Official UKC Breed Standard
@Copyright 1996, United Kennel Club, Inc.

The goals and purposes of this breed standard include: to furnish guidelines for breeders who wish to maintain the quality of their breed and to improve it; to advance this breed to a state of similarity throughout the world; and to act as a guide for judges.

Breeders and judges have the responsibility to avoid any conditions or exaggerations that are detrimental to the health, welfare, essence and soundness of this breed, and must take the responsibility to see that these are not perpetuated.

Any departure from the following 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 on the dog’s ability to perform its traditional work.

HISTORY

A medium sized scenthound that originated in Poland.

The Polish Hound was recognized by the United Kennel Club January 1, 1996.

GENERAL APPEARANCE

Strong, compact and quite massive, the Polish Hound gives the appearance of endurance rather than speed.

HEAD

The head is rather heavy and is well chiseled. In profile it looks like a rectangle.

SKULL - The forehead is wrinkled, and the occiput is pronounced. The stop is well defined and abrupt.

MUZZLE - The muzzle is as long as the skull. It is neither blunt nor pointed. The lips are thick and drooping. The cheek muscles are well developed.

TEETH - The Polish Hound has a complete set of evenly spaced, white teeth meeting in a scissors bite.

NOSE - The nose is large, wide, and black.

EYES - The eyes are set obliquely. They are dark brown in color, and have a gentle, serene expression.

EARS - Set low, quite long, and hanging in a twist.

NECK

Very thick and muscular with a loose, folded dewlap.

FOREQUARTERS

The shoulder blades are oblique.

FORELEGS - The legs are muscular, and the pastern joint is well defined and lean.

BODY

The chest is wide and deep, descending to the elbow. The ribs are long and well sprung. The back is long, broad and muscular. The croup is flat. The belly is capacious, not tucked up except for a slight hollow behind the last rib.

HINDQUARTERS

The hindquarters have strong bone structure, and are very muscular.

HIND LEGS - The upper thigh is long, and the lower thigh is short and sloping. The hock is lean and well defined. The rear pasterns are slightly inclined.

FEET

The feet are tight, with large pads.

TAIL

Thick and rather low set, hanging below the hocks. Slightly raised in action, but not above the back.

COAT

Medium length and thick, with a dense undercoat.

COLOR

Tan extremities, with a black or dark gray body. The tan color varies in intensity. There may be white on the muzzle, chest, lower legs and tail. There are distinct tan spots above the eyes. The black mantle may go forward onto the skull, but black that goes as far as the muzzle is a disqualification.

Disqualification: Black muzzle.

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT

Height at the withers for males is 22 to 25.5 inches. For females, it is 21.5 to 23.5 inches.

Weight for males is 55 to 70 pounds. For females, it is 44 to 57 pounds.

GAIT

At a trot the gait is slow, heavy and short.

DISQUALIFICATIONS

Unilateral or bilateral cryptorchid. Viciousness or extreme shyness. Albinism. Black muzzle.