Page 272 - Showsight April 2013

be approached from above. They should
be approached with confidence and the
first hands-on contact should be under
the chin. This will normally put the dog
at ease and facilitate the remainder of the
examination.
The Pharaoh Hound eye should be
amber and oval shaped. It should blend
with the coat. Their expression should be
that of intelligence, alertness and curiosity.
Muzzles should be relatively equal
to length of the skull. This is a breed
that experiences a large variation in age
when it comes to the graying factor. You
will see many young dogs already start-
ing to gray as well as older dogs without
a gray hair. This should not play a part
in evaluating the animal. Ears should be
erect and f lexible; being neither overly
upright nor tipping off from the side of
the head.
The Pharaoh Hound standard does
not require full dentition. With that
said, missing teeth are undesirable. It
is not uncommon to encounter miss-
ing pre-molars. Anything more should
be noted and considered when making
final decisions. A scissors bite is called
for; anything else should be considered
a fault.
The under jaw should be strong and
well defined. Lack of under jaw pro-
duces a snippy appearance and detracts
from the overall symmetry of the head.
A strong under jaw is important when it
comes to hunting and taking down prey.
The chest should reach almost to the
point of elbow. Past that point would
interfere with the turning ability of a
hound in pursuit of prey.
This is a breed that for centuries has
hunted in rough, rocky terrain. Bone
should be substantial enough to with-
stand this activity with ease. Slight
boned like a Whippet or heavy bone like
a Doberman would not serve the Pha-
raoh Hound well. There is no measur-
ing in or out in this breed; however, an
exceptionally tall or exceptionally small
dog should be penalized. This is a medi-
um sized breed. Above all else, balance
should be maintained.
When moving the hand from the
neck to the rear, you should not encoun-
ter any bulges or hard angles. The hand
should be able to move smoothly from
front to rear.
Down, Back & Around, Please
Like any natural athlete, the Pharaoh
Hound should cover ground efficiently
without effort. Reach and drive should
be equal. You should not see pounding
or hackney-type lift.
The tail can be carried high or low,
but should never be so high it tends to
curl towards the back.
The length of the Pharaoh Hound
body should be “slightly” longer than
it is tall. Too square or too long takes
away from the overall balance of the
dog. Coming at you, elbows should be
well tucked into the body without any
sloppiness. The Pharaoh Hound should
move parallel and single tracking is
not desirable.
Although the only disqualifying
white is on the back of the neck, back
or sides, excessive white in undesirable.
On the down and back, if you notice the
white, then it’s probably excessive and
should play a part in your final decisions.
This breed is a truly versatile animal.
Breeders/owners take great pride in the
fact that a large majority of specials are
Dual Champions—excelling both in the
show ring and on the field.
The dog you judge in the confor-
mation ring will likely be the same
dog entered in lure coursing later in
the day.
The activities available to owners of
the Pharaoh Hound are unlimited. There
are several agility superstars, therapy
dogs, fly ball competitors, herding tested
dogs, rally obedience participants and
most recently, nose work contenders. The
breed also boasts the first two Federally
licensed first response Pharaoh Hounds,
as well as multiple AKC National Invita-
tional Lure Coursing winners. As I said
in the beginning—a lot of dog in a plain
brown wrapper.
“ThE AcTIvITIEs AvAILABLE TO
OWNERs OF ThE PhARAOh hOuND
ARE uNLImITED.
There are several agility superstars, therapy
dogs, fly ball competitors, herding tested dogs,
rally obedience participants and most recently,
nose work contenders.”
272 • ShowSight Magazine, April 2013