KENAI
Swiss Hound

The breeds · scenthound · scenthound

UKC Scenthound · FCI standard 59

Swiss Hound.

FCI 59: hunting dog for hare, roe deer, fox and sometimes boar; hunts independently, giving tongue; on difficult terrain searches and hunts with great determination (Group 6, Section 1.2, with working trial). UKC: hunting dog for hare, fox, roe deer and boar. Wikipedia EN: independent hunting dog that follows scent through difficult ground..

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 19 to 23.2 in · bitches 18.5 to 22.5 in

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2009

UKC and FCI agree. No ideal printed.

Coat

Short, smooth and dense, very fine on head and leathers (FCI 59, UKC). Four varieties: Bernese Hound (white with black patches or black saddle, tan markings over the eyes, on the cheeks, inside the leathers and round the vent); Jura Hound (tan with black blanket, or black with tan markings; a small white chest patch allowed); Lucerne Hound ('blue', heavily speckled white and black, with black patches or saddle, tan markings); Schwyz Hound (white with orange patches or saddle). Wikipedia EN: some wire-coated dogs occur but are not preferred (FCI faults a rough coat).

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2001

FCI 59 and UKC list the same four varieties.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · Coat short, smooth and dense, very fine on head and leathers (FCI 59, UKC).

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2001

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

The work

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

Role

FCI 59: hunting dog for hare, roe deer, fox and sometimes boar; hunts independently, giving tongue; on difficult terrain searches and hunts with great determination (Group 6, Section 1.2, with working trial). UKC: hunting dog for hare, fox, roe deer and boar. Wikipedia EN: independent hunting dog that follows scent through difficult ground.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2001

FCI 59 utilization; UKC; Wikipedia EN (editorial).

Primary game

Hare, roe deer, fox, and sometimes boar (FCI 59). UKC lists hare, fox, roe deer and boar. FCI history: sought after in the 18th century by the French for hunting hare.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2001

Also used on

No further use is stated for the medium Swiss Hound in FCI 59 or UKC (tracking wounded game is stated for the Small Swiss Hound, not this breed). Wikipedia EN calls the breed the progenitor of the Small Swiss Hound.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2001

Left as what the sources say; see open_gaps.

Search pattern

FCI 59: lively and passionately keen on hunting, sensitive, docile and very attached to his master; hunts in an independent manner giving tongue. UKC: lively and keen when hunting. Wikipedia EN: fast, agile, passionate hunters with great endurance, able to track game by scent independently of the hunter.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2001

FCI 59 behaviour and utilization. Single-dog work on voice; the Swiss tradition of pack use was not found in the read sources.

Field trial standard

FCI 59: with working trial (Group 6, Section 1.2). The trial rules themselves were not read.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2001

Classification only; see open_gaps.

No KENAI kennel lists the Swiss 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. 2 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Schweizer Laufhund, Chien Courant Suisse, Bernese Hound, Jura Hound, Lucerne Hound, Schwyz Hound, Swiss Beagle

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