively so. Narrow throughout
their length and curling well inwards; very supple, fine and velvety in
texture.
|
| Mouth: |
Jaws
strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. the
upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the
jaws.
|
| Neck: |
Muscular, well arched and fairly long with pronounced but not exaggerated dewlap.
|
| Forequarters: |
Shoulder-blades
well laid back; shoulders not heavy. Forelegs short, powerful and with
great bone; elbows turning neither in nor out but fitting neatly
against side. Upper forearm inclined slightly inwards, but not to such
an extent as to prevent free action or to result in legs touching each
other when standing or in action; forechest fitting neatly into crook
when viewed from front. Knuckling-over highly undesirable. Wrinkles on
skin on lower legs. |
| Body: |
Long
and deep throughout length, breast bone prominent but chest neither
narrow nor unduly deep; ribs well-rounded and sprung, without flange,
carried well back. Back rather broad; level; withers and quarters of
approximately same height, though loins may arch slightly. Back from
withers to inset of quarters not unduly long. |
| Hindquarters: |
Full
of muscle and standing out well, giving an almost spherical effect when
viewed from rear. Stifles well bent. Hocks well let down and slightly
bent under but turn neither in nor out and just under body when
standing naturally. Wrinkles of skin may appear between hock and foot,
and at rear of joint a slight pouch resulting from looseness of skin. |
| Feet: |
Massive,
well-knuckled up and padded. Forefeet may point straight ahead or be
turned slightly outwards but in every case hound always stands
perfectly true, weight being born equally by toes with pads together so
that feet would leave an imprint of a large hound and no unpadded areas
in contact with ground. |
| Tail: |
(Stern)
well set on, rather long, strong at base, tapering, with moderate
amount of coarse hair underneath. When moving, stern carried well up
and curving gently, sabre-fashion, never curling or gay. |
| Gait/Movement: |
Most
important. Smooth free action with forelegs reaching well forward and
hind legs showing powerful thrust, hound moving true both front and
rear. Hocks and stifles never stiff in movement, nor must any toes be
dragged. |
| Coat: |
Smooth,
short and close without being too fine. Whole outline clean and free
from feathering. Long haired, soft coat with feather highly
undesirable. |
| Colour: |
Generally black, white and tan (tri-colour); lemon and white (bi-colour); but any recognised hound colour acceptable. |
| Sizes: |
Height: 33-38 cm (13-15 ins) at withers |
| Faults: |
Any
departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and
the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in
exact proportion to its degree. |
| Notes: |
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum. |
| |
