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Istrian Hounds
(FCI-Standards No. 151b, 152b)
 The biggest contribution to the development of the breed and to its international
recognition was made by Dr Ivan Lovrenčič, who created the modern Istrian Rough-coated
Hound by crossing the Istrian Smooth-coated Hound with the French Griffon Vendeen.
The Istrian Hound was described in a professional text for the first time
in 1894 in Die Hunderassen by H:V. Bylandt, which contained a picture of four Istrian
Hounds. In the Oesterreichisches kynologisches Jabrbuch 1897, an Austro-Hungarian colonel
called F.B. Laska supplied a wonderful description of the Istrian Hound known for its
boundless tenacity and great passion for hunting; for being highly obedient and devoted
and more popular than the Austrian hounds. In 1933, H. Zimmermann in Das Lexikon der Hunde
freunde describes the Istrian Hound, calling it the Krainer Braken and praises Dr
Lovrenčič as the protector of the breed: The first Istrian Smooth-coated Hound entered
in the register of breeds (which was Yugoslav at the time) was Vit, JRB 18, bred by Dako
Makar of Metlika and owned by Matevž Hoegler of Struga.
The first Istrian Rough-coated Hound to be entered in the register of breeds was Burin,
JRB 3, bred and owned by Dr Lovrenčič. The breed characteristics of the Istrian
Rough-coated Hound were first published in the JKLB brochure, published in 1939.
The Istrian Hounds were first exhibited in Vienna in 1866, listed in the catalogue
under this name. They were exhibited by a Slovene dog-breeder, hunter and the owner of
Bistra Castle, Karl Galle. The first Yugoslav register of breeds, published in 1938 in
Ljubljana, shows that of the 118 registered Istrian Smooth-coated Hounds only 5 lived
outside Slovenia (two in Karlovac, two in Zagreb, one in Korčula) and even of these one
came from Slovenia (the Podgora kennels); the origins of the other four were unknown.
The biggest and the most important kennels at the time were:
 the Podgora (Dr Ivan Lovrenčič,
Vrhnika),- Sodraška (Adolf Ivanc, Sodražica),
- Struška (Dr Janko Lavrič, Ribnica) and
- Grosupeljska (Pavel Fabiani, Ljubljana).
There were 75 registered Istrian Rough-coated Hounds, all of them originating from the
Podgora kennels. The two largest kennels for the Istrian Rough-coated Hounds were the
Podgora (Dr Lovrenčič, Vrhnika) and Smlednik (Baron Henrik Lazzarini, Smlednik). While
the number of Istrian Hounds in the register of breeds (JRB) in 1928 was 142, it had
already swelled to 183 by 1939. In 1938, the breed characteristics of the Istrian
Smoothcoated and Rough-coated Hounds were described and submitted to the Yugoslav Canine
Federation. Today there are 5503 Istrian Smooth-coated and 1793 Istrian Rough-coated
Hounds registered.
General appearance and characteristics:
The defining characteristic of Istrian hounds is the head-shape which decides how
typical the animal is. The head has to be pear-shaped, neither too rounded nor too flat in
the forehead, the jowls must not be prominent while the parietal protuberance must be
pronounced. The head should not be too deep nor too flat from the sides and may not
resemble that of a pointer or even less so of a setter. In essence the two varieties of
Istrian Hound are identical (with the exception of the coat) only that the rough-coated
variety is slightly taller (by 2 cm) and more strongly built (including the head) than the
smooth-coated variety.
(Click to enlarge)
 The Istrian Smooth-coated Hound
(FCIStandard No. 151b):
A slender dog, of snowy-white base colour with yellowish-orange markings, short, firm
coat, fairly narrow head, slightly wider in the forehead, with serene expression and
moderate stop.
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(click to enlarge)
 The Istrian Rough-coated Hound
(FCI-Standard No. 152b):
A
a medium-sized hound, of snowy white base colour with yellowish-orange markings, medium
length, wiry, hard topcoat; bushy eyebrows give the eyes a serious, at times even
melancholy, expression, the head is relatively strong, wider in the forehead and narrowing
towards the eye, with moderate stop.
- The nose is black or at least dark-brown
- The ears are set wide, slightly above the
eyeline and hang flat against the jowl
- The head is 20 to 24 cm long
- Teeth: scissor-bite, dentition perfect. An
excellent hound, especially for fox and rabbit hunting, it also makes a good blood-trail
follower
- Height at the withers: 46 to 5$ cm, the
ideal being 52 cm for males and 50 cm for females
- Weight: 16 to 24 kg
- Length: height plus 10 percent
The Istrian Rough-coated Hound - stamp
57 SIT
Hound is a hound of medium weight and of snowy-white base colour with
yellowish orange markings. It has medium length, wiry, hard topcoat and
bushy eyebrows. The head is relatively strong, wider in the forehead and
narrowing towards the eyes, with moderate stop. The ears are set wide,
slightly above the eye line and hang flat against the jowl. The head is
20-24cms long. Teeth: scissor bite, dentition perfect. An excellent hound,
especially for fox and rabbit hunting. It also makes a good blood trail
follower. It is slightly taller than the smooth-coated variety. Height at
the withers: 46-58cms (The ideal height ? dogs: 52cm; bitches: 50cm). The
hounds attain weight of 16-24kgs. Their body length exceeds their height
by 10%. The biggest contribution to the development of the breed and to
its international recognition was made by Dr. Lovrenčič who created the
modern Istrian Rough-coated Hound by crossing the Istrian Smooth-coated
Hound with the French Griffon Vendeen. The first Istrian Smooth- coated
Hound entered in the register of breeds was Vit bred by Dako Mlakar of
Metlika and owned by Matevž Hoegler of Struga. The first Istrian
Rough-coated Hound to be entered in the register of breeds was Burin bred
and owned by Dr. Lovrenčič. The Istrian Hounds were first exhibited in
Vienna in 1866 listed in the catalogue under this name. They were
exhibited by the Slovenian dog breeder, hunter and owner of Bistra Castle
Karl Galle. |
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Related hounds
The Posavec Hound - stamp 49 SIT
The origin and history of the Posavec Hound are closely related to those
of the Istrian Hound. A prominent Slovenian dog expert, Dr. Lovrenčič,
stated in his 1949 paper that apart from the Istrian Hound there were
quite a few other types of hound in Istria which in appearance seem to
have resembled today's Posavec. The Posavec was first referred to as the
Karst Hound. At the 1948 FCI Convention at Bled it was internationally
recognised as the Posavec Hound. The Posavec Hound is a sturdy,
medium-sized hound of reddish-brown, wheatish-yellow or fawn colouring,
often with a white collar and white patch on the breast, down the middle
of the head, on the lower section of the feet and on the tail tip. The
head is of medium length (20- 24cms) with a slightly protuberant forehead
and moderate stop. Teeth: scissor-bite, dentition perfect. The ears are
set wide, slightly above the eye line. They hang flat against the jowls
and are rounded at the ends. Height at the withers: 46-58cms (The ideal
height ? dogs: 50cm; bitches: 48cms). The Posavec hounds attain weight of
16-24kgs. Their body length exceeds their height by 11-13%.
Sources:
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The Istrian Rough-coated Hound
