The Posavac Hound (Croatian

Croatian language

Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

 and Slovene: posavski gonič) is a 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....

 of 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...

, originating 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...

 of the scenthound type

Dog type

Dog types are broad categories of dogs based on function, with dogs identified primarily by specific function or style of work rather than by lineage or appearance....

. 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 ...

 is the home country for the breed. The name translates into English as the Scenthound From The Sava

Sava River

The Sava is a river in Southeast Europe, a right side tributary of the Danube river at Belgrade. Counting from Zelenci, the source of Sava Dolinka, it is long and drains of surface area. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia, along the northern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and through Serbia....

 Valley, but is usually translated as the Posavac Hound.

Appearance

The Posavac Hound is a solidly built dog with a somewhat long body, close-fitting drop ears, a long tail, and a gentle expression. The breed has an ideal height around 50 cm (20 ins) 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 short, flat coat

Coat (dog)

The coat of the domestic dog refers to the hair that covers its body. A dog's coat may be a double coat, made up of a soft undercoat and a coarser topcoat, or a single coat, which lacks an undercoat...

 is slightly longer on the belly and backs of legs (feathering). Coat coulour is a reddish wheaten, sometimes marked with white.

History

There is no actual proof of great antiquity for this breed, although there is much fanciful conjecture. The type is very old, and the modern breed resembles images seen in frescoes as early as 1497. Writers cited as having mentioned the type include Bishop Bakič of Đakovo in 1719 and the veterinarian Franjo Bertič, also of Đakovo, in 1859. Hounds from the Sava Valley (Posavina

Posavina

Posavina is a Slavic name for the region of the Sava river basin in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia that is adjacent or near the Sava river itself.-History:...

, south-east of Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

) were sold as boskini in Croatia in the 1800s. The ancestry of the dogs was documented starting in 1929, when registrations for the stud book were first taken. The breed was internationally recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale

Fédération Cynologique Internationale

Fédération Cynologique Internationale is an international federation of kennel clubs based in Thuin, Belgium. The English language translation, World Canine Organisation, is not often used.Its goals are described in Article 2 of their regulations:...

 in 1955, and the name was clarified in 1969. The breed has been known since then as the Posavac Hound. The breed is recognised in North America by the United Kennel Club

United Kennel Club

The United Kennel Club is the second oldest all-breed registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States and the second largest in the world. According to the website, the club records 250,000 registrations annually. The UKC is not part of the International Canine Organisation, Fédération...

 in the Scenthound Group

Scenthound Group

Scenthound Group is the name of a breed Group of dogs, used by kennel clubs to classify a defined collection of dog breeds. Dogs listed in a kennel club's Scenthound Group may not all be of the same type of dog.- Scenthound type :...

, and by a number of minor registries, hunting clubs, and internet-based dog registry businesses, and is promoted as a rare breed

Rare breed (dog)

Rare breed is any breed of dog that is small in number. Since dogs have greater genetic variability than other domesticated animals the number of possible breeds is vast...

 for those seeking a unique pet.

Health and temperament

No unusual diseases or claims of extraordinary health have been documented for this breed. The breed standard describes the ideal temperament as docile and an enthusiastic hunter.

See also

• Istrian short-haired Hound (FCI No. 151)
• Istrian coarse-haired Hound (FCI No. 152)