FCI-Standard N°281/ 12.
10. 1998 / GB
OLD DANISH POINTING DOG
(Gammel Dansk Hønsehund)
ORIGIN : Denmark.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF
THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 08.01.1998.
UTILIZATION : Versatile
gundog for birds.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. :
Group 7 Pointing dogs. Section 1.1 Continental pointing dogs, « Braque »
type. With working trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY
: The origin of the breed
can be traced back to the year about 1710 when a man named Morten Bak,
living in Glenstrup near the towns of Randers and Hobro, through 8
generations was crossing gypsy dogs with local farmdogs and in this way
established a pure breed of piebald white and brown dogs called
Bakhounds or Old Danish Pointing Dogs.
The local farmers called their farmdogs « Bloodhounds », but it
seems more likely that these hounds were offspring from the Squire’s
scent hounds, which in their turn were descendants from mainly St.
Hubert Hounds (Bloodhounds).
Likewise it is probable that the gypsy dogs generally descended from
Spanish pointing Dogs and other breeds of scent hounds like the ones
mentioned above, so in many ways St.Hubert Hounds have contributed to
the breed Old Danish Pointing Dog.
GENERAL APPEARANCE :
Medium sized dog, rectangular and strongly built.
One of the most charming features of the breed is the great
difference between male and female.
While the dog is powerful and substantial, the bitch is
characterized by being lighter, more spirited and capricious.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS :
The ratio of height at withers to length of body
is about 8 : 9.
BEHAVIOUR/CHARACTER :
Conveys the impression of a quiet and stable dog showing determination
and courage. During the hunt
progressing rather slowly, always maintaining contact with the hunter
and accomplishing its task as a pointing Dog without creating
unnecessary disturbance of the ground.
The breed is suited for small as well as large hunting grounds.
HEAD : Short and wide,
without pronounced stop.
Occiput prominent and clearly visible from any angle.
CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Sufficiently wide
and distinctly rounded.
Stop : Not pronounced.
FACIAL REGION :
Nose : Fleshy, strongly
defined, nostrils wide open.
Colour from dark to more light liver.
Muzzle : Bridge of nose
wide.
Lips : Flews deep all the
way from the nose and covering
the lower jaw. The
deep flews contribute to giving the head its characteristic depth.
Jaws /Teeth : Powerful
jaws with regular scissor bite.
Full dentition wanted.
Cheeks : Well defined and
deep, very muscular.
Eyes : Medium sized,
neither sunk nor prominent.
Dark brown colour desirable.
Considering the origin of the breed a slight drooping of the lower
eyerim is tolerated, but should not be encouraged.
Ears : Set rather low,
broad and slightly rounded at the ends.
Length is correct if the ear, when held towards the nose, will
leave free a little more than the outer third of muzzle.
Front edge of ear should hang
nicely close to the cheek.
NECK : Muscular and well
furnished. Throatiness is
considered a hallmark of the
breed, but should not be exaggerated.
BODY :
Withers : Well defined.
Highest point of topline at the withers, falling slightly to the croup.
Back : Firm and very
muscular.
Loin : Short, wide and
muscular, strongly coupled.
Croup : Broad, not too
short, slightly sloping towards set-on of tail.
Chest : Deep and wide ; a
good width desired especially
for males. Brisket
reaches down to elbows. Ribs
well sprung and reaching far back.
Ribcage neither flat nor barrel-shaped.
A well developed forechest is most desirable.
TAIL : Set somewhat high
rather than too low. Fairly
wide at base, tapering towards the end.
Medium length, reaching almost to the hocks.
Tail is carried naturally drooping.
Docking is not allowed.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS : Viewed
from the front strong, straight and parallel.
Shoulder : Lying flat and
tight against the chest, with strong muscles clearly showing when moving
or standing.
Upper arm : Of good
length, very muscular.
Elbow : Close, but not
too tight to the body, neither turned in nor out, set rather far back.
Good angulation upper/lower arm.
Forearm : Straight, with
powerful muscles and good bone.
Carpal joint : Powerful.
Pastern :
Slightly bent in relation to the forearm.
Front feet : Strong and
firm, well arched and with tough pads.
HINDQUARTERS : Viewed
from behind straight and parallel.
Good angulation and
powerful bone.
Upper thigh : Muscular,
fairly long and broad. Good
angulation pelvis/thigh.
Stifle : Strong, well
bent.
Lower thigh : Fairly
long, muscular.
Hock joint : Strong and
powerful.
Hocks (Metatarsus) :
Slight angulation to lower thigh.
Hind feet : Strong and
firm, well arched and with tough pads.
GAIT : Reachy strides
with good drive from behind and corresponding reach in front.
Movement straight and parallel front and rear.
Good, high carriage of head.
SKIN : Not too fine,
rather tight fitting on body and limbs.
On head and neck the skin is more loose, forming dewlap and fold
at the corners of the lips.
COAT
HAIR : Short and dense,
somewhat hard to the touch.
Hair must cover the body entirely.
COLOUR : White with brown
markings, a few large or many small, brown specks ( freckles) on white.
The brown colour may vary, but brown to dark brown is preferred.
SIZE :
Height at the withers :
Male : 54-60 cm, above 56 cm preferred,
Bitch
: 50-56 cm, above 52 cm preferred.
Weight :
Mature male 30-35 kg,
bitch 26-31 kg.
FAULTS : Any departure
from the foregoing points should be considered a fault, and the
seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact
proportion to its degree.
Bad carriage of head.
Nose flesh-coloured or
spotted.
Muzzle too short.
Flews insufficiently
deep.
Missing one or two PM1.
Eyes too light.
Slight roach back.
Croup too short.
Tail carried too high
over topline.
Slightly bow-legged,
slightly cow-hocked.
Hair too sparse.
Small departures in size
( 1-2 cm) above and below limits.
SERIOUS FAULTS :
Bone too fine.
Pronounced stop.
Muzzle snipey.
Pincer bite.
Missing teeth one tooth
other than PM1.
Pronounced roach back,
slight swayback.
Obvious lack in chest
development. Brisket not
sufficiently defined.
Ribcage too flat or barrel shaped.
Elbows turned strongly in
or out.
Heavily cow-hocked or bow-legged.
Weak pasterns.
Flat or splay-feet.
Weak, timid behaviour.
ELIMINATING FAULTS :
Aggresive or overly shy.
Strong deviation in sex
characteristics.
Teeth : More than two P1
plus one other tooth missing.
Non-visible teeth will be considered missing unless their
existence at a previous show can be certified.
Undershot, overshot bite
or any other faulty bite.
Cleft palate or hare lip.
Ectropion, entropion,
distichiasis (double row of eyelashes).
Malformation of chest or
ribcage ( e.g. too short sternum causing abrupt rise of underline behind
ribs).
Deviations from size more
than 2 cm above or below limits.
Very shy and weak
behaviour.
Any dog clearly showing
physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
N.B. : Male animals
should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the
scrotum.
