General Appearance
Short legged hound of
considerable substance, well balanced, full of quality. A certain amount of
loose skin desirable.
Temperament
Placid, never
aggressive or timid.
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 or 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 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 strong 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 of 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 rear of joint a slight pouch
resulting in 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 should always stand 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.
Size
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 it's
degree.
Note:
Male animals should
have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
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