Black and Tan Coonhound Breed Magazine - Showsight

JUDGING THE BLACK AND TAN COONHOUND

“COLOR AND MARKINGS ARE GIVEN CONSIDERABLE LATITUDE, RANGING FROM A VERY DEEP MAHOGANY TO A LIGHTER, CLEARER TAN.”

we want to see an “almost round” and “not deeply set” eye, ranging in color from hazel to dark brown. No mention or reference is made as to the presence of visible haw or lack thereof, although most hunters would prefer a hound without a drooping haw for simple eye maintenance reasons. The head is cleanly modeled and the muzzle and skull should form equal parts, creating a balanced picture. The stop is moderate, and in profile, displays practically paral- lel planes between skull and muzzle. The skull forms an oval outline, and I interpret this as when viewing the skull from above. Common head faults include broad, coarse heads and deep, chiseled stops, often going hand in hand with high set, short ears. Color and markings are given consider- able latitude, ranging from a very deep mahogany to a lighter, clearer tan. Hounds completely lacking in markings where called for are to be faulted, as are hounds with excessive amounts of tan, most often seen running high up the legs, complete- ly covering the feet, and presenting as a solid broad patch of tan across the chest

or across the bridge of the nose. Hounds lacking the correct markings are most often seen on the head or face through the absence of “pumpkinseeds” over the eyes or missing in other areas. A unique feature of markings includes “black pencil mark- ings on the toes.” Our only DQ is a “Solid patch of white which extends more than one inch in any direction.” It is important to note that scars resulting from honorable wounds are not to be faulted and that the resultant hair growth in these areas typi- cally grows back white. Another area where a fair degree of latitude is given is size. Our standard calls for bitches to be from 23-25" at the with- ers and dogs 25-27". However, we do not penalize hounds that are oversized when general soundness and proportion are in favor. We do, however, penalize undersize. North America is a very big landmass, with a vast multitude of terrain and conditions. This has resulted in hunters preferring a larger or smaller hound to pursue the game they are hunting. Our standard takes this into consideration and allows for it.

In summary, overall proportion calls for a hound that is equal in size from the withers to the ground as it is from the point of shoulder to the buttocks, or slightly longer. Taking into consideration the resulting outline, given proper angu- lation (bend of stifle behind, presence of forechest in the front), we see a slightly off- square profile of a hound that “stands over plenty of ground.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robert Urban has been around hunting hounds since he was a youngster. He has been active with AKC Black and Tans since 1981. He is a Life Member of the American Black and

Tan Coonhound Club and has served on the Judges Education Committee since 1990. He also serves as the Club’s AKC Delegate.

“HOWEVER, WE DO NOT PENALIZE HOUNDS WHICH ARE OVERSIZED WHEN GENERAL SOUNDNESS AND PROPORTION ARE IN FAVOR. WE DO HOWEVER, PENALIZE UNDERSIZE.”

SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2021 | 223

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