 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Swiss
Hounds
(Schweizer
Laufhunde) FCI-Standard No 59
Origin:
Switzerland
Date
of Publication of the valid Original Standard:
May
11, 1993
Utilization:
Small
game hunting dog used for hunting with the gun; is generally used for the hare,
the deer, the fox and sometimes the boar. He hunts in an independent manner and
giving tongue. Even on difficult terrain, he tracks and flushes with great
determination.
FCI-Classification:
Group
6 (Scent Hounds and Leash Hounds)
Section
1.2 (medium sized hounds)
4
varieties:
a)
Bernese Hound
b)
Jura Hound (Bruno)
c)
Lucerne Hound
d)
Schwyz Hound
With
working trial
Brief
historical summary:
The Swiss Hound has very ancient origins. His presence in times of the Roman
Helvetia is certified on a mosaic discovered in Avenches,
by the representation of hounds corresponding to the varieties of Swiss hounds.
In the XVth century he is sought after
by the Italian dog lovers and, in the XVIIIth century, by the French for his
exceptional aptitude to the difficult hunting of the
hare. His native lines have certainly been influenced by hounds of French
breeding brought back to Switzerland by mercenaries.
In 1882, a standard was established for each of the 5 "types" of the
Swiss Hounds. In 1909, those standards were
revised and the total dissapearance of the hound of Thurgovie was noticed. The
22nd of January 1933, a single standard was
established for the 4 varieties of the Swiss Hound. As to the ancient variety,
the hound of the Jura type St. Hubert, it has today disapeared.
General
Appearance
Medium size, good conformation indicating strength and endurance; long muzzle
and lean head with long ears giving him an air of nobility
Important
proportions:
Length
of body: Height at withers about 1,15 : 1
Size:
Depth of chest about
2 : 1
Length
of muzzle: Length of skull about 1 : 1
Behaviour
- Temperament:
Lively
and passionately keen on hunting; sensitive, docile and very attached to his
master
Head:
Skull
region:
Skull:
Elongated, narrow, lean, noble; rather rounded; pronounced occiput; axes of
skull and muzzle slightly divergent
Stop:
Defined without exaggeration
Facial
region:
Nose:
Completely black, well developed; wide open nostrils
Muzzle:
Of equal length to that of the skull, finely chiseled, narrow, neither square
nor pointed; foreface straight or very slightly aquiline (Roman nose)
Lips:
Moderately developed, upper lips covering the lower jaw closely; corner of the
lips slightly open
Jaws:
Solid
Cheeks:
Lean, zygomatic arches not prominent
Teeth:
Strong, complete and regular with scissor bite, i.e. the back sides of the upper
incisors are in close contact with the front face of the lower incisors; teeth
squarely implanted into the jaws, pincer bite accepted; absence of one or two
premolars (PM 1 or PM 2) tolerated. The Molars M3 are not taken into
consideration
Eyes:
Dark or lighter brown corresponding to the colour of the coat, slightly oval,
medium sized, soft expression; rims of eyelids well pigmented, fitting perfectly
the shape of the eyeball
Ears:
Set on below the eye level and towards back of the skull, never attached in
their greatest width; in length, reaching at
least
the tip of the nose; ear conch not prominent; leathers narrow, drooping, folded
and twisted, rounded at their tips, supple
and
covered with fine hair.
Neck:
Elongated,
elegant, muscular; skin slack at the throat but without noticeable dewlap.
Body:
Topline:
All together, the neck, back, rump and tail should form an harmonious and firm
outline
Withers:
Discreetly defined, reachy neck
Back:
Compact, level and straight
Loins:
Solid, muscular, supple
Rump:
Slightly inclined, elongated; back merging smoothly with the rump; not higher
than the withers
Chest:
Deeper than wide, well let down and reaching at least the point of the elbow;
thoracic cage carried well back, with
slightly
sprung ribs
Underline:
Belly (abdomen) slightly tucked up towards hindquarters
Tail
(stern): Set in prolongation of the rump, of medium length, elegant tapered
at its extremity which forms a slight upward
curve;
at rest or in slow gaits, it hangs naturally without a distinctive curve; when
the dog is more attentive or is moving faster, it is carried higher than the
back line, but never falling over the back or curled up; well covered with hair
without any coarse hair underneath (brush tail)
Limbs
Forequarters: Seen on the whole, very muscular, but without heaviness,
lean; average bone structure; seen in profile, forelegs vertical; seen from the
front, straight and parallel; forefeet pointing straight ahead
Shoulders:
Shoulder-blades long and oblique, well attached to the chest wall. Ideal angle
of the scapular-humeral articulation:
about
100 degrees.
