The Swiss Hound has a very ancient origin. Its existence in Switzerland since the time of the Romans is verified thanks to a mosaic discovered in Avanches that represents hunting dogs whose characteristics coincide with the varieties of Swiss Hound. In the 15th century it was appreciated by Italian fans and in the 18th century by the French due to its extraordinary ability to hunt hare.. Its original local breeding was probably influenced by French small game dogs brought to Switzerland by mercenaries.. In the year 1882 a standard was established for each of the five existing varieties of Swiss Hound. In 1909 These standards were revised, confirming the total disappearance of the Thurgau Hound. The 22 in January of 1933 established a uniform standard for the 4 Swiss Hound varieties. The original variety of Jura Hound type St. Hubert has disappeared today.

There are four varieties of Swiss Hound:

• Bernese Hound
• Jura Hound
• Lucerne Hound
• Schwyz Hound

Photo: Bernese Hound during dogs show in Katowice, Poland by Lilly M, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

In the Bernese Hound the coat is white with black spots or saddle, sometimes slightly mottled. Light to dark beige marks the upper part of the eyes, cheeks, the inner side of the ears and around the anus.

▷ Male weight: 15 to 20 kg
▷ female weight: 15 to 20 kg
▷ The size of the male: 49 to 59 cm.
▷ female size: 49 to 59 cm.

The Bernese Hound he is alive and passionate. Its sensitivity is valued as positively as its ease of use and its attachment to the dog handler. When you follow a clue, expansive and fluid movements are noticeable, as well as the good thrust of the hindquarters. You can feel strength, stamina and temperament, so her fine nose is closely tied to the track.

Acute smell is atypical for Bernese Hound, whose passion for hunting is so tireless that the dog handler must prevent the dog from exaggerating beforehand. Otherwise, the dog chases the prey until he catches it himself. Diligent search is desirable, but the dog, except when used in the pack, must always remain in the hand of his guide.

While the Bernese Hound he was used in his homeland mainly as a lone deer hunter, foxes and hares; In western Switzerland, wild boar hunts are also carried out with hound dogs. In France and Italy they are more likely to continue to be used for herd hunting of hare, wild boar and deer.

In Switzerland, the Bernese Hound They are mainly used for patent and district hunting. In patent hunting, three to six hunters usually form a hunting party. They are distributed among the different posts and the dogs are tied simultaneously at a previously agreed time. This promotes the independent search of each dog and also the pursuit of hares or deer as a lone hunter.. For the hunt to be successful, the hunter must know which path the game will take to be able to shoot it with a shotgun at a maximum distance of 30 m.
During a hunt on hunting ground there are large groups of up to 30 hunters. The hunt leader distributes the hunters in different positions, while a hunter goes on the hunt with all the dogs, and finally hold all the dogs at once. Here the hunt leader must know how the game flees and, therefore, distribute hunters' positions. While hunting in the hunting ground, the hare, the deer and sometimes also the fox are shot from a maximum distance of 30 m.

Off the hunt, the Bernese Hound he is a nice and quiet family member. with whom you are closely linked.

Coexistence is important that you have with your new friend. Before considering the acquisition of a dog of the breed "Bernese Hound" you know certain factors. Not all breeds of dogs are apt to live in an apartment, you must take into account his character, their need for exercise, their interaction with other pets, their care and if you have small children, their level of tolerance towards them.

• FCI CLASSIFICATION:
• Group :
• Section : . .

Federations:

• – FCI – Group 6: Scent hounds, and related breeds. – Section 1.2: Medium-sized Hounds. ⓘ
• – UKC – Scenthounds ⓘ

Use:

It is a small game hound that hunts hares, deer, foxes and sometimes wild boars. He is an independent hunter by hunting with a bark. Searches and corners its prey with great safety even in difficult terrain.

General appearance:

It is a dog with medium height at the withers. Your body structure indicates strength and tenacity. Its slim head with long snout and long ears give it an expression of nobility.

