Segugio di Cravin

		Segugio di Cravin
		He is not recognized by the F.C.I.


Origin			Italy
Translation			Francis Vandersteen

Segugio of Piedmontese origin. Variety of the small Italian hound.

The Cravin hound is probably the result of crossbreeding with our own hounds, including the ciaplin, a small, very valuable short-haired hunting dog with white mask, legs and tail tip, bred in the hills of Piedmont in the past by farmers and hunters, and often single-colored golden or even white and orange with strong, long hair, of Savoyard origin, probably Vendome lighters or derivatives, which were present in large numbers in the Piedmont Alps.

Rigorous selection from a functional point of view, not detached from the exploitation of certain morphological characteristics possessed by an exceptional individual, was able to make an extremely valuable type of dog, which dominated the hills of Piedmont in the years between the wars, and perhaps even earlier, and for a decade afterwards. The abundant infusion of Italian dog blood has altered the type and workmanship, and subjects that retain the original characteristics have unfortunately become rare.

The name Cravin is not so much the idea of goat hair, goat it is not, but rather by the fact that all the parts were present in the slightly longer and more abundant hair at elbow and knee level, a fact typical of many goats, especially alpine ones. This was pointed out to me on various occasions and places by old hunters from the time of my research, and it seemed plausible to me.

The Italian society SISP Pro Segugio has formed a commission of experts to bring together some of the old medium-sized dog breeds still existing in Italy to achieve official recognition of a common breed of small Italian elf. The main representatives are the Segugio dell 'Appennino and the Cravin Piemontese, which differ from each other in coat and color. The Pro Segugio of Turin has formed a group of enthusiasts called Amici del Cravin to promote and intensify research on the territory, organize meetings and gatherings, made a regulation and the standard of the dog. The ENCI requires at least 8 different pedigrees to open genealogy books.

It's a medium/small dog, robust in appearance, accentuated by abundant hair, dry forms, with good muscles and strong bones. It has few dietary demands. He has a reserved character; at home his presence is hardly noticed, he doesn't create problems and is content with little space.

Dynamic, full of enthusiasm and tireless, it adapts perfectly to any terrain. Its preferred rhythm, before scovo, is the trot, light, energetic and easy, alternating with short stretches of canter. He faithfully follows valid tracks to the ground, but wastes no time on less valid ones, preferring to work on initiative, hastily and conclusively. The meeting declares it with energetic movements of the tail until it hits the sides, then makes a loud and expressive voice, interrupted by numerous pauses of varying length, in which they hear soft moans. They work well on their own, and even better in pairs, in a group that must never exceed four elements. They don't give up their strong personality, which leads to rather independent work, but always know how to be incredibly present at the right moment, alongside the partner who has solved or is about to solve.

Height at withers : males 47 to 50 cm, females slightly lower.

Medium-length head; the length of the muzzle is slightly less than half the total length of the head. Slightly convex skull, not narrow, although width is less than length. The stop is obvious but not too pronounced. Black nose. Undeveloped lips.
Eye in sub-frontal position, large, round, brown, very expressive. The ear is not very long (comes right up to the nose), ends in a point, is almost flat because the auricular cartilage is of a certain consistency.
Limbs with normal legs and slightly oval feet. The tail, never heavy or coarse, is rather short, 1 cm above the hock.
Hair is rather long (about 5 cm), semi-rough, distributed throughout the body, except for the shaved hairs and the limbs and tail, where it is hard but short. Color is a light fawn tending to golden blond.