Italian Hound Short-haired

The origin of the Italian Running Dog is considered very ancient: it would be a descendant of the running dogs of ancient Egypt brought to Europe by Phoenician merchants.

The hard-coated Italian Running Dog is described in the FCI standard as bold but not very expansive in character. Italian Running Dogs are considered reserved, proud and aloof in temperament and not very expansive. Socialization from an early age is essential so that the dog does not become too shy. These are docile dogs with humans, suitable for children.

The Italian Running Dog with short hair is a medium-sized dog, of sturdy build, well-proportioned. The body fits in a square. The bone structure is well developed, the forms are dry, with muscles devoid of fat. Attached high, the tail is slender at the root and uniform along its entire length, except at its end, where it becomes very fine. The tip of the tail touches or almost reaches the point of the hock. At rest, the tail is hanging and in action, it rises to exceed the line of the back. The head is elongated, the cranio-facial longitudinal axes are divergent. The almond-shaped eyes are large and dark ochre in color. The drooping ear has a twist that carries it entirely forward. Triangular in shape, the ear is flat over almost its entire length and very wide. The end terminates in a narrow point shape. The coat is short, of stiff texture, dense, tight and uniformly smooth. Some scattered stiff hairs may be found on the trunk, on the muzzle and on the limbs. The coat is fawn with or without white, black and tan with or without white. The fawn extends over the ranges of intense red to faded fawn, never brown (coffee, liver). The fawn coat may present white on the muzzle and on the skull, a white star on the chest, on the neck, on the metacarpals, on the metatarsals, on the feet and at the tip of the tail. The black and tan can present a white star on the chest.