| Porcelaine | |||||||||||||
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| Origin | France | ||||||||||||
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| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||||||
ThePorcelaine[pɔʁsəlɛn] is a Frenchbreed of dog ofscent hound type. It was formerly also known as theBriquet Franc-Comtois after the historicalFranche-Comté region ofBurgundy, in eastern France.[1]
The Porcelaine is thought to be a descendant of the English Harrier, some of the smaller Laufhounds of Switzerland, and the now-extinct Montaimboeuf. There have been records of the breed inFrance since 1845 and inSwitzerland since 1880. The breed actually disappeared after theFrench Revolution (1789–99) but has been reconstructed.[2]
The Porcelaine gets its name from its shiny coat, said to make it resemble a porcelainstatuette. The fur is white, sometimes with orange spots, often on the ears. The skin should be white with black mottling that is visible through the white coat. The fur is incredibly short and very fine. The nose of a Porcelaine dog is black with very wide nostrils. It also has black eyes and long ears that droop down. