The breeds · scenthound · scenthound

UKC Scenthound · FCI standard 203

Dunker.

FCI 203: scenthound (Group 6, Section 1.2 medium-sized hounds, with working trial). Named for Captain Wilhelm Conrad Dunker, who created the breed by crossing several scent hound breeds in the first half of the 19th century; a characteristic trait has always been the blue-marbled (merle) coat and walleyes. Temperament: hardy and robust scent hound of old times, strong nerves, especially sociable and trusting, known to have done well in hunting trials, an excellent combination of a hunting and companion dog, easy to train. UKC: medium-sized, short-haired, rectangular scenthound, powerfully built but not heavy. Wikipedia (English): bred to hunt hare by scent, from a Russian Harlequin Hound crossed with dependable Norwegian scent hounds; robust, an excellent hunting dog. Wikipedia (Norwegian): a medium-sized Norwegian driving, giving-tongue hunting breed, independent, hardy and robust, with great hunting desire; it works close with the hunter. Norwegian Wikipedia adds that it is not suited to passive families..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.

25–55LBWeight, all linesbreed 25 to 55 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 19.5 to 22.8 in · bitches 18.5 to 21.3 in

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

Low and high span FCI and UKC; no center.

Weight

25 to 55 lb

EditorialWikipedia (English)

Editorial only and the two Wikipedia articles disagree, so low/high span both; no standard prints a weight. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Coat

FCI 203: straight, hard, dense and not too short; the back of the thighs and the tail may carry somewhat more coat. Colour: diluted black with tan markings, or blue marbled (merle) with pale tan and white markings; jet black with warm tan is less desirable; 50 percent or more white undesirable. UKC: straight, hard, dense, not too short; black or blue marbled (dappled) with pale fawn and white markings; body colour more than 50 percent white is a disqualification. Wikipedia (Norwegian): the coat needs regular maintenance.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · Straight, hard, dense coat that is not too short (FCI 203, UKC)

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Derived from the coat description (short dense = 4). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

Wikipedia (English): needs much exercise and many activities where it has to use its intelligence. Wikipedia (Norwegian): needs regular and sufficient exercise to thrive; not suited to passive families.

EditorialWikipedia (English)

Text only, no minutes stated in any source. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Grooming

Wikipedia (Norwegian): the coat needs regular maintenance. Wikipedia (English): coat straight, hard, dense and not too short.

EditorialWikipedia (Norwegian bokmal)

No grooming band from RKC or AKC (neither lists the breed). Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

Wikipedia (Norwegian): hare, red fox and lynx (a driving, giving-tongue hunting dog). Wikipedia (English): hares. UKC History names no quarry. FCI 203 names the breed a scenthound and gives no quarry in its utilization line.

EditorialWikipedia (Norwegian bokmal)

Quarry is stated by the two Wikipedia articles only; neither FCI 203 nor UKC states it. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Also used on

Wikipedia (Norwegian): red fox and lynx beside hare. Wikipedia (English): hunts hare by scent rather than sight; one of few hare-hunting dogs able to hunt in thick snow cover in winter.

EditorialWikipedia (Norwegian bokmal)

No source names any other quarry. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Search pattern

Wikipedia (Norwegian): a driving, giving-tongue hound; energetic and enduring, works closely with the hunter, has a distinct voice on the line ('tydelig los') and often a large radius of action; hunters say its feet are particularly hardy and take ice and slush, so it can carry on the hunt where others quit. Wikipedia (English): huge operational range when hunting; rarely barks outside hunting if properly exercised. FCI 203: strong nerves, known to have done well in hunting trials.

EditorialWikipedia (Norwegian bokmal)

Solo hare hound driving game to the gun is the Scandinavian practice; the sources above say 'driving' (drivende) and 'tydelig los' (clear voice on the line) but none states pack versus single work in English. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Field trial standard

FCI classification: Group 6 Scenthounds, Section 1.2 Medium-sized Hounds, 'With working trial'. FCI 203 temperament: 'known to have done well in hunting trials'. Trial rules and the Norwegian hare-hound trial scoring were not read.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Registry classification only; no trial rule text read.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Most common disorders

FCI 203 history: after the Second World War numbers declined, and by the 1980s inbreeding left most dogs too closely related; crossbreeding was permitted at several stages, which gave much better genetic variation and health while keeping breed type, but the population remains low. Wikipedia (Norwegian): the breeding council with the Norwegian Kennel Club has run a programme of crosses with Hamiltonstover, Hygenhund and Finnish Hound for a larger gene pool; lifespan given as 10 to 12 years. Wikipedia (English): about 150 puppies born a year.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Population-genetics context, not a disorder list. No health survey, OFA row or Dogs Trust row exists for this breed. Lifespan figure is Norwegian Wikipedia's infobox, not a study, so it is not placed in median_lifespan_yr.

No KENAI kennel lists the Dunker yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 4 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called: Norwegian Hound, Dunkerstover, Dunkerstøver

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your dunker, on the record.

Log the days, the miles and the birds, and the KENAI app keeps the dog’s story beside the breed’s. Free to start.

Get the app