Istrian Hound Short-haired

It is certainly an ancient type, although the exact origin remains unknown. Dogs resembling the Istrian Shorthaired Hound are depicted in frescoes (for example in the 15th century chapel dedicated to Saint Mary at Beram), paintings and chronicles from the 18th century. The first entries in the stud book date from 1924. The breed is recognized by the International Cynological Federation in 1949 and the first standard is published in 1973. The Istrian Shorthaired Hound is a frequently encountered dog in Istria and in the surrounding regions of Croatia where it has the reputation of being an excellent hunting dog. The history of the Istrian Shorthaired Hound is intertwined with that of the wirehaired variety.

The FCI breed standard describes the Istrian Shorthaired Hound as gentle, docile, calm and very attached to its master. The temperament is marked by its liveliness and passion for hunting.

The Istrian Shorthaired Hound is a medium-sized running dog, with a flexible body of noble appearance. The fine tail is carried slightly curved in the shape of a saber. The head is long, narrow and dry. Oval in shape, the eyes are as dark as possible. The fine ears, long or medium-long, are set wide slightly above the line of the eye. They become narrower towards their tip. It has short, fine, dense and glossy hair. The coat is sometimes longer on the posterior faces of the thighs and on the underside of the tail, but this is not a desired characteristic. The coat is snow white, marked with orange-yellow spots. The ears are orange colored; the color forms a characteristic mask that extends beyond the base of the ears and covers both sides of the forehead up to the level of the eyes. The upper part of the forehead may have an orange star. Orange-yellow spots of various shapes and sizes may be found on any part of the body, but most often, at the base of the tail. The coat may be uniformly white without any spots.