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LUZERNER LAUFHUND

History

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. 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..

GENERAL APPEARANCE Medium size, good conformation indicating strength and endurance; long muzzle and lean head with long ears giving him an air of nobility.

TEMPERAMENT Lively and passionately keen on hunting; sensitive, docile and very attached to his master.

HEAD * Elongated, not too broad, occipital crest not too accentuated.

Skull Elongated, narrow, lean, noble; rather rounded; pronounced occiput; axes of skull and muzzle slightly divergent.

Stop * Defined without exaggeration.

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. Loin * Solid, muscular, supple. Croup * 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.Flank * Quite full, a little tucked up but without a whippety look.

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).

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 * 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, dense and smooth.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 * 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" * Esulting 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 * Height at the 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.

ELIMINATING FAULTS Lack of type. Size either over or under that fixed by the standard. Nose entirely depigmented. Overshot or undershot mouth. Ectropion or entropion (even operated). Rolled or ring tail, kink tail, tail with vertebral deformity. Very timid or very aggressive behaviour.

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 its degree. Note ** Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.