KENAI
Transylvanian Hound

The breeds · scenthound · scenthound

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Scenthound · FCI standard 241

Transylvanian Hound.

FCI 241 utilization: hunting hound able to hunt independently, also at a great distance from the handler; excellently suited to finding and pursuing a trail; drives and points game in an excellent manner. History (FCI, UKC): favourite hunting dog of the Hungarian aristocracy in the Middle Ages, pushed back into the pathless Carpathian woods; revived from 1968. AKC breed page: good-natured, courageous, enduring; the Carpathian conditions made it a tough, brave dog. Wikipedia: scenthound used primarily for hunting; stamina and keen, reliable scenting..

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.

0INHeightall null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
55–77LBWeight, all linesbreed 55 to 77 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

21.5 to 26 in

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

One range for both sexes in all three registries. Low and high span FCI, UKC and AKC. The short variety is extinct and described only by Wikipedia; its size is not in the row's range.

Weight

55 to 77 lb

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

Registries print a minimum only, so low is the minimum and high is Wikipedia's 77 lb for the tall variety. No center: no source prints an ideal.

Coat

FCI: whole body covered by short, straight, dense, flat coat, longer on neck, withers, back of thighs and underside of tail; coarse to the touch and shiny; cowlicks and ridges may occur; undercoat present; black with a tan point on each eyebrow and tan on muzzle and legs; white on more than one fifth of the body undesirable; wiry, soft, wavy or sparse coat and brown or blue colour are disqualifying. UKC: same; tri-colour with black base. Wikipedia: tall variety black and tan or tricolour; short variety red and tan.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

Both registries disqualify brown or blue base colour.

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

Short, straight, dense, flat coat with an undercoat (FCI 241, UKC)

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

AKC breed page trait bands (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Playfulness 5; Trainability 4; Barking Level 4; Adaptability 4; Affectionate With Family 5; Good With Young Children 5; Good With Other Dogs 5; Openness To Strangers 4; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5. FCI and UKC: good-natured, courageous, enduring; quiet and even but determined and lively; stands extreme weather. Wikipedia: usually obedient and tolerant of children; also described as reserved, slightly suspicious and introspective.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are the page's own scores, not a measurement. Wikipedia's 'reserved, slightly suspicious' sits beside the AKC Openness To Strangers 4 band; both stand. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Grooming load

2 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC breed page trait bands: Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5; Shedding Level 3 of 5; Drooling Level 3 of 5.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands (1-5) are the page's own scores, not a measurement.

The work

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

Role

FCI 241 utilization: hunting hound able to hunt independently, also at a great distance from the handler; excellently suited to finding and pursuing a trail; drives and points game in an excellent manner. History (FCI, UKC): favourite hunting dog of the Hungarian aristocracy in the Middle Ages, pushed back into the pathless Carpathian woods; revived from 1968. AKC breed page: good-natured, courageous, enduring; the Carpathian conditions made it a tough, brave dog. Wikipedia: scenthound used primarily for hunting; stamina and keen, reliable scenting.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

FCI Group 6, Section 1.2, with working trial. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

FCI history: the long-legged variety was used on big game (the FCI text names buffaloes, later bears, wild boars and lynxes); the short-legged variety on small game such as foxes or hares in overgrown terrain and chamois in rocky areas. Wikipedia: tall variety on European bison, brown bear, boar and lynx; short variety on fox, hare and chamois.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

FCI says buffaloes; Wikipedia says European bison. The standard describes only the surviving long-legged variety. Both stand.

Also used on

FCI and Wikipedia: the short-legged variety (fox, hare, chamois) is extinct; only the long-legged variety survives, in Hungary and Romania.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

History only; the surviving dog is the long-legged hound.

Range

FCI: able to hunt independently, also at a great distance from his handler.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

FCI states distance; no figure in metres is printed. The word 'great' is the standard's own.

Search pattern

FCI: finds a fresh scent with a whining yap; on the hunt gives tongue to the scent, the bark resounding, high pitched and ringing; drives and points game; works smoothly alone or as part of a brace; extremely enduring gallop. Wikipedia: high-pitched bark for its size; very keen scenting; courage and good sense of orientation when hunting; as a pack hound very friendly with other dogs.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale

Single and brace work are stated by FCI; Wikipedia adds pack. Both stand.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 4; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 4; Good With Other Dogs 5; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 3; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 5; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

No KENAI kennel lists the Transylvanian 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
Erdélyi Kopó, Erdelyi Kopo, Hungarian Hound, Transylvanian Scent Hound, Copoi ardelenesc

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