Italian Hound Long-haired

The origins of the Italian Rough-Coated Hound are considered very ancient: it is believed to be a descendant of the running dogs of ancient Egypt brought to Europe by Phoenician traders. In a Lombard necropolis in the province of Verona, two dog skeletons have a conformation identical to that of the modern Italian Rough-Coated Hound. The breed has been depicted in numerous paintings and sculptures since the Renaissance.

The Italian Rough-Coated Hound is described in the FCI standard as ardent and passionate. It is considered more reserved, calm, and composed during work than the Italian Smooth-Coated Hound. Italian Hounds are considered to have a reserved, proud, and aloof temperament and are not very demonstrative. Socialization from an early age is essential to prevent the dog from becoming too timid. These are docile dogs with people, which are suitable for children.

The Italian Rough-Coated Hound is a medium-sized hound of balanced construction, with a body that fits within a square. The forms are lean, well-muscled, and free from fat. The tail, set high on the croup line, thicker at the root than that of the Italian Smooth-Coated Hound, is covered with hair along its entire length without forming fringes. At rest, it hangs like a saber. In action, it rises without exceeding the height of the back, lashes from left to right brushing the flanks, or performs occasional rotational movements. Elongated in shape, the head presents a skull in the form of an elongated ellipse. The stop is slightly marked. The large eyes are dark ochre in color. Set at the level of the zygomatic arch, the drooping ears are triangular in shape, flat over most of their length and very wide. They taper to a sharp point. The coat is rough, except on the head, ears, limbs, tail, and muzzle. On the trunk, the coat length should not exceed five centimeters. The coat forms a beard and eyebrows on the face without interfering with vision. Accepted colors are solid fawn and black and tan. Fawn shades range from dark red fawn to charred fawn and light fawn. For fawn-colored coats, white markings may appear on the muzzle and skull, as a white star on the chest, white on the neck, on the metacarpals and metatarsals, on the feet, and at the tip of the tail. The black and tan coat admits only a white star on the chest.