Page 264 - Showsight April 2013

short head. The upper lip when viewed
from the side should make a right
angle. This is more important in the
dog hound; you always want a strong
masculine head on a dog hound. The
bitch should be feminine. The eyes,
large, soft and dark, must have an
intelligent expression.
Now to the crowning glory: the ears.
The ear should reach the nose, but don’t
scalp a hound in the process of measur-
ing the length. Most important is the
placement of the ear; it should be just
below a line horizontal from the corner
of the eye back. The ears should hang
as draped in folds like rich, velvet. The
ears should NEVER, NEVER APPEAR
LIKE A SHINGLE TACKED TO
THE HEAD.
The neck should be long and spring
upward and forward. While running,
the neck is well extended. Throatiness
is like a dowager’s double chin: most
undesirable. Always check for this.
The Topline is NOT LEVEL—there
should be a slight rise over the LOIN.
This should never be confused with
a roached or “wheel” back, which is
most undesirable.
The underline of the hound is a
graceful curve from the deep chest,
which gives room for lungs and heart.
Remember that the hound needs lung
space for the endurance needed to hunt
4 to 8 hours or even longer. The stern,
as the tail is called, is the finish of the
topline. It should never be stuck upright
on the back. Rather the stern leaves in
a horizontal curve upward. The amount
of the curve may differ, but the tail
should never be carried over the back.
The tail is strong and tapers uniformly
from the root to the tip. The tail can
differ in the amount of hair. Some Fox-
hounds carry more than others, and as
long as it is not longhaired like a Setter
or a rat tail, it is fine. You also want a
shelf just behind the tail.
Now we get to the foundation of the
hound his legs and feet. The legs are
straight from elbow to pastern but must
have sufficient bone: never weedy, but
NEVER large and over done as Robert
Smith has declared on many occasions:
strength and substance—not lumber.
A Foxhound must be able to negotiate
timber, woven wire fences and be able to
walk the top rail or stone walls. He can
do this because of his fox-like foot. It is
not a hare foot and not a cat foot. The
fox-like foot allows a hound to hunt in
rocks and bound over fields. You want
a good thick pad and well-arched toes.
The foot of the Foxhound should be
like that of the fox: strong and closely
knit, but with sufficiently f lexible toes
to give spring to the toes. With this
f lexibility, they will not go lame. I have
personally seen a young Trigg Bitch
come home after 3 days and 3 nights of
hunting bear in the mountains of Vir-
ginia—tired, walking on tip toes and
sore, but not lame. WITHOUT PROP-
ER FEET, YOU DO NOT HAVE AN
AMERICAN FOXHOUND.
Never worry about size, a small or
large hound as long as you have balance
and symmetry, it is fine. Never, ever judge
on COLOR; a good hound can not be a
bad color.
Now onto GAIT. Our standard does
not mention gait; however, it is most
important and it follows SYMMETRY.
THE GAIT IS THAT OF A WORK-
ING HOUND. Good reach and drive
are essential. Never forget, the hind legs
must be strong, never weak and never
straight. A good hound must be light
on his feet have great reach and drive.
You can have this only if the hound is
symmetrical in conformation. Without
this, speed and good movement become
mechanically impossible.
What was spoken of over a century
ago, as how to become a good American
Foxhound judge, is true today. “Read,
study and observe closely for twenty
years and then ask.”
“GOOD REACH
AND DRIvE ARE
EssENTIAl.”
“Without proper feet,
you do not have an
AMERICAN FOXHOUND.”
264 • ShowSight Magazine, April 2013