Drentse Partridge Dog

FCI-Standard N° 224 / 05. 05. 2003 / GB

DRENTSCHE PARTRIDGE DOG

(Drentsche Patrijshond)

TRANSLATION :  A.H. van der Snee.

ORIGIN : The Netherlands.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 25.03.2003.

UTILIZATION : Pointing Dog.

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. :Group 7 Pointing Dogs. Section 1.2 Continental pointing dog,  Spaniel type.  With working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : In the 16th century the breed originated from the Spioenen (also called Spanjoelen) which came via France from Spain.  In the Netherlands they were called Partridge dogs.  In the eastern part of the country, especially in the province Drenthe, these dogs were kept purebred and were not mixed with foreign breeds as done elsewhere.  On the 15th of May 1943 the breed was officially recognised by the Raad van Beheer op Kynologisch Gebied in Nederland.  This was strongly promoted by Baroness Van Hardenbroek, Mr. Van Heek Jr. and Mr. Quartero.  The breed is related to a.o. the Small Münsterländer and the Epagneul Français.  The 5th of June 1948 the breedclub was founded, the Nederlandse Vereniging « De Drentsche Patrijshond ».

GENERAL APPEARANCE :  A well proportioned, dryly muscled and cleancut dog, whose body shows power and also the ability to develop the necessary speed for a gundog.  He has a wedge shaped muzzle which is a little shorter than the length of the skull and rather dry, not hanging lips.  His body is slightly longer than his height at the withers, thus slightly elongated.  The coat, though not really long on the body, looks like a long coat because of the well coated ears and the somewhat richer coat on neck and chest, the feathered front- and hind- legs, and the on all sides richly feathered, bushy tail.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : He is the ideal dog for hunting  in varying fields.  The dog hunts within range of the gun.  Keeping in touch with the hunter is apparently an innate quality. A characteristic of many dogs of the breed is that when searching the game, the tail moves in a circular motion, especially when the dog picks up the scent of game.  When approaching the game, the dog waits for the hunter  to come near; when this takes a long time, he will look back for his master.  He has the adaptability which makes him capable of hunting all sorts of game in the fields and in water.  Besides he is a good retriever and finder of lost game.  These characteristics are innate, therefore he needs little training.  Because of his gentle character, it is wrong to use forceful training methods.

The dog is loyal and intelligent which makes him, together with a good upbringing and training, a highly esteemed family pet dog as well as a valuable companion of the hunter.

HEAD

CRANIAL REGION : The skull is rather broad and only slightly rounded.  Along the middle line there is a hardly perceptible furrow from the shallow stop half-way up to the moderately developed occiput. 

Stop : Seen in profile and from the front, the skull is sloping gradually to the foreface, the cheeks tapering gradually into the foreface.  The superciliary arches are well developed.

FACIAL REGION :

Nose : The nose is well developed and brown.  The nostrils are wide open.

Muzzle : The muzzle is wedge shaped and slightly shorter than the skull,  blunt at the end, without any sign of being cut away under the eyes.  The nasal bridge is broad and neither hollow nor arched. A very light curve upwards behind the nose is allowed.  Roman nose is a serious fault.

Lips : The lips are rather thin and tightly fitting.

Jaws/Teeth : The bite is a strong  and well fitting scissor bite.

Cheeks : Moderately developed.

Eyes : The eyes are wide apart and set in such a way that they are well protected; neither protruding nor deep set.  They are of moderate size and oval shaped.  The expression shows kindness as well as the intelligence of the hunting dog.  The desired colour is amber, therefore neither dark nor the light colour of the eye of the bird of prey; the eyelids are close fitting.

Ears : Not heavy.  They are set on high; right from the set on hanging close to the head without any fold.  Drawn forward they should reach as far as 3 fingers’ breadth off the tip of the nose.  They are broad at the set on, ending in a blunted point.  The outside of the ear covered with abundant and preferably wavy hair, not curly hair.  Hair is shorter at the tip of the ears; the rim of the inside also richly feathered.

When the attention of the dog is drawn, the ears turn forward and are pulled up.  Seen from the front the ear then forms a triangle with the fold above the middle of the ear lap.  The ears are mobile, expressing different moods.

NECK : Powerful, of medium length, rather short than long and forming a flowing line between head and body.  A longer than desirable neck, giving a more elegant impression, but lacking in power, is undesirable.  Dewlap or a throaty neck are untypical for the appearance of this dryly muscled, cleancut dog and are therefore undesired.

BODY :

Topline : Smooth line from moderate long neck to the level back and loin, ending in the slightly sloping croup.

Back : Strong, of medium length, not too short, giving together with the well angulated front- and hindquarters the impression of being elongated.

Loin : Strongly muscled.

Croup : Broad and long, slightly sloping.

Chest : Deep, reaching to the elbows and rather broad in front.  The forelegs must not be hindered by too strong spring of the front ribs.  A narrow chest not reaching to the elbows is a very serious fault.  Long drawn ribcage, with the hind ribs also well developed.  Good spring of hind ribs; ribs neither flat nor barrel shaped.

Underline : Only slightly tucked up.

TAIL : Set rather high. The tail reaches the point of the hock.  The first half carried hanging and the rest in a slight curve upwards.  In action part of the tail is carried horizontally, the last part in a slight curve upwards.  Never carried over the back.  With the exception of the root, rich feathering on all sides, diminishing to the end of the tail.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS :

Shoulders and upper arm : Shoulder blade long, sloping and well laid back.  Upper arm sloping backwards, forming a good angle with the shoulder.  Seen from the front and the side the front part of the chest is well enclosed by the shoulder and upper arm, forming a whole together.

Elbows : Close to the body, neither turned outwards nor inwards, so that there is no interference with movement.

Forearm : Straight and well muscled.

Carpus (wrist) : Strong, with good bone.

Metacarpus (Pastern) : Neither turning in nor out, slightly sloping.

Forefeet : Round or oval with tight, arched, strong toes and solid pads.

HINDQUARTERS : Well developed, broad and well muscled.

Upper thigh and lower thigh : The pelvic, upper and lower thigh bones form good angles with respect to each other.  Seen from behind, the hindlegs are neither close nor wide apart, standing absolutely vertical.

Hock joints : Well let down.

Metatarus (rear pastern) : Short, neither turned in nor out.

Hind feet : Same as forefeet.

GAIT : Well extended, balanced with good drive, neither narrow nor wide in trotting, without any swinging sideways; neither elbows nor hocks turned out, inclined to single tracking.

COAT

HAIR : Dense, well covering the body.  Not curly-haired.  The coat is not really long, but gives the impression as there is long hair in different parts.  On the neck and the forechest the hair is longer; on the ears there is long, preferably wavy hair.  The ears, the backside of fore- and hindlegs, the back of the thighs are feathered.  Preferably wavy hair on the back including the tail.  Apart from the root the tail is richly covered on all sides with long hair, gradually shorter to the tip.

COLOUR : White with brown markings, with or without spots.  Less desired are dogs with a mixture of brown and white hair, with or without markings.  Less desired is a mantle.  Ears are brown, just like the hair around the eyes

SIZE   :

Height at the withers :        

Dogs : 58 to 63 cm.

Bitches : 55 to 60 cm.

One or two centimeters more is acceptable if the dog is well proportioned.

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.

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.