Istrian Hound Wirehaired

The history of the Istrian Rough-Coated Hound is intertwined with that of the smooth-coated variety. It is certainly an old type, although its exact origin is unknown. The Istrian Rough-Coated Hound is less represented and described than the smooth-haired variety, because of the stiff hair generally less appreciated and attractive in iconography. This scent hound is extensively described by B. Laska under the name "barbini" in 1896 and 1905: these dogs were bought in Istria in the Buzet and Pazin regions. The breed nearly disappeared during World War I. As early as 1924, these dogs were registered in the Croatian stud book and the breed was recognized by the International Cynological Federation in 1948. The first standard was published in 1969.

The FCI standard of the breed describes the Istrian Rough-Coated Hound as a sweet, docile, calm dog very attached to its master. It is a dog of balanced temperament, very passionate about hunting.

The Istrian Rough-Coated Hound is a medium-sized dog, with a robust body endowed with solid bone structure. Set fairly high, the strong tail is carried low with a slight upward curve and reaches the hock. The head is oblong with bushy eyebrows. The ears are not very thick and covered with shorter hair. Medium-long to long, they hang applied against the cheeks and widen toward the middle to end with a rounded tip. The eyes are large and dark in color with a dark expression. They are topped by bushy eyebrows. The guard hair is hard, 5 to 10 cm long, matte, stiff and straight. The undercoat is abundant and short, especially in winter. The coat color is snow white with yellow-orange markings. The ears are usually orange or orange-spotted. The forehead often bears a star-shaped patch. More or less extensive orange spots or speckles of the same color can be present all over the body, most often at the base of the tail. These markings should not be too numerous and extensive so as to overpower the white background.