The breeds · scenthound · scenthound

FCI standard 366

Estonian Hound.

FCI 366 utilization: scent hound used for hunting the hare, fox and lynx; Group 6, Section 1.2 medium-sized hounds, with working trial. Even-tempered, agile and friendly; very well developed scent and detection of game, a pronounced passion for hunting, and a resonant voice that helps to locate the dog at long distance. Estonian Wikipedia: hare, fox and lynx hunting with the Estonian Hound gives the hunter aesthetic pleasure because of the ringing, melodic voice. English Wikipedia: the only breed developed in Estonia..

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.

33–44LBWeight, all linesbreed 33 to 44 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 17 to 21 in · bitches 16.5 to 21 in

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

No ideal printed. Low and high span the FCI range and English Wikipedia's breed-wide 17 to 21 in (43 to 53 cm), which is not split by sex (show every source).

Weight

33 to 44 lb

EditorialWikipedia (English)

Single editorial source; FCI prints no weight.

Coat

FCI: short, even, harsh and glossy with a moderate undercoat; tail covered with dense even hair and looks thick. Colour: black patches with tan markings and vivid white (tricolour), or lemon to golden-tan patches without black (bicolour); white on head, throat, chest and belly; all feet and the tail tip must be white so the dog is seen in the field. English Wikipedia: short, smooth, shiny; weakly developed undercoat. Estonian Wikipedia: tricolour (brown, white, black), white paws, white belly and tail tip.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

FCI says moderate undercoat; English Wikipedia says weakly developed. Both stand.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · Short, even, harsh, glossy coat with a moderate undercoat (FCI)

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale

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

The dog at home

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

Energy

FCI: even-tempered, agile and friendly. Estonian Wikipedia: an energetic dog that needs to be given something to do; needs a lot of attention, and walks alone are not enough, it must run; also increasingly used in agility, flyball and obedience. English Wikipedia: happy, pleasant, balanced, calm and active, highly intelligent; loves human attention and can get upset when left alone; good with other dogs, and cats if raised with them.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

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

FCI and Estonian Wikipedia agree on hare, fox and lynx. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

FCI: hare, fox and lynx. English Wikipedia: only hare and fox may be hunted in Estonia, and the dog must learn not to hunt hoofed animals there. Estonian Wikipedia: hunters report wide use on large game (roe deer, wild boar) in Ukraine and Belarus; Russia and the Baltic shore are named as places the breed is used.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

FCI says lynx; English Wikipedia says only hare and fox are allowed in Estonia. Estonian Wikipedia's roe deer and boar use abroad is hearsay ('according to hunters'). All stand.

Search pattern

FCI: resonant voice helps to locate the dog at long distance; passion for hunting guarantees good results in finding prey and tracking in difficult terrain. Estonian Wikipedia: balanced while working, with a distinctive persistence both searching and pursuing that gives a continuous drive without breaks or pauses; on a hare it must unravel every hare's double and rashness does not help, because an over-eager dog overshoots the check and the drive turns ragged; gives voice skilfully on the track, and on sighting game has a funny shrill, crying voice; typical gaits are gallop and wide trot searching, fast gallop pursuing. The Estonian rule that large packs are banned and two or three good dogs are enough shows the single-hound or small-pack use. A hound off the lead in the woods puts its nose down and runs off hunting.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

Single/small-pack work is Estonian Wikipedia history (bans on large packs). Distance from the hunter is not stated. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Field trial standard

FCI: with working trial.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

The Estonian working-trial rules (Estonian Hunting Dogs Society) were not read; see open_gaps.

How common the problems are

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

Most common disorders

Estonian Wikipedia: a healthy breed with no known hereditary diseases (citing the Eesti koerte atlas 2005); the breed is listed as endangered because of the small population and high relatedness, with the same sires used heavily, and an urgent need for new blood. 662 dogs were in the Estonian Kennel Union EST register in 2008.

EditorialWikipedia (Estonian)

Editorial only; no screening figure read. Registration counts are from 2008.

No KENAI kennel lists the Estonian Hound 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. 3 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called: Eesti Hagijas, Chien Courant d'Estonie, Estnische Bracke, Sabueso de Estonia

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