488 THE NEW BOOK (OF THE DOG: 
are, for example, the lght and elegant 
little German hounds, with their smooth 
coats and feathered sterns. These are 
seldom more than 40 lb. in weight, and 
CHIEN GASCOGNE-SAINTONGEOIS. 
COMTE G DE VEZIN'Ss SOUVERAINE. 
may be of any hound colour. Somewhat 
similar are the hounds of Austria, which 
are often all white, but otherwise 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 limiter, and is used for the purpose of 
tracking wounded deer. Marvellous stories 
are told of his powers of scent. The pre- 
vailing colour of the 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. Twenty-one inches 
at the shoulder is an 
average height. In gene- 
ral appearance he is a 
strong, long-bodied dog 
of symmetrical propor- 
tions. The skull is broad 
and slightly domed, with 
a well developed — occi- 
pital bone. The forehead 
is slightly wrinkled, with 
projecting eyebrows, the 
muzzle square, the lips 
falling over in decided 
flews. 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 slightly 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 
back, 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 Bavarian Schweiss-hund is somewhat 
smaller than the Hanoverian, but very 
similar in general type. 
A very distinctive hound is that of 
Russia, the Géntschaga Sobaka, of which 
the Czar and the Grand Dukes keep huge 
packs 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 over, they have a tendency to 
prick 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. 
