“Viewed in profile the foreface should have a square outline, not pointed or snipey.
THE CORRECT HEAD IS TRULY ARISTOCRATIC, the back skull a pointed oval, never round, broad, or coarse.”
Unfortunately, in today’s hounds there is a distressing prevalence of reced- ing back skulls. When the back skull falls away, there can be neither paral- lel planes nor pronounced occipital peak. Th e length of the muzzle should not be less than that from the stop to the occipital peak, which should be very pronounced. Viewed in profile the foreface should have a square out- line, not pointed or snipey. Th e correct head is truly aristocratic, the back skull a pointed oval, never round, broad, or coarse. Th e eyelids form a diamond shaped eye. A round eye creates a bold look, not the characteristic sad, pleading hound expression. A red haw should not be penalized as long as the eye looks healthy. Th e eyes complement the color of the dog, ranging from dark brown or hazel to yellow in liver and tans. Ears are extremely long, soft, and velvety, set on at least as low as the eye, falling in graceful folds which curl inward and backward. Th e large open nose is black or brown corresponding to the color of
the hound. A scissors bite is preferred; a level bite is acceptable. Keep in mind that the Bloodhound is worked in harness on a lead. He is not encouraged to run because he is attached to his handler. Adequate balanced angulation front and rear is essential to the resilience required for his job. A long neck and well laid back shoulders allow the hound to drop his head comfortably to the trail. Although the standard does not specifically men- tion the prominent prosternum that is desired, it goes with well laid back shoulders. As the song says, “You can’t have one without the other.” Don’t let neck skin fool you about neck length and should layback. Th ere will be two or three fingers width between the shoulder blades because this is a dog that works with his nose on or near the ground. When the head moves down, the blades move closer together and there must be room for this. Th e chest is deep, extending in a mature hound to the elbows, allowing ample room for heart and lungs.
thighs, which may predispose to skin problems. In a standard notably lacking in spe- cifics, the length of the head is speci- fied as 12 or more inches in dogs and 11 in bitches. Narrow in proportion to length and long in proportion to the body, the head is about the same width throughout and appears flattened at the sides. Of course the head must complement the rest of the dog, and a bulky male can carry a broader head if the length is present.. Th e planes of the foreface and the back skull should be nearly parallel.
“...THE BLOODHOUND IS A STUBBORN AND INDEPENDENT PROBLEM-SOLVER. Following a scent, he will find a way to go over, under, or around obstacles.”
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