488 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



are, for example, the light and elegant 

 little German hounds, with their smooth 

 coats and feathered sterns. These are 

 seldom more than 40 lb. in weight, and 



CHIEN 

 COMTE 



GASCOGNE SAINTONGEOIS. 



G, DE VEZINS SOUVERAINE, 



mav be of any hound colour. Somewhat 

 similar are tlu' hounds of Austria, which 

 are often all white, but otlierwise re- 

 semble the English Harriers. 



The ideal hunting dog in Germany is the 

 Schweiss-hund, which has many of the 

 characteristics of the Bloodhound. In the 

 neighbourhood of Hanover he is popular 

 as a limicr, and is used for the purpose of 

 tracking wounded deer. i\Iar\-ellous stories 

 are told of his powers of scent. The pre- 

 vailing colour of tlie breed is red-tan. with 

 a black mask, and in 

 many instances there is a 

 black saddle, which in- 

 creases the resemblance 

 to the English Blood- 

 hound. Twentv-one inches 

 at the shoulder is an 

 average height. In gene- 

 ral appearance he is a 

 strong, long-bodied dog 

 of svmmetrical propor- 

 tions. The skull is broad 

 and slightly domed, with 

 a well developed occi- 

 pital bone. The forehead 

 is slightly wrinkled, witli 

 projecting eyebrows, the 

 muzzle square, the lips 

 fahing over in decided 



hews. There is loose skin about the cheeks, 

 but it is not sufficiently heavy to draw down 

 the lower eyelid and disclose the haw. The 

 nasal bone is slightty aquiline, much broader 

 than that of the Bloodhound. The ears 

 are set high and are very broad, rounded at 

 the ends and lying without folds close to 

 the cheeks. With a long, strong neck, a 

 broad, deep chest, a long, nicely arched 

 b.ick, and muscular quarters, he is, when 

 seen at his best, an admirable representative 

 of the Continental sporting hound, elastic 

 in action, energetic in expression, and in 

 shape and colour decidedly attractive. 

 The Ba\arian Schweiss-hund is somewhat 

 smaller than the Hano\-erian, but very 

 similar in general type. 



A very distinctive hound is that of 

 Russia, the Gontschaga Sobaka, of which 

 the Czar and the Grand Dukes keep huge 

 ])acks of aristocratic and exclusive strain. 

 Seen at a distance, this hound has the 

 general appearance of a wolf, the hind- 

 quarters being much lower than the fore- 

 quarters. The head, too, is wolf-like ; broad 

 between the ears, and tapering to a fine 

 muzzle. The ears are not large, and although 

 they hang o\-er, they have a tendency to 

 jirick when the dog is excited. There is 

 a good deal of dewlap about the strong and 

 muscular neck. The coat is hard and rather 

 long, with a woolly undercoat, and the 

 stern, which is carried straight, is a 

 short brush. The colour is grizzle or 

 black, with tan markings, often with 



HANOVERIAN SCHWEISS-HUND. 



