Montenegrin Mountain Hound

		Montenegrin Mountain Hound
		FCI standard Nº 279

Origin		Republic of Montenegro
Translation		Mrs. Peggy Davis
Group		Group 6 Scent Hounds and Related Breeds
Section		Section 1.2.Medium sized Hounds
Working		With working trial
Acceptance on a definitive basis by the FCI		Tuesday 24 June 1969
Publication of the official valid standard		Friday 19 December 2014
Last update		Wednesday 28 January 2015
En français, cette race se dit		Chien courant de montagne du Monténégro
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar		Montenegrischer Gebirgslaufhund
En español, esta raza se dice		Sabueso de montaña del Montenegro
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd		Montenegro berg Hound
In his country of origin, his name is		Crnogorski Planinski Gonic

Usage

Hound.

Brief historical summary

We can say with certainty that this breed is of the same origin as the other Balkan hounds. In the past this dog has sometimes been called « black hound ». The first standard dates 1924. The F.C.I. officially recognized this breed (standard N° 279) on the 8th May 1969 during its meeting in Warsaw.

General appearance

Medium size, solid, agile.

Important proportions

The length of the body (measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttocks) and the perimeter of the chest go beyond by about 10% the height at the withers. The length of the head corresponds to 45% of the height at the withers.

Behaviour / temperament

Well balanced, attached to his master, docile, trustworthy.

Head
Cranial region
Head		Dolichocephalic; the upper lines of the skull and the muzzle are divergent.
Skull		Longer than the muzzle; in the occipital region, its width is inferior to the distance between the stop and the occipital protuberance. Seen from the front and in profile flat or slightly arched. Its width decreases from the top of the skull down to the stop. The frontal furrow is accentuated, whereas the occipital protuberance is less obvious; the superciliary arches are well developed.
Stop		Slightly pronounced.

Facial region
Nose		Always black, well developed.
Muzzle		Thick and broad at its base, is shorter than the skull. The desirable relation is of 7,5 : 10. The lateral lines of the muzzle are convergent.
Lips		Moderately developed, tight, upper lip slightly overlapping the bottom lip; the corner of the lips is firm; the edge of the lips is pigmented black.
Nasal bridge		The nasal bridge is straight.
Jaws and teeth		The jaws are strong and show a regular and complete scissor bite; a pincer bite is admitted. The teeth are well developed and regularly implanted.
Cheeks		Flat.
Eyes		Oval shape, placed slightly obliquely, of light to dark brown in colour; the rims of the eyelids are black.
Ears		High set, moderately long, thin to medium thick, pendant without folds and close to the head; their extremity is of a more or less pronounced oval shape.

Neck

Powerful, oblique, forming an angle of 45° to 50° with the horizontal. Its length is approximately equal to that of the head. It is thin, muscled and without dewlap.

Body
Body		Rectangular, its length going beyond by about 10% the height at the withers.
Withers		Very pronounced.
Back		Muscled, broad, moderately long.
Loin		Muscled, solid, medium length, short coupled.
Croup		Slightly slanting (20-25° in relation to the horizontal), powerful, well muscled, broad.
Chest		Strong, deep; its depth corresponds to 45 to 50% of the height at the withers and its perimeter going beyond by about 10% the height at the withers.
Underline and belly		The xyphoid appendix is prominent; the belly is only slightly tucked up.

Tail

It prolongs the line of the croup and goes on, thinning gradually from its set on to the extremity which reaches the hock; carried sabre fashion below the line of the back; is covered with abundant hair.

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		Strong, solid, muscled, parallel.
Shoulders		Shoulder-blade muscled, well attached to the thoracic wall; its length is approximately equal to that of the head; it forms an angle of 40 to 45° with the horizontal.
Elbows		Solid, close to the body; the distance from the ground up to the elbow corresponds to 50% of the height at the withers.
Forearm		Straight, strong, muscled.
Carpal		Solid.
Pastern		Strong, thin, slightly slanting (up to 15° in relation to the vertical).

Hindquarters
Generality		Strong, muscled, parallel, of strong bone structure.
Upper thigh		Strong, muscled, not prominent.
Lower thigh		Its length corresponds approximately to that of the upper thigh. Muscled.
Stifle		Solid, parallel to the median plane of the body; the angle of the stifle is of about 120°.
Metatarsus		Powerful, almost vertical.
Hock		Solid, pronounced; its angulation is of about 135°-140°.

Feet

Cat feet; solid toes, tight, well arched; the pads are resistant, elastic and black; the nails are always black.

Gait and movement

Regular and elastic stride, with good thrust from the hindquarters; the preferred gait is a lively and even trot.

Skin

Elastic, really tight to the body; shows a dark pigmentation.

Coat
Hair		Short, dense, rough, not very thick, glossy, flat, smooth. The undercoat is quite well developed.
Colour		The basic colour is black with tan markings above the eyes, on the muzzle and on the lower parts of the legs. The tan markings above the eyes are the size of a hazelnut, whereas the ones on the lateral parts of the muzzle extend at maximum to the corner of the lips. The colour of the tan markings goes from a light red through a brownish red to a bright red. A white spot on the chest is admitted but not sought after; its diameter must not be more than 3 cm.

Size and weight
Height at withers		The height at the withers is from 44-54 cm; the ideal size for the males varies between 49-50 cm, and for the females between 48-49 cm.

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 and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and its ability to perform its traditional work.
• Faults listed should be in degree of seriousness.

Disqualifying faults

Timid or aggressive dog.

Over- or undershot mouth; deviated incisor arch.

Absence of one tooth, the absence of two premolars 1 (PM1) being tolerated.

Eyes of a very light colour, wall-eyes, eyes of different colour; entropion, ectropion.

Rolled up tail, carried above the back line or deviated laterally.

Non authorized colours.

Any other white marking than that which is tolerated.

Superior or inferior size than that prescribed in the standard.

NB :

• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
• The above mentioned faults when occurring to a highly marked degree or frequently are disqualifying.
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

Bibliography

https://www.fci.be/

Details: Written by: Francis Vandersteen; Also available:; Last Updated: 27 January 2024; Hits: 657

Montenegrin Mountain Hound