There are four varieties of Swiss Hound :

• Bernese Hound
• Jura Hound
• Lucerne Hound
• Schwyz Hound

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS :

• Body length : Height at withers = approx. 1.15 : 1.
• Height of the withers : chest depth = approx. 2 : 1.
• Length of the nasal shank : skull length = approx. 1 : 1.

Lively and passionate about hunting. Sensitive, manageable and faithful.

Head:

• Skull : Long, narrow, delgado, noble. Bulging skull, visible occipital protrusion. The direction of the longitudinal axis of the skull and the muzzle shows a slight divergence. No frontal groove, no folds or wrinkles.
• Depression links (Stop) : Not too developed.

facial region:

• Truffle : Completely black, well developed; nostrils wide open.
• Snout : Nobly developed, narrow ; it is not square or pointed ; the muzzle is straight or very slightly convex.
• Lips : Moderately developed, the upper lips perfectly cover the lower jaw ; slightly open corner.
• Jaws / Teeth : Powerful jaw. Powerful scissor bite, regular and complete, that is, the upper incisors overlap the lower ones without leaving space between them and the teeth are implanted vertically in the maxilla. Pincer bite allowed. The lack of one or two PM1 or PM2 is acceptable (premolars 1 or 2) . M3 are not taken into account (molars).
• Cheeks : Loose, non-protruding supraciliary arches.

Eyes : They are more or less light or dark brown depending on the color of the coat ; they are medium in size and slightly oval. The edges of the eyelids are well pigmented. The eyelids are well adherent. The expression is sweet.

Ears : Placed below the eye line, in the posterior part of the cranial region and never implanted in its maximum width. Its length must reach at least the tip of the nose. The pinna is not prominent. The ears are thin. He wears them down, bent and twisted ; they are rounded at the bottom and have a fine, soft coat.

Neck:

Body:

• top line : The neck, the back, The rump and tail form a harmonious and noble line.
• Cross : Bit strong, free and elegant neck insert.
• Back : Firm and straight. : Muscular and slightly arched.
• Rump : Elongated, extends the line of the back harmoniously and descends gently. It is not higher than the cross. The crest of the iliac bone is not too prominent.
• Breast : Deeper than wide, well descended, reaches to the tips of the elbows. Elongated rib cage with slightly arched ribs.
• Bottom line and belly : Belly slightly pulled back ; full flanks.

Tail:

Tips

PREVIOUS MEMBERS :

• As a whole : They are well muscled, thin and not heavy in appearance. Seen from the front they are parallel and from the side they look vertical ; his bones are strong with his feet pointed forward.
• Shoulder : Long oblique shoulder blades, closely linked to the rib cage. The ideal angulation of the scapulohumeral joint is approximately 100°.
• Arm : A little longer than the shoulder blade, placed obliquely, closely attached to the chest. His musculature is fine.
• Elbows : Naturally glued to the side.
• Forearm : Straight, strong, delgado.
• Carpo : Strong, wide metacarpus : Relatively short; Seen from the front it is located on the perpendicular line of the forearm; seen from the side it is slightly inclined.
• Front feet : Rounded, with compact fingers ; hard and rough pads ; strong nails whose color depends on the color of the coat.

LATER MEMBERS :

• As a whole : They have strong muscles and are in a balanced relationship with the forelimbs ; seen from behind the hind legs are vertical and parallel.
• Thigh : Long and oblique, powerful although his muscles are thin. The angulation of the coxofemoral joint is approximately 100°.
• Knee : No inward or outward deviations. Angulation of the femoral-tibian joint approximately 120°.
• Leg : Relatively long, thin, visible muscles and tendons under the skin.
• Hock : Tibiotarsal joint angulation approximately 130°.
• Metatarsus : Pretty short, placed vertically and parallel. Without spurs, except in countries, in which amputation is not allowed by law.
• Rear feet : Rounded, with compact fingers, hard and rough pads ; strong nails whose color depends on the color of the coat.

Movement:

Mantle

SKIN : Fina, flexible, well adherent, whose color varies in each of the four varieties.

