- Typical colour is black patches with tan markings and vivid white markings (tricolour).
- The size of the patches is not limited.
- Permissible: Lemon to golden-tan patches with no black (bicolour)
- The patterns could be of various sizes and also form a saddle.
- The black, tan, or lemon coloured patches, with or without rich tan coloured rims, contrasting well to the white.
- The white markings should be on head, on the throat and chest stretching on to the belly.
- All feet and the tip of the tail must be white.
- All colours must be as bright as possible
About the Estonian Hound
- Typical life span
- 12-15 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 20-30 kg
- Height
- Male
- 45-52 cm
- Female
- 42-49 cm
- FCI status
- Provisional
- Origin
- Estonia
- Also called
- Sabueso de Estonia
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Estonian Hound?
Medium-sized, strong-boned scent hound with short, smooth tricolor coat and sturdy build, known for its tenacity in hunting small game and stamina in Estonia's terrain
Estonian Hound history and origins
Developed in Estonia between 1947-1954 after Soviet decree mandating each republic establish a national breed. Created by crossing local hunting dogs with Beagles, Swiss hounds, and English Foxhounds to create versatile hunting dog suited to Estonian terrain under restrictive hunting laws. Officially recognized by FCI in 2019.
Estonian Hound appearance and size
Males typically stand 45-52 cm at the shoulder and females 42-49 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Scent hound used for hunting the hare, fox and lynx
- Behaviour and temperament
“Even-tempered, agile and friendly. Very well-developed sense of scent and detection of game and a pronounced passion for hunting guarantee good results in finding prey and tracking in difficult terrain. Resonant voice helps to locate the dog at long distance”
Quoted from FCI standard n°366. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Large
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Scent hound used for hunting the hare, fox and lynx” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 4 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 3 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 3 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Estonian Hound
What you get with the Estonian Hound
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Scent hound used for hunting the hare, fox and lynx”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Even-tempered, agile and friendly”
What you are taking on
Nobody has written this side yet. It is a judgement rather than data, so it waits for a person — not for a missing source.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Estonian Hound
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Coat
Moderate undercoat.
Tail is covered with even dense hair in the whole length and therefore the tail looks thick.
On tip of tail hair is somewhat shorter
- Short
- Even
- Harsh and glossy
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°366 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Estonian Hound down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Too light or too heavy in build.
- Too short or too elongated in body, high in the rear.
- Coarse in head, flat or domed skull, rounded cheeks.
- Insufficiently pigmented nose, eye- or lip rims.
- Slightly overshot bite where incisors are not in contact.
- Ears too short or too thick, set on too high, not lying close to head or covered with long hair.
- Narrow chest, flat ribcage.
- Weak topline, steep croup.
- Tail too long (reaching more than 3 cm below hocks) or too short, carried upwards from base. Splayed toes or too long feet (hare-foot).
- Clearly wavy hair, lack of undercoat.
- Overmarked with white, evident black or tan ticking on white areas
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Absence of sexual dimorphism.
- Size over the limits indicated by the standard.
- Overshot by 3 mm and more, or undershot bite.
- Eyes of different colour (heterochromia), wall eye (blue eye).
- Small, pricked or semi-pricked ears.
- Bent, or defect tail.
- Overmarked with black or tan colour, i.e. lack of white markings.
- Brown or coffee-coloured patches with liver pigmented nose
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Estonian Hound in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Estonian Hound
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Estonian Hound on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Estonian Hound owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Estonian Hound breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.