Skip to content

About the Drever

Origin: Sweden
Typical life span
12-15 years
Size
Medium — from its typical weight
Weight
14-18 kg
Height
30-38 cm
FCI status
Recognised by FCI
FCI group
Scent hounds and related breeds
Origin
Sweden
Also called
Perro Tejonero Sueco
Known hereditary risks
Not researched yet

About

What is a Drever?

Short-legged, long-bodied Swedish scent hound with distinctive white markings, known for endurance, keen nose, and even-tempered nature. Built for tracking deer and game over difficult terrain with robust, agile construction.

Drever history and origins

Developed in early 20th century Sweden from German Westphalian Dachsbracke imported around 1910, refined to be slower and better suited for driving deer toward hunters. Name 'Drever' officially adopted in 1947 by Swedish Kennel Club.

Drever appearance and size

Typically 14-18 kg and 30-38 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.

What the breed standard says

Bred for
Scenthound
Behaviour and temperament
Keen and even-tempered hound. Never aggressive, nervous or shy

Quoted from FCI standard n°130. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.

Breed reference from The Dog API.

Characteristics

Size
Medium
Exercise needs
4 of 5
Easy to train
Amount of shedding
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 Drever

What you get with the Drever

  • Purpose stated in the standard: “Scenthound”
  • The standard describes the breed as: “Keen and even-tempered hound. Never aggressive, nervous or shy”

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 · Drever

Coat and colour

As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged preferred and permissible.

Coat

Harsh, straight and lying close to body.

On head, ears and lower part of legs coat should be shorter.

On neck, back and backside of thighs coat should be longer.

On underside of tail bushy but not forming a fringe

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.

  • Permissible: All colours with white markings
  • Not is predominant white, merle or liver brown
  • Colours should be very well defined.
  • White markings should be visible from all angles and shall preferably be in form of a blaze, a full necklace, on legs, feet and tip of tail.
  • Preferred: Symmetrical markings

Shortened from FCI standard n°130 — 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 breed standard says

Size
Height at the withers: Males: Ideal size 35 cm with a permitted variation of 32–38 cm. Females: Ideal size 33 cm with a permitted variation of 30–36 cm
FCI distinguishes an ideal from what is permitted.

Quoted from FCI standard n°130. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.

What the standard penalises

What a judge marks the Drever 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 low on legs.
  • Narrow lower jaw.
  • Sway back. Roach back.
  • Bandy front fore legs.
  • Feet turning in or out

Disqualifying faults

Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.

  • One or both eyes blue.
  • Pronounced over- or undershot bite.
  • Faulty position of one or both canines of the lower jaw which, (when the mouth is shut, can damage the upper gums or the (palate.
  • Kinked or otherwise deformed tail.
  • Predominant white coat, merle or liver brown colour.
  • Under- or oversized

FCI standard n°130

Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Drever in general; any individual animal can differ.

Health guide

What to ask for in a Drever

No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Drever 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.

Puppies

No puppies listed right now

No Drever 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.

Sections