PPHARAOH HOUND PHPPARAOH HOUND


 

SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT PHARAOH HOUND

text Annica Lundqvist-Hemström & Monica Lundqvist
Published in Scandinavian Sighthounds 2004

When first asked to describe the "perfect" Pharaoh Hound from a breeders point of view all the little details came to mind. Giving it a second thought, we realized the overall impression must be the thing to start with

The move from group ten to group five has slightly changed the longlined sighthound towards a more average, square shaped kind of dog. The body shape of a Pharaoh hound should be one of a slightly longer than tall dog. The Pharaoh hound shall give the impression of a strong dog but yet a very elegant dog. As this is a galloping breed it is important to have well sprung ribs allowing enough space for heart and lung room.

One should also pay a great deal of attention to the rear as it is from the rear the power in galloping will come. The top line will be almost straight with the nescessary slight arch over the loin and a moderate tuckup is called for.

In the front construction we are looking for long, well laid back shoulders and a long upperarm with the elbows well set under and close to the body. They should have a well developed forechest but not appear to be heavy in front, the breastbone should be clearly visible.

The appearence of the front has been described as the dog is standing over its front rather than on its front. If you give it a thought, those words give the key towards the balance in the overall impression. There should of course be a well angulated front on the Pharaoh hound but to be correct a bit more of an open angel compered to so many of our other breeds. The front angulation should make the Pharaoh hound stand proud. Not at all like a lot of the working dogs with a much heavier and more angulated front where the whole dog seem to lean totally on his front.

On the Pharaoh hound the strongest part should be the rear, but of course front and rear must be in balance with each other. In the rear one must look for good strong well developed upper and second thigh. Both upper and second thigh should be of equal lengh and in harmony with each other.

The standard calls for a moderate bend of stifle but for an agile fast running dog, like the Pharaoh hound, It is important for good rear angulation to support the knee construction while running. Too straight rear angulation has caused some problems with slipping patellas in the breed, but mainly in the past. The rear is nothing without a good and generous croup to support it, long and wide, neighter too flat noor too steep, like the English like to say "there shall be something behind the butt"

Strong bones are nescessary and highly desirable as this is so important in the overall balance. Keeping the Pharaoh hound powerful yet graceful as the breed is described in the standard.

The headpiece should have absolute parallell headplanes and slightly longer foreface than skull with a slight stop. The underjaw should be well developed and strong. The head should be clean and refined when viewed from both the side and front on. Sometimes a too broad skull, cheekiness or a downhill foreface will appear and this is not desirable. Full dentition of course and the Pharaoh hound shall have large teeth and scissor bite.


Ears should be large and wide, preferably placed ten to two o´clock, when viewed from the sidethe ear will form a nice S-curve with the top of the ear pointing slightly backwards. To get the right expression a well visible eyebrow "wrinkle" is important as well as some wrinkling in the skull between the ears. The eye should be almond shape and the eyelid will form almost a triangular shape when the Pharaoh hound is alert. The eyes should not be round or slanted "chinese" looking.The eyes shall be placed in front of the face not on the side of the head.

The neck should be well arched, long and clean, flowing smothly into the shoulders. The tail should be set fairly high and reach to the point of hock when relaxed. On the move the tail should be a natural extension of the topline and carried fairly haigh forming a smoth curve. A white tip to the tail is highly desirable as it was used for the farmer to locate the hunting Pharaoh hound in the rocky terrain of Malta. Usually they were out hunting at dusk or dawn.

The Pharaoh hound on the move should give the impression of a proud dog with head and tail carried fairly high. He should move without effort, smoth and easy. Correct Pharaoh hound movement is rarly seen. One should look for a long sidegate so that the hound covers a lot of ground. Frontleg extending out and with a low "daisycutting" action. Not even the slightest tendency towards hackney should be tolerated. A good croup will provide that the hindlegs can be fully stretched out behind the dog.

To give the desirable smoth and almost catlike movement in the Pharaoh hound he must use his knees as well Viewed in front and from behind the legs should be absolutly parallell any tendency to throw the legs sideways is highly undesirable. To support good movement one should keep in mind the influence the body length has on the movement as a longer body provide more space for a longer stride.

Coat, colour and white markings are of minor importance to a truly good Pharaoh hound - as long as the dog is even and solid in colour and the overall impression is of a clean appearence throughout. In the early days coats sometimes appeared to be rather harsh and sometimes with slight feathering. This is not tolerated nowdays.

Roman mosaic from anicent city of Chartage,800 BC, Tunisia.
Interesting is that Carthage became the undisputed center of Phoenician civilization during this time.
While visiting the museum of Bardo in Tunisia, 2004, we could see several beautiful mosaic
picturing hounds very similar to our Pharaoh hounds of today.

 

 


 

The breed standard

Breed Standard General Appearance: Medium-sized, of noble bearing with clean-cut lines. Graceful yet powerful. Very fast with free, easy movement and alert expression.

Characteristics: An alert keen hunter, hunting by scent and sight using it's ears to a marked degree when working close.

Temperament: Alert, intelligent, friendly, affectionate and playful.


Head and Skull: Skull long, lean and well chiselled. Foreface slightly longer than skull. Only slight stop. Top of skull parallel with foreface, whole head representing a blunt wedge when viewed in profile and from above.

Eyes: Amber-coloured, blending with the coat; oval, moderately deep-set, with keen, intelligent expression.

Ears: Medium high set; carried erect when alert, but very mobile; broad at base, fine and large.

Mouth: Powerful jaws with strong teeth. Scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Nose: Flesh-coloured only, blending with coat.

Neck: Long, lean, muscular and slightly arched. Clean throat line.

Forequarters: Shoulders strong, long and well laid back. Forelegs straight and powerful. Elbows well tucked in. Pasterns strong.

Body: Lithe with almost straight topline. Slight slope down from croup to root of tail. Deep brisket extending down to point of elbow. Ribs well sprung. Moderate cut up. Length of body from breast to haunch bone slightly longer than haight at withers.

Hindquarters: Strong and muscular. Moderate bend of stifle. Well developed second thigh. Limbs parallel when viewed from behind.

Feet: Strong, well knuckled and firm, turning neither in nor out. Paws well padded. Dewclaws may be removed.

Tail: Medium set - fairly thick at the base and tapering (whip-like), reaching just below the point of hock in repose. Carried high and curved when dog is in action. Tail should not be tucked between the legs. A screw tail is undesirable.

Gait/Movement: Free and flowing; head held fairly high and dog should cover the ground with no apparent effort. Legs and feet should move in line with the body; any tendancy to throw feet sideways, or high stepping 'hackney' action highly undesirable.

Coat: Short and glossy, ranging from fine and close to slightly harsh; no feathering.

Colour: Tan or rich tan with white markings allowed as follows: white tip on tail strongly desired. White on chest (called 'The Star'). White on toes. Slim white blaze on centre line of face permissible. Flecking or white other than above undesirable.

Size: Height: dogs: ideally 56 cms ( 22 - 25 ins); bitches: ideally 53 cms (21 - 24 ins).

Faults: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to it's degree.

Note: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scotum.