Upper-arm:
A little longer than the shoulder-blade, oblique, close to the body and muscular
without heaviness
Elbows:
Naturally placed against the thoracic wall
Forearms:
Straight, strong and lean
Carpal
Joint (carpus): Strong and wide
Pasterns
(metacarpus): Relatively short; seen from the front, in the vertical line of
the forearm; seen in profile, slightly inclined
Forefeet:
Of roundish shape; toes tight; pads rough and hard; nails solid and coloured
according to colour of coat
Hindquarters:
Muscular but in harmonious relation with the forequarters; seen from behind,
straight and parallel
Upper
thighs: Long, oblique, muscular without being overdone. Angle of the
coxal-femoral articulation: about 110 degrees
Stifles
(Knees): Neither turned out nor in. Angle of the femoral-tibial articulation:
about 120 degrees
Lower
thighs: Long, lean, muscles and tendons apparent
Hock
(metatarsals): No dewclaws (removal authorized). Angle of the tibial-tarsal
articulation: about 130 degrees
Hind
feet: Round shaped; toes tightly closed; pads rough and hard; nails solid
and coloured according to the coat colour
Gait/Movement
Movement
free, even and coordinate; extended strides; powerful impulsion from the
hindquarters; the legs move parallel to the
median
plane of the body; vertical move of the withers regular and moderate; the back
should remain level; very slight lateral
oscillation
of the head and neck
Skin
Fine,
supple, well fitting to the body, of different colour in the four varieties:
Bernese
Hound: Black skin under black coat and white skin, slightly black mottled,
under white coat
Jura
Hound (Bruno): Black skin under black coat, but lighter under tan coat
Lucerne
Hound: Black skin under black coat and lighter under blue speckling
Schwyz
Hound: Dark grey skin under orange coat and white flecked with black under
white coat
Coat
Nature
of Hair:
Short,
smooth and dense, very fine on the head and the ears
Colour:
Bernese
Hound: White with black patches or black saddle; with light to dark fawn
markings over the eyes, on the cheeks, the inside of the ears and around the
anus; sometimes very slightly mottled
Jura
Hound (Bruno): Fawn with black blanket, sometimes with black overlay; or
black with fawn markings over the eyes, at
the
cheeks, around the anus and on the legs; sometimes a small white patch on the
chest may be speckled
Lucerne
Hound: "Blue", resulting from an association of black hairs and
white hairs, very heavily speckled, with black patches or black saddle; with
light to dark fawn markings above the eyes, at the cheeks, on the chest, around
the anus and on the legs; a black blanket is admitted
Schwyz
Hound: White with either patches or saddle of orange fawn; sometimes very
slightly spotted; an orange fawn blanket is admitted
Size
at withers
Male:
49 to 59 cm
Female:
47 to 57 cm
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points constitutes a fault. It shall be penalized according to its seriousness and importance.
general appearance lacking distinction, heavy (coarse) or light
important disproportion between the length of the dog, the depth of
chest and the height at the whiskers
skull to wide, too bulging or too flat
muzzle too short or too long, too square or too pointed
absence of teeth other than one or two premolars (PM 1 or PM 2)
foreface dished
stop too pronounced
flews too accentuated
eye light, hawk-eye, conjunctiva (haw) apparent
ear flat, thick, too short or set too high
neck too short
excess dewlap
thoracic cage not let down enough, not enough spring of ribs or
barrel shaped
saddle or roach back
rump too much sloping or too short
belly (abdomen) too tucked up, hollow flanks
legs fine boned or crooked
shoulder too upright, upper arm too short
down at pastern
insufficient angulation of hindquarters, cow hocked
dewclaws on hindquarters
stern badly set, carried too high, deviated, curved, coarse or
feathered
coat harsh or shaggy
timid dog or fighter dog
Faults
of the repartition of markings and colours in the: