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Estonian Hound

Origin

The Estonian Republic of the Soviet Union is in European Russia, straight north of Moscow on the Baltic Sea. In the early part of the 20th century, big fast hounds had begun decimating the population of wild goats that were abundant in the area where hare and fox were hunted. Hunters began working to develop a smaller, lower stationed hound that could stalk the small game but were outleagued by the pace of the wild goats.

First they crossed the smallest of the local hounds with English Beagles to reduce size and obtain strong feet, so necessary where snow falls heavily in February. Next into the mixing pot was the Swiss Neiderlaufliund, contributing his musical voice, persistence on the trail and, especially, his very early maturation (as young as five to six months!). A dash of Foxhound was added for endurance.

By 1954, the breed was introduced to the second Soviet Cynological Congress, where he was approved and a standard adopted. He was enthusiastically received by many hunters in other areas of Russia as well. So well had the Estonian breeders done their work that at the 1957 Moscow Exhibition, the Estonian Hound received a special award, and the founders were awarded gold medals.

The Estonian is a strong, rather low-stationed hound that is often ready to hunt effectively before his first birthday. Because of his smaller size and suspicion of strangers, he is often kept in a house or apartment, where he seconds as a watchdog.

General Appearance Medium size, strong and dry in general appearance. Strong bonestructure and well-defined muscles. Skin should not be loose or have wrinkles. Stable temperament. Agile. While searching may trot and gallop; when tracking should prefer to gallop. Head. Skull is round, moderately wide, eyebrows are clearly defined but not highplaced. Stop should not be too strongly defined. Muzzle is straight and the lenght should be equal to that of the scull. Lips should be dry and well fit. Nose is black (dog with yellow patches may have dark brown nose.

Teeth . White, strong, scissorbite.

Eyes.
Dark brown, almond-shaped. Eyelids should be dark.

Ears.
Thin, long, drooped, low placed, with rounded tips. Ears snuggle against cheeks. Hair should be short.

Neck.
Rounded, muscular, dry, with smooth skin.

Forechest.
Wide, rounded and deep, should reach the elbows.

Front feet.
Dry and muscular; straight and parallel. Lenth of the forefeet is about 1/2of withers height. Front angulation should be 115...120o. Elbows should not be loose. Shoulderblade should be oval.

Body. Withers stretch over the backbone. Back is straight, wide and muscular. Loin is short, wide, muscular and sloped. Croup is short, wide, muscular.

Hind feet.
Dry and muscular; straight and parallel. Angulation should be well defined.

Paws.
Oval "catpaw". Claws should be vertical to ground.

Movement.
Free with good drive and shove.

Tail.
Sword-shaped narrowing towards the tip. The end of tail should reach the ankles. The dog carrys the tail below the topline.

Coat. Short, rough and shiny. Undercoat weakly developed. Tail should be evenly covered with coat and thus leave an impression of thikness. The coat on the tip of the tail should be slightly shorter.

Colour.
Usually with black patches (limited with tan colour). The size of the patches is unlimited. Yellow-coloured patches are also allowed. The tip of the tail must be white.

Height.
Males 45...52 cm, females 3 cm lower. Height of the croup should be 1...1.5 cm lower than that of the withers.

Faults. Height below or over that set in standard. Too light or heavy in bone. Long or wavy coat, spotted colour. Light eyes. Heavy neck. Narrow or weak front. Soft or stooped topline. Long straight croup. Elbows turned out, soft wrists. Undefined angulation, ankles turned in or out. Short feet. Soft paws, paws turned in or out. Too long or short tail.

Eliminting faults.
Aggressiveness towards people. Eyes of different colours or albinism. Too soft, wavy or short coat. Black patches or spots on white, brown or coffee-couloured patches. Heavy head, arched or stooped nose. Lack of pigmentation. Hooked "broken" tail.