• Bernese Hound : Skin is black under black hair and blackish-white marbling under white hair.
• Jura Hound : She is black under black hair and lighter under tan hair..
• Lucerne Hound : She is black under black hair and lighter under blue-flecked hair..
• Schwyz Hound : It is dark gray under the orange hair and blackish-white marbling under the white hair..

HAIR : Is short, smooth, thick, very fine on the head and ears.

COLOR :

• Bernese Hound : White with black spots or a black saddle-shaped spot. Tan color from pale to intense over the eyes, cheeks, on the inside of the ears and around the anus. Sometimes very lightly splattered (black splash).

• Jura Hound : Tan with black cape, sometimes nuanced black or black with tan over the eyes, cheeks, around the anus and on the extremities ; sometimes with a small white spot on the chest ; this stain may be splattered (black or gray splashes).

• Lucerne Hound : Called blue, with a mixture of black and white hairs, intensely splashed, with black spots or a saddle-shaped spot ; tan color from pale to intense over the eyes, cheeks, on the chest, around the anus and on the extremities ; a black cape is allowed.

• Schwyz Hound : White with orange or orange "saddle" spots, sometimes with orange splashes ; an orange coat is allowed.

Size and weight:

Height to the cross :

• Males : 49-59 cm..
• females : 47-57 cm No tolerance.

Fouls:

Any deviation from the aforementioned criteria is considered as a fault and the severity of this is considered to the degree of the deviation to the standard and its consequences on the health and well-being of the dog..

• Rough appearance, vulgar, weak body structure.
• Discordant proportions between body length, the height of the withers and the height of the chest.
• Skull too wide, too convex or too flat.
• Stop too marked.
• Very short or very long snout, too square or pointed.
• Concave nasal bridge.
• Lack of more than two premolars PM1 or PM2. Los M3 (molars 3) are not taken into account.
• Thick lips.
• Light eyes, acute expression, non-adherent eyelids.
• Ears that are too short or flattened, thick or set very high.
• Very short neck.
• Double chin too marked.
• Saddled or arched back (carp back).
• Croup too inclined or too short.
• Rib cage not deep enough, too flat or barrel-shaped.
• Retracted belly, fallen flanks.
• Tail with poor insertion, carried too high, very bent, stooped, very coarse or spike-shaped tail.
• Extremities with bones that are too thin or in a bad position.
• Very sloping shoulders, arm too short.
• Weak carpal joints.
• Insufficient angulations of the hind limbs ; cow or barrel shaped limbs.
• Dewclaws on the hind limbs, except in countries in which amputation is not permitted by law.
• Rough coat, not smooth.
• Flaws in color and markings.

1. Bernese Hound : Too many black splashes on the white. Tan or white on the outside of the ears.
2. Jura Hound : Uniform color. Noticeable white patch or heavily speckled patch on the chest.
3. Lucerne Hound : Lack of « blue » splash. Tan on the outside of the ears.
4. Schwyz Hound : Too many orange splashes on the white. Uniform color. White on the outside of the ears.

• Slightly fearful or aggressive behavior.

MISS PLAYOFFS

• Excessively fearful or aggressive dog.
• Atypical general appearance of the breed.
• Completely depigmented nose.
• Upper or lower prognathism, incisor arcade deviated.
• Ectropion, entropion (even if it had been operated).
• Horn tail, threaded, knotty the hook.
• Size above or below tolerance.

Any dog ​​showing clear signs of physical or behavioral abnormalities must be disqualified..

Males should have two normal-appearing testicles fully descended into the scrotum..

The four varieties of Swiss Hounds have their own specific hunting characteristics.:

– The Bernese Hound, with her beautiful throat ("the howler of the Jura"), demanding, mainly used for hares;
– He "Jura Hound«, an excellent recuperator
– The Lucerne Hound, reminiscent of Small Blue Gascony, he is an active and passionate dog that hunts deer very well;
– The "Hound of Schwyz", less widespread outside of Switzerland, is reserved for rabbits and hares.