FCI-Standard N° 28 / 25. 11. 1996 /GB
ARTOIS HOUND
(Chien d’Artois)
TRANSLATION : Mrs. Peggy Davis.
ORIGIN : France.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 24.07.1996.
UTILIZATION : The Artois Hound is a Briquet (small type), nowadays
especially used in hunting with the gun.
He drives the game closer taking advantage of their faults with
cleverness, and his speed is average but maintained.
In the country : Because of his acute sense of smell, he is capable of out
manoeuvring the tricks of the hare.
In the wood : With his incontestable qualities of a hunter, in the sparse
and well scattered groups of tall trees, he hunts a deer beautifully in the
desired direction.
In the thicket : his intrepidity and bravery means that he can stir up and
even obstinate boar.
Moreover : He is a hardy animal, endowed with a marvellous tongue in a high
pitched voice which can be heard from far away.
Six to eight tricolour matching Artois hounds constitute a small pack
susceptible of giving pleasure to a most demanding huntmaster.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 6 Scenthounds, and related reeds.
Section 1.2
Medium
sized scent hounds. With working
trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : This breed, formerly named Picard, was much
appreciated in ancient hunting at the time of Henri IV and Louis XIII and
much sought after. Selincourt
already made much of it, wondering and amazed to see these dogs pulling in a
hare which had passed by one hour ago in dry weather.
Le Couteulx de Canteleu, in Manuel de
Vénerie Française (1890), (Manual of French Hunting (1890)), praises also
the Artois Hound. He reports
that the artesien breed of his time was crossbred and difficult to find pure
but, in spite of that, it still remained one of the best breeds for hare
hunting. He has taken care,
however, of placing representatives of the breed in the big kennel of the
Jardin d’Acclimatation, so that it would be know by the general public.
At the end of the XIXth century and at the beginning of our century,
M. Levoir in Picardy has attempted the re-establishment of the old Artois
type without really succeeding.
During that period and until the beginning of the First World War, it was
another Picard breeder, M. Mallard, who dominated the raising of the breed.
But if he produced very pretty dogs, as witnessed by his numerous
awards in canine shows, they were not always in the type conformed with the
description given by the old authors.
After the second World War, it was believed that the Artois Hound was
one of the breeds lost for ever.
But at the beginning of the 1970s M. Audrechy, of Buigny les Gamaches in the
Somme, has fixed as a task to reconstitue the kennel.
It is thanks to his efforts and those of Mme Pilat that this breed
regains its place amongst the scenthounds.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : Well constructed dog, muscled and not too long, giving
the impression of strength and energy.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS :
Size/Length of body between 10:10
and 10:11
Depth of chest / Size between
1:2
Width of skull/Length of head
between 5:9
Length of muzzle/Length of skull
between 8:10
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Vigorous and hardy dog, with a very fine nose,
assembling well in the pack, balanced and affectionate.
HEAD :
CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Strong, broad, quite short, rounded and flat at its upper part but
with the occipital protuberance only slightly pronounced.
Stop : Accentuated.
FACIAL REGION :
Nose : Black, strong, with well opened nostrils.
Muzzle : Straight and, seen in profile, moderately elongated.
Lips : The upper lip largely covering the lower lip and must be rather
important so as to give a square shape to the extremity of the muzzle, seen
in profile.
Jaws/Teeth : Scissor bite, the upper incisors covering the lower in a narrow
contact and are well set squarely in relation to the jaws.
Eyes : In relation to the width of the forehead, the eyes are not very close
together; they are round, level with the head surface, with a melancholic
and soft expression; dark brown in colour.
The mucous membranes of the lower lids must not be visible.
Leathers : Set at eye level, a little thick, broad, round at the tip, almost
flat and quite long, reaching the beginning of the nose.
NECK : Moderately long, powerful; very little dewlap.
BODY :
Back : Broad and well supported.
Loin : Slightly arched.
Croup : The hips give a slight inclination to the croup, which is well
muscled.
Chest : Broad and long, rather let down so that the sternal line arrives at
elbow level. Ribs well sprung.
Belly : Flanks full.
TAIL : Strong, quite long; there should be some longer and coarser, slightly
offstanding hairs (like ears of grain) towards the tip; carried sickle
fashion, never falling forward.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS :
View of ensemble : The limbs are strong and vertical.
Shoulders : Oblique and muscled.
Elbows : Set well in the axis of the body.
Forearm : Slightly oblique.
HINDQUARTERS :
View of ensemble : Seen from behind, the point of the buttock, the middle of
the leg, the hock, the metatarsal and the foot are on the same vertical
line.
Upper thighs : Let down and well muscled.
Hock joints : Strong and moderately angulated.
Metatarsals : short and strong.
FEET : Slightly elongated, strong but sufficiently tight; the pads are
black, tough and compact.
GAIT / MOVEMENT : Even and easy.
SKIN : Quite thick.
COAT
HAIR : Short, thick and quite flat.
COLOUR : Dark fawn tricolour, similar to the coat of the hare or the badger,
with mantle or large patches, the head usually fawn, sometimes with black
overlay.
SIZE AND WEIGHT :
Height at withers :
Males and females : 53 to 58 cm
With a tolerance of 1 cm.
Weight : On average 28 to 30 kg.
FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a
fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be
in exact proportion to its degree.
Head :
Narrow skull, dome shaped.
Muzzle too pointed.
Upper lip insufficiently let down and tight.
Eye slightly light, conjunctiva visible.
Ears set below eye level, short, not flat enough.
Neck :
Long reach of neck, light.
Body :
Dorsal region too long, topline soft, hollow.
Ribs flat.
Whippety flanks.
Tail :
Too long, deviated.
Forequarters :
Straight shoulder.
Out at elbows.
Straight pastern.
Flat feet.
Toes splayed, too long.
Hindquarters :
Thighs flat.
Hocks straight, either cow-hocked or barrel-shaped.
Colour :
Mottled.
Behaviour :
Timid subject.
ELIMINATING FAULTS :
Shy or aggressive subject.
Lack of type (the dog on the whole not sufficiently resembling his fellow
creatures of the same breed).
Anatomical anomaly.
Determined hereditary disabling defect.
Under- or overshot mouth.
Eye very light.
Weak limbs.
Other colour than that of the standard.
Distinctly mottled.
Height at the withers other than that of the standard.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be
disqualified.
N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully
descended into the scrotum.
