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About the Swiss Hound

Origin: Switzerland
FCI status
Recognised by FCI
FCI group
Scent hounds and related breeds
Origin
Switzerland
Also called
Sabueso Suizo
Known hereditary risks
Not researched yet

About

What the breed standard says

Bred for
Hunting dog used for hunting the hare, the roedeer, the fox and sometimes the boar. He hunts in an independent manner giving tongue. Even on difficult terrains, searches and hunts with great determination
Behaviour and temperament
Lively and passionately keen on hunting, sensitive, docile and very attached to his master

Quoted from FCI standard n°59. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.

Characteristics

Size
Exercise needs
4 of 5
Easy to train
Amount of shedding
Grooming needs
2 of 5
Good with children
Cost to keep
Tolerates being alone
Intelligence
Health of breed
Not researched yet

Pros & cons

Pros & cons for the Swiss Hound

What you get with the Swiss Hound

  • Purpose stated in the standard: “Hunting dog used for hunting the hare, the roedeer, the fox and sometimes the boar”
  • The standard describes the breed as: “Lively and passionately keen on hunting, sensitive, docile and very attached to his master”
  • Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Short; smooth and dense, very fine on head and leathers”

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 · Swiss Hound

Coat and colour

As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.

Coat

Short

smooth and dense, very fine on head and leathers

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.

• Bernese Hound

Base colour

White with black patches or black saddle

  • with light to dark tan markings over the eyes, on the cheeks, the inside of the leathers and around the vent
  • the white sometimes with very slight black ticking.
  • Jura Hound : Tan with black blanket, sometimes with black overlay
  • or black with tan markings over the eyes, on the cheeks, around the vent and on the legs
  • sometimes with a small white patch on the chest which may be slightly speckled (black or grey ticking). • • Lucerne Hound : “Blue” resulting from a combination of back hairs and white hairs, very heavily speckled
  • with black patches or black saddle
  • with light to dark tan markings above the eyes, on the cheeks, on the chest, around the vent and on the legs
  • A black blanket. • Schwyz Hound: White with orange patches or orange saddle
  • the white sometimes with very slight orange ticking
  • An orange blanket

Shortened from FCI standard n°59 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.

FCI varieties

FCI divides the Swiss Hound into these varieties, listed in the registry's own words. Depending on the breed they separate colour, coat, size or line — they are not a full list of colours, which no registry we hold publishes. Ask a breeder which variety their line is.

  • Bernese Hound
  • Jura Hound
  • Lucerne Hound
  • Schwyz Hound

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

Health guide

What to ask for in a Swiss Hound

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

Puppies

No puppies listed right now

No Swiss 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.

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