The Istrian Coarse-haired Hound is a dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

 breed

Dog breed

Dog breeds are groups of closely related and visibly similar domestic dogs, which are all of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, having characteristic traits that are selected and maintained by humans, bred from a known foundation stock....

 from Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, developed in the mid-19th century for hunting fox

Fox

Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

 and rabbit

Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...

. It is a rough-coated scent hound

Scent hound

Scent hounds are a type of hound that primarily hunts by scent rather than sight. The Scenthound breeds are generally regarded as having some of the most sensitive noses among canines....

 still kept primarily as a hunting dog

Hunting dog

A hunting dog refers to any dog who assists humans in hunting. There are several types of hunting dogs developed for various tasks. The major categories of hunting dogs include hounds, terriers, dachshunds, cur type dogs, and gun dogs...

 rather than as a pet

Pet

A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...

.

Appearance

Dogs of this breed can vary considerably in size, as the dog is still bred primarily for hunting, so more emphasis might be placed on performance than on specific appearance requirements. It can range from 25 to 56 lb (16 to 26 kg) and stand 17 to 23 inches (44 to 58 cm) at the withers

Withers

The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of a four-legged animal. In many species it is the tallest point of the body, and in horses and dogs it is the standard place to measure the animal's height .-Horses:The withers in horses are formed by the dorsal spinal processes of roughly the...

.

The breed's wiry coat is weather resistant for hunting. The topcoat

Topcoat

Topcoat may refer to:*A lightweight overcoat*The guard hairs of an animal's fur*A transparent or translucent coat of paint applied over the underlying material as a sealer...

 is 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) long and it has a woolly undercoat. The color is white with yellow or orange markings, usually on the ears. The ears are broad and hang flat with a long upstanding curved inwards tail.

Temperament

Again, because the Istrian Coarse-haired Hound has been bred primarily for hunting rather than as a companion, it tends to be willful and hence more challenging to train than many other breeds.

History

Croatian

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 and Slovene breeders created the Istrian Coarse-haired Hound in the mid-19th century by crossing the French Griffon Vendeén with the Istrian Shorthaired Hound

Istrian Shorthaired Hound

The Istrian Shorthaired Hound is a breed of dog from Istria in Croatia, descended from a very old type of scenthound...

, a smooth-haired hound developed from both sight hounds and scent hound

Scent hound

Scent hounds are a type of hound that primarily hunts by scent rather than sight. The Scenthound breeds are generally regarded as having some of the most sensitive noses among canines....

s. The breed first took part in a conformation show

Conformation show

Conformation shows, also referred to as breed shows, are a kind of dog show in which a judge familiar with a specific dog breed evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs conform to the established breed type for their breed, as described in a breed's individual breed standard.A...

 in Vienna in 1866.

The dog is still used for hunting fox, rabbits, hare, and wild boar.