Black & Tan Coonhound

FCI-Standard N° 300 / 04. 10. 2002 / GB

 BLACK AND TAN COONHOUND

ORIGIN : USA.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE VALID ORIGINAL STANDARD : 30.01.1991.

UTILIZATION : Hound.

FCI-CLASSIFICATION : Group 6 Scent hounds and related breeds.  Section 1   Large-sized hounds.  With working trial.

GENERAL  APPEARANCE  :  The  Black  and  Tan Coonhound  is  first  and fundamentally a  working  dog,  a trail  and  tree  hound, capable  of withstanding  the  rigors of  winter,  the  heat of  summer,  and  the difficult  terrain  over  which he  is  called  upon to  work.    Used principally  for  trailing  and  treeing  raccoon, the  Black  an  Tan Coonhound runs  his game entirely by  scent.  The characteristics  and courage of  the Coonhound  also make  him proficient  on the hunt  for deer, bear, mountain lion and other big game.  Judges are asked by the club sponsoring  the breed  to place  great emphasis upon these  facts when evaluating the merits of the dog.  The general impression is that of power,  agility and alertness.   He immediately impresses one  with his ability to cover the ground with powerful rhythmic strides.  Considering their job as a hunting dog, the individual should exhibit moderate bone and good muscle tone.  Males are heavier  in bone and muscle tone than females.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS :

·      Measured from  the point of shoulder  to the buttocks and from withers  to ground  the length  of body  is equal to or  slightly greater than  the height  of the  dog at  the withers.  

·      Height is  in proportion to general conformation  so that the dog appears  neither leggy nor close to the ground.

BEHAVIOUR/ TEMPERAMENT : Even temperament,  outgoing and friendly.   As a working scent hound, must be  able to work in close contact with other hounds.  Some may  be reserved  but never  shy or  vicious.  Aggression  toward people or other dogs is most undesirable.

HEAD : The head is cleanly modeled.  From the back of the skull to the nose the head measures  from 9 to 10  inches in males and  from 8 to 9 inches in females.

Expression :  Is alert,  friendly and eager.  The skin is devoid  of folds.

CRANIAL REGION :

Skull :  Tends  toward  oval outline.  Viewed from  profile the line of  the skull is on a practically parallel plane to the foreface or muzzle.

Stop : Medium stop occuring midway between occiput bone and nose.

FACIAL REGION :

Nose : Nostrils well open and always black.

Flews : The flews are well developed with typical hound appearance. Teeth : Fit evenly with scissors bite.

Eyes : Are from hazel  to dark brown in  color, almost round and  not

deeply set.

Ears : Are low set and well back.  They hang in graceful folds, giving

the dog a majestic  appearance.  In length  they extend naturally well

beyond the tip of the nose and are set at eye level or lower.

NECK : The neck is muscular, sloping, medium length.  The skin is  devoid of  excess dewlap.

BODY :

Back :  The  back is level, powerful  and strong. 

Chest : Chest reaches at least to the elbows.

Ribs :  The dog  possesses full,  round, well sprung ribs,  avoiding flatsidedness. 

TAIL  : Is  strong, with  base slightly  below level of  backline,

carried free and when in action at approximately right angle to back.

LIMBS :

FOREQUARTERS :  The forelegs  are straight   .

Shoulders : Powerfully constructed.

Elbows : Turning neither in nor out.

Pasterns : Strong and erect.

HINDQUARTERS : Quarters are well boned and muscled.   From hip to hock long and sinewy, hock to pad short and strong. When standing on a  level surface, the hind feet  are set back from  under the body and  the leg from pad to hock is at right angles to the ground.

Stifles and hocks : Well bent and  not inclining either  in or out.

FEET :  Are  compact,  with well  knuckled, strongly  arched toes  and

thick, strong pads.

GAIT :  When viewed  from the  side, the stride  of the Black and  Tan Coonhound is easy and graceful with plenty of reach in front and drive behind.  When viewed  from the front the  forelegs, which are in  line with the width of  the body, move forward in an effortless manner, but never cross.  Viewed from the rear the hocks follow on a line with the forelegs, being neither too  widely nor too closely spaced, and as the speed of the trot  increases the feet tend to converge toward a center line or single track  indicating soundness, balance and stamina.  When in action, his head  and tail carriage is proud and alert; the topline remains level.

COAT

HAIR  : Short but dense to withstand rough going.

COLOR :  As the name  implies, the color is  coal black with rich  tan

markings above  eyes, on sides of  muzzle, chest, legs and  breeching,

with black pencil markings on toes.

SIZE :

Size : Measured at the shoulder           Males       63, 5 to 68,5 cm  (25 to 27 inches);

                                                    Females     58     to 63, 5 cm (23 to 25 inches).

Oversized dogs  should  not be  penalized when  general soundness  and proportion are in favor.   

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 : Excessive wrinkles.

·      Bite : Excessive deviation from scissors bite.

·      Eyes : Yellow or light eyes.

·      Ears : Ears that do  not reach the tip of nose and are set too high on the head.

·      Hindquarters : Rear dewclaws.

·      Feet : Flat or splayed feet.

·      Colour : lack of rich  tan markings, excessive areas  of tan markings, excessive black coloration. White on  chest or other parts  of body is highly undesirable.

·      Size : Undersize.

Note :  Inasmuch  as this  is a  hunting breed,  scars from  honorable

wounds shall not be considered faults.

ELIMINATING FAULTS:

·         Aggresive or overly shy.

• A solid  patch of white which extends more than one inch in any direction.

 Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B.  :  Males  should  have  two apparently  normal  testicles  fully descended into the scrotum.