Porcelaine

Polish Hunting DogPosavaz Hound

Porcelaine – General Description

The Porcelaine is a breed of dog originating from France. It is believed to be the oldest of the French scent hounds. Its alternate name is the Chien de Franche-Comté, named after a French region bordering Switzerland. This caused some debate over the dog’s origin, but it has been decided that it is a French dog.

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Classification and Standards

• FCI Group 6, Section 1.2, #30
• UKC Scenthound Group

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Character & Temperament

Porcelaine’s have a very high activity level and therefore needs a lot of exercise. Because of this, they are not recommended for people living in apartments because they cannot get sufficient exercise without a lot of work on the owner’s part. Despite the Porcelaine’s being fierce hunters, they are gentle and relatively easy to handle.

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History

The Porcelaine is thought to be a descendant of the English Harrier, some of the smaller Laufhounds of Switzerland, and the now-extinct Montaimboeuf. There have been records of the breed in France since 1845 and in Switzerland since 1880. The breed actually disappeared after the French Revolution (1789-1799) but has been reconstructed. They are now attempting to become a recognized breed in the UK and there has now been 14 puppies breed in the UK. (2009)

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Size & Appearance

The Porcelaine gets its name from its shiny coat, said to make it resemble a porcelain statuette. The fur is white, sometimes with orange spots, often on the ears. The skin should be white with black mottling that is visible through the white coat. The fur is incredibly short and very fine. The nose of a Porcelaine dog is black with very wide nostrils. It also has black eyes and thin, pointy ears that droop down like a Labrador’s. The neck is long and the tail starts thick and narrows to a point at the end.

Porcelaine males range from 22 to 23 inches (56 to 58.5 cm) tall at the withers. Bitches are 21 to 22 inches (about 53.5 to 56 centimeters) tall. They weight from 55 to 62 lb (25 to 28 kg).

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Health & Maintenance

Porcelaines have no health issues specific to the breed. Of course, they suffer from general dog issues like any other breed.

The coat, due to its shortness, is very easy to care for.

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Working & Activities

The Porcelaine is a hunting dog usually used to hunt hare, roe deer, and in the north wild boar. The Porcelaines hunt in packs. Being a scent hound, it has a very good sense of smell with which it hunts. The Porcelaine is a fierce hunting dog that has been bred to hunt independently without many orders from the owner. The Porcelaine is also being bred in small numbers in Italy and used to hunt wild boar, however italian indigenous hounds continue to be the preferred choice of local hunters.

References

• Club du Porcelaine (in french) – http://clubduporcelaine.fr/
• Porcelaines in Northern Italy – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Fjz3vpFkU&feature=related
• Porcelaine on wild Boar in Northern Italy – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jWaNG5fDnM&feature=related

Photo Credits

1. Pleple2000 (Own work) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

This article is licensed (except where noted) under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article Porcelaine

Videos

Breed Standard

Porcelaine

FCI-Standard N°30 / 22.04.1997 GB

TRANSLATION : Brought up to date by Dr. Paschoud.

ORIGIN : France.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 19.10.1964.

UTILIZATION :

Scenthound.

F.C.I. CLASSIFICATION :

• Group 6 Scenthounds and related breeds.
• Section 1.2 Medium sized hounds

With working trial.

GENERAL APPEARANCE :

Hunting dog for small game ( driving game to waiting guns ), very distinguished, very French looking and showing top quality in all details of its structure.

HEAD :

Must be very typical, lean and finely sculptured ; rather long altogether.

CRANIAL REGION :

Skull : Wide at the top between the leathers, occipital protuberance rounded. The forehead is flat, with a median furrow not too much marked.
Stop : Marked, without exaggeration.

FACIAL REGION :

Nose : Well developed and very black. Nostrils well open.
Muzzle : Of good length, neither square nor pointed; the nasal bridge, at first straight, ends very slightly arched.
Lips : The upper lip covers the lower without being drooping or thick. Mucous membranes black.
Eyes : Normally developed, dark in appearance, well sheltered under the superciliary arches. Expression intelligent and sweet.
Leathers : Leather thin, well curled inwards, ending rather in a point, reaching the end of the muzzle. Set on narrow, never above the line of the eye.

NECK :

Fairly long, light, showing a little dewlap of tense and lean appearance.

BODY

Back : Withers well prominent, back broad and straight.
Loins : Wide, very muscular, well coupled, not excessive in length.
Croup : Slightly slanting; haunches placed well apart and slightly prominent.
Chest : Average width, but deep.
Ribs : Corresponding to the chest described above, rather long without being flat.
Flanks : Slightly tucked up, but full.

TAIL :

Well attached, fairly strong at the root, thinning at the tip, of average length. Without any longer and coarser, slightly offstanding hairs ( like ears of grain ). Carried slightly curved.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS :

Forelegs fairly long, lean but not too fine; straight and parallel; tendons well attached.
Shoulders : Constructed for gallop, long, well sloping, well muscled without being heavy.
Feet : Typical for a French hound, with rather elongated and fine but tight toes; pads hard and tough.

HINDQUARTERS

Thighs : Well descending; muscles very apparent and clean; of moderately strong development.
Hocks : Strong and well let down, normally angulated.

GAIT/MOVEMENT :

Lively and gay; gallop light and tireless.

SKIN :

Fine and supple, marbled with numerous black spots.

COAT

HAIR :

Smooth, thin, close lying and shining ; without bare patches.

COLOR :

Very white, with roundish orange spots, never extended to a mantle. These spots usually superimpose other black pigmented spots of the skin. Orange ticking on the ears is highly characteristic of the breed.

SIZE :

Height :For maless between 55 and 58 cm( 22 to 23,5 inches)
For females between 53 and 56 cm( 21,5 to 22,5 inches)

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 and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

ELIMINATING FAULTS :

• Aggressive or overly shy.
• Lack of type.
• Eyes or nose light; excessive lack of pigment.
• Tail furnished with some longer and coarser, slightly offstanding hairs ( like ears of grain).
• Coat harsh and thick.
• Orange mantle.
• Orange spots too bright, tending to mahogany, greyish or mingled with black hairs. Distinct orange spots but too pale, and even the absence of spots are not sought after, but are not considered as a eliminatory fault.
• Excess or lack of height at withers. An exception may be made for males which, excelling in their quality and therefore capable of being used at stud, reach the maximum height of 60 cm (24 inches).
• Any fault affecting the utilization of the dog, as rickets, lack of a correct stance, insufficient reach of the movement.

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

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

© Fédération Cynologique Internationale