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Tatra hound |
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FCI standard Nº 377 |
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Origin |
Slovakia | |
Group |
Group 6 | |
Section |
Section 2 Scent hounds | |
Working |
With working trial | |
Acceptance on a provisional basis by the FCI |
Wednesday 11 February 2026 | |
Publication of the official valid standard |
Wednesday 11 February 2026 | |
Last update |
Tuesday 3 March 2026 | |
En français, cette race se dit |
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Chien des Tatras |
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar |
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Tatra-Hund |
En español, esta raza se dice |
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Sabueso de Tatra |
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd |
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Tatra-hond |
In his country of origin, his name is |
Tatranský durič |
Usage |
| Scent hound used primarily for hunting by scent. |
Brief historical summary |
| Hounds, used for hunting game in the mountain regions of Slovakia, have been bred in the country since long time ago. Out of these dogs of different types and sizes, medium sized hounds were chosen in the 30s of the 20th century and after a long selection process was approved as the Slovenský kopov (Slovak hound). Despite many years of selection there are sometimes puppies of smaller size or a different colour in the litters of the Slovak Hound. These were used as a base for creating a hound of smaller size. To enlarge the breeding stock base and to avoid close inbreeding in the first steps of breeding dogs of other breeds were used, also improving the scent abilities in the breed. |
General appearance |
| Small, light in substance. Enough space between ribcage and ground. Clearly rectangular in shape, strong bones, straight back, tail straight or sabre shaped, carried at the level of topline. Strong, muscular neck, elegant head with long ears, not reaching further than the nose. |
Important proportions |
| Tatra hound is a small sized breed up to 42 cm in height at withers. The body is rectangular, with the ratio of height at withers to the body length being at 1:1,25 in males to 1:1,35 in females. For better working abilities the distance between ribcage and ground is important and should be equal to half of the height at withers. |
Behaviour / temperament |
| Intelligent, full of temperament, easy to handle. Balanced in character, no signs of aggressiveness or fear of his surroundings. Friendly with people. Despite his friendly character, he is eager to work and brave in contact with game. Persistent in his work with a great sense of smell and orientation in the field. |
Head |
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| Slightly longer then wide. Well-marked stop, which divides the head to approximately same length of skull and muzzle. The lines of muzzle and skull are parallel. | ||
Cranial region |
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Skull |
Accordingly wide, slightly rounded top skull with a slightly marked occipital protuberance. | |
Stop |
Well-marked, divides the upper line of head to two parts of approximately same length. | |
Facial region |
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Nose |
Of good size, dark in colour. | |
Muzzle |
Approximately same length as skull. Seen from the side, cannot be square in shape. Nor wedge shaped when looked from above. Bridge of nose straight or slightly convex. | |
Lips |
Well covering the lower jaw. Well-marked lip corners. Seen from the side, lips make a shape of a distinct curve from the lip corner to the nose. | |
Jaws and teeth |
Well developed teeth. Incisors well set into the jaw. Scissor bite. Absence of M3 is disregarded. Absence of 2 P1 is tolerated. | |
Cheeks |
Forming a full curve. | |
Eyes |
Dark brown or brown, medium size, almond in shape. Neither protruding, nor set too deep. | |
Ears |
Medium to long in length, reaching to the tip of nose, set above the level of eyes. Not too narrow, well rounded, without folds, hanging loose close to the cheeks. | |
Neck |
| Medium length, well-muscled, without skin folds, set into the shoulders with a smooth transition to the topline. |
Body |
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Topline |
Firm, level or slightly sloping from the withers to root of tail. | |
Withers |
Not too pronounced. Smoothly passed to the back. | |
Back |
Not too long, well-muscled, straight and firm. | |
Loin |
Sufficiently long, straight or slightly arched, well-muscled fluently passing into the croup. | |
Croup |
Broad, sufficiently long, slightly rounded. Sacrum sufficiently long, its topline slightly sloping with a smooth transition to the line of the tail. | |
Chest |
Not too wide, sufficiently deep, it is not desirable to have a too deep chest. But it is spacious, ribs well rounded, flexible, set slanting. Well-developed forechest. | |
Side |
Flanks well developed, not too tucked up. | |
Underline and belly |
Slightly retracted. | |
Tail |
| Sufficiently thick and long. Reaching the hock. Set slightly under or in the level of topline. Straight or slightly sabre like. Carried at the level of the topline or slightly above. Neither carried too high. |
Limbs |
Forequarters |
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Generality |
Straight when looked from both front and side. | |
Shoulders |
Well-muscled. Shoulder blade sufficiently laid back, well connected to the ribcage. | |
Upper arm |
Sufficiently long with a good angulation between the shoulder blade and upper arm letting the dog reach well. Wellmuscled. | |
Elbows |
Should be neither too close to body nor loose. In motion it turns neither out nor in. | |
Forearm |
Long, upright, well-muscled. | |
Carpal |
Strong. | |
Pastern |
Slightly sloping, never steep. | |
Forefeet |
Well, arched with tight toes. Nails and pads are dark. Pads a thick and firm. | |
Hindquarters |
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Generality |
Well angulated when viewed from the side, straight when viewed from behind. | |
Upper thigh |
Sufficiently long, wide and very well-muscled. | |
Stifle |
Strong, tight. Angulation in the stifle and hock joint approximately equal. | |
Lower thigh |
Sufficiently long, well-muscled. | |
Hock |
Tight and strong. | |
Metatarsus |
Sinewy, upright when viewed both from the side and from behind. | |
Hind feet |
Very well arched and closed. Without dewclaws. Same shape as forefoot. | |
Gait and movement |
| Smooth and generous in all types of movement. While trotting the topline is level and the movement of body is elegant. Both front and hind legs are parallel when in action. The most typical movement while working is trot. |
Skin |
| Of medium thickness, elastic, no wrinkles. Well pigmented. |
Coat |
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Hair |
Coarse, close fitting, with sufficient shine. Shorter and softer on the head and limbs. | |
Colour |
The Tatra hound can be found in two colour varieties. Black and tan : Black colour with exactly bounded tan or redish marking on head, above the eyes. On the sides of muzzle and lips, on the chest and limbs, around the anus, on the lower side of tail. White marking on chest and limbs is acceptable also white spot on the top of the head. On the limbs between the white and the black coat there is some tan coat in between /heritage from old type of hounds. Red : Solid coloured red. The shade varies from the light tan to deer red. Some mixture of black is tolerated. Colour without the mask is sought after, however, a black mask on the foreface is tolerated. |
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Size and weight |
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Height at withers |
Males : 38 - 42 cm. Females : 36-40 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. |
Serious faults |
 Too big or too small dogs or bitches in the relation to the standard size. Poor or absent tan markings in the black- and tan- coloured dogs or bitches. Too light red colouring. Heavy individuals, lacking elegance. Too long in shape. Incorrect angulations. Short muzzle, too heavy lips. Short ears. Too high or too low set ears. Level bite. Absence of more than 2 P1, absence of P2. |
Disqualifying faults |
| Aggressive or overly shy dogs. Ectropion, entropion. Overshot or undershot bite. Monorchid, cryptorchid. Absence of incisors, canines and any P3-4, M1-2. |
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/ |
English (United Kingdom) 
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