KENAI
Spanish Hound

The breeds · scenthound · scenthound

UKC Scenthound · FCI standard 204

Spanish Hound.

FCI 204 utilization: hunting hound for small game, although not averse to big game hunting, boar, stag, deer, fox, wolf or bear; the hunter, instructed by the dog's voice and its modulations, recognizes the sequence of the hunt (cold or fresh line, double lines, firmness on line, the kill); a great specialist on the hare with his doubling habit, and most efficient in blood tracking (searching wounded big game). UKC: generally used for small game, not averse to large game, an excellent blood tracker for large game; described in the 14th century by King Alfonso XI. Wikipedia ES: an exclusively working breed, used in northern Spain for centuries on all furred game; it tracks trails many hours old, with a powerful, low-toned, hard-hitting voice; standardized as a breed since 1982; two old subtypes (sabueso de monte and sabueso lebrero) were later merged. Wikipedia EN: a cold-nosed old European hound; hunters read the phase of the hunt from the changing voice; also found with griffons on boar and used in making the Griffon Astur-Cantabro..

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.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 20.5 to 22.5 in · bitches 18.9 to 21 in

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

No source prints an ideal, so no center. Low and high span FCI and UKC.

Coat

FCI: dense, short, fine and smooth (flat) hair covering the whole body down to the interdigital spaces; white and orange, one colour dominating, irregular well-defined markings, no ticking; orange from lemon to intense russet-brown; skin thick, loose, elastic, pink. Wavy, hard or semi-long coat is a severe fault; tri-coloured dogs or tan on muzzle and legs, and woolly coat, disqualify. UKC: dense, short, flat and smooth; same white and orange, no ticking; tri-colour or tan markings disqualify. Wikipedia ES: red and white, alone or combined; nose and nails may be black or flesh coloured.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

Heat tolerance

Dense, short, fine, smooth flat coat; thick loose skin (FCI, UKC)

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale

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

The dog at home

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

Energy

FCI: an affectionate and calm dog which, when out on big game, shows extraordinary courage and bravery. UKC: affectionate, calm, brave and courageous. Wikipedia EN: gentle, easy going, relentless in tracking, brave against a large male boar; first of all a working dog that thrives as a hunter, but affectionate and devoted enough to be a companion for an active family in a rural home; many sit in Spanish shelters on the mistaken belief they are poor pets; will not tolerate rough treatment. Wikipedia ES: affectionate and docile; needs firm handling so it works only the species its owner wants; good with other dogs (used in small packs). No AKC or RKC page exists.

EditorialWikipedia (English)

Text only; no AKC or RKC score.

The work

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

Role

FCI 204 utilization: hunting hound for small game, although not averse to big game hunting, boar, stag, deer, fox, wolf or bear; the hunter, instructed by the dog's voice and its modulations, recognizes the sequence of the hunt (cold or fresh line, double lines, firmness on line, the kill); a great specialist on the hare with his doubling habit, and most efficient in blood tracking (searching wounded big game). UKC: generally used for small game, not averse to large game, an excellent blood tracker for large game; described in the 14th century by King Alfonso XI. Wikipedia ES: an exclusively working breed, used in northern Spain for centuries on all furred game; it tracks trails many hours old, with a powerful, low-toned, hard-hitting voice; standardized as a breed since 1982; two old subtypes (sabueso de monte and sabueso lebrero) were later merged. Wikipedia EN: a cold-nosed old European hound; hunters read the phase of the hunt from the changing voice; also found with griffons on boar and used in making the Griffon Astur-Cantabro.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

Registry text plus Wikipedia ES/EN, labelled. Editorial views are shown beside the standard (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

FCI: small game (hare especially); also boar, stag, deer, fox, wolf, bear. UKC: small game, also large game. Wikipedia ES: boar, hare, bear, wolf, deer, fox, roe deer and chamois (rebeco); today preferably boar, in the northern 'a traílla' tradition, as big game numbers recovered; hare 'a la vuelta' as the older small-game use. Wikipedia EN: in the south mainly rabbits and hare; in the northern mountains very often wild boar.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

FCI and Wikipedia ES agree on hare and boar; Wikipedia EN's south/north split is not in the FCI or UKC text. Both stand.

Also used on

FCI: stag, deer, fox, wolf, bear; blood tracking of wounded big game. UKC: excellent blood tracker for large game. Wikipedia ES: roe deer and chamois; leashed tracking (caza a traílla) to find the bed of bear, boar or wolf; blood-tracking use was widespread among the old crossbow hunters.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

Search pattern

Wikipedia ES: hunts alone or with one or two other hounds, strongly independent, so not strictly a pack hound; a generous giver of voice, very hardy, tends to chase quarry a long way, and single-dog chases of more than 4 to 5 hours are not rare. Hare 'a la vuelta': once the hare is jumped the hound is expected to work it round to where the hunter waits with a gun. Boar 'a traílla': the hunter (montero) tracks the night's trail to the daytime bed with the hound on a leash, the stand is surrounded, then hounds are released on the line to move the boar to the guns. Voice 'latido' (northern Spain term for the bark; 'demanda' for working a trail). FCI: voice and its modulations tell the hunter the stage of the hunt. Wikipedia EN: not properly a pack breed; bred to hunt alone or with one or two more hounds.

EditorialWikipedia (Spanish)

Single editorial source for the single-hound pattern (Wikipedia ES, echoed by EN); FCI states the voice-modulation reading. No source read prints a working distance, so range is left blank.

Field trial standard

FCI 204 classification: Group 6 Scenthounds, Section 1.2 medium sized hounds, 'with working trial'. The trial rules were not read.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

Standard states a working trial exists; rules themselves not sourced (see open_gaps).

No KENAI kennel lists the Spanish 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
Sabueso Espanol, Sabueso Español

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