Hound Group Breed Standard amendments
Any underlined text indicates a change or addition. Square bracketed text indicates a deletion.
Eyes Dark for preference, but golden colour not debarred. Nearly triangular in appearance, slanting slightly upwards from inner corner to outer corner.
Ears Set below the eyeline, fine, curled in, ending in a point and extending to approximately the tip of the nose when drawn forward.
Basset Griffon Vendeen (Grand)
Ears Supple, narrow and fine, covered with long hair, folding inwards ending in an oval shape; reaching to just beyond the tip of the nose; set on low, not above the line of the eye.
General Appearance Short legged hound of considerable substance, well balanced, full of quality. [Delete ‘a certain amount of loose skin desirable’]. It is important to bear in mind that this is a working hound and must be fit for purpose, therefore should be strong, active and capable of great endurance in the field.
Characteristics A tenacious hound of ancient lineage which hunts by scent, possessing a pack instinct and a deep, melodious voice. [Delete ‘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 snipy. 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 small [delete ‘moderate’] amount of wrinkle at brow and beside eyes. In any event skin of head supple [delete ‘loose’] enough as to wrinkle slightly [delete ‘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 [delete ‘too’] deep-set, dark but may shade to mid-brown in light coloured hounds. Expression calm and serious. [Delete – ‘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 only slightly [delete ‘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.
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. Some wrinkles of skin may appear on lower legs, but this must on no account be excessive.
Body Long and deep throughout length, breast bone prominent but chest neither narrow nor unduly deep. There should be adequate clearance between the lowest part of the chest and the ground to allow the hound to move freely over all types of terrain. Ribs well rounded and sprung, without flange, extending [delete ‘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. Some wrinkles of skin may appear between hock and foot, and at rear of joint a slight pouch of skin may be present, but on no account should any of these be excessive.
Feet Large [delete ‘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.
Gait/Movement Most important to ensure that the hound is fit for purpose. Smooth, powerful and effortless 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.
[Temperament, Mouth, Neck, Tail, Coat, Colour, Size, Faults and Note – no change]
Characteristics Possesses in a most marked degree every point and characteristic of those dogs which hunt together by scent (Sagaces). Very powerful, standing over more ground than is usual with hounds of other breeds. Skin relatively loose. [delete ‘especially noticeable about head and neck and where it hangs in deep folds’].
Head and Skull Head narrow in proportion to length and long in proportion to body, tapering slightly from temples to muzzle, thus when viewed from above and in front having appearance of being flattened at sides and of being nearly equal in width throughout entire length. In profile upper outline of skull is nearly in same plane as that of foreface. Length from end of nose to stop not less than that from stop to back of occipital protuberance. Entire length of head from posterior part of occipital protuberance to end of muzzle 30 cms (12 ins) or more in dogs and 28 cms (11 ins) or more in bitches. Skull is long and narrow, with occipital peak [delete ‘very’] pronounced. [Delete ‘Brows not prominent, although owing to set of eyes, may appear to give that appearance’.] Foreface long, deep and of even width throughout, with square outlines when seen in profile. Head furnished with only a small amount of loose skin. [delete ‘which in nearly every position appears abundant, but more particularly so when head is carried low; skin then falls into loose pendulous ridges and folds, especially over forehead and sides of face’]. Nostrils large and open. In front, lips fall squarely making a right angle with upper line of foreface. [Delete ‘whilst behind they form deep hanging flews and, being continued into pendant folds of loose skin about neck, constitute the dewlap, which is very pronounced’]
Eyes Medium size, dark brown or hazel, neither sunken nor prominent, the lids being oval in shape and meeting the cornea – front window of the eye – perfectly without any irregularity in their contour. Eyes should be free from any interference from the eyelashes. Signs of any obvious eye irritation must be heavily penalised.
[No change to other clauses]
General Appearance Moderately long and low with no exaggeration, compact, well muscled body, with enough ground clearance to allow free movement. Heights at the withers should be half the length of the body, measured from breastbone to the rear of thigh. Bold, defiant carriage of head and intelligent expression.
Characteristics Intelligent, lively, courageous to the point of rashness, obedient. Especially suited to going to ground because of low build, very strong forequarters and forelegs. Long, strong jaw and immense power of bite and hold. Excellent nose, persevering hunter and tracker. Essential that functional build is retained to ensure working ability.
Body Moderately long and full muscled. [Delete ‘back level’]. Sloping shoulders, back reasonably level, blending harmoniously between withers and slightly arched loin. Loin short and strong. Breast bone strong, and so prominent that a depression appears on either side of it in front. When viewed from front, thorax full and oval; when viewed from side or above, full volumed, so allowing by its ample capacity complete development of heart and lungs. Well ribbed up, underline gradually merging into line of abdomen. Body sufficiently clear of ground to allow free movement.
Hindquarters Rump full, broad and strong, pliant muscles. Croup long, full, robustly muscled, only slightly sloping towards tail. Pelvis strong, set obliquely and not too short. Upper thigh set at right angles to pelvis, strong and of good length. Lower thigh short, set at right angles to upper thigh and well muscled. Legs when seen behind set well apart, straight, and parallel. [Delete - Hind dewclaws undesirable].
Colour All colours permitted but [delete ‘(except in dapples which should be evenly marked all over)’] no white permissible, save for a small patch on chest which is permitted but not desirable. The dapple pattern is expressed as lighter coloured areas contrasting with the darker base. Neither the light nor the dark colour should predominate. Double dapple (where varying amounts of white occurs all over the body in addition to the dapple pattern) is unacceptable. Nose and nails black in all colours except chocolate/tan and chocolate/dapple where they are brown’.
[No change to other clauses]
Hindquarters Strong. [ delete ‘Only’] Moderate turn of stifle. Hock of medium angulation.
Feet Preferably round. [Delete: ‘Hind dewclaws always removed. Removal of front dewclaws optional’.]
Head and Skull Large, long and distinguished. Occiput pronounced. Slight stop, loose skin covering head and forming one or two wrinkles along cheeks, lips pendulous and well pigmented. Black palate. Excessive wrinkle to be penalised.
Ears Set low, fine, curled inward reaching to approximately the tip of nose.
Neck Medium length, rounded, carrying moderate dewlap.
General Appearance Strongly built, upstanding, of generous proportions, muscular power and symmetrical formation, with long head and neck, clean well laid shoulders, deep chest, capacious body, slightly arched loin, powerful quarters, sound legs and feet, and a suppleness of limb, which emphasise in a marked degree its distinctive type and quality.
Characteristics A distinctive feature is the ridge on back formed by hair growing in opposite direction to the remainder of coat; [Delete ‘ridge must be regarded as the escutcheon of breed’]. Ridge clearly defined, tapering and symmetrical, starting immediately behind shoulders and continuing to haunch, and containing two identical crowns only, opposite each other, lower edges of crowns not extending further down ridge than one-third of its length. Up to 5 cm (2 ins) is a good average for width of ridge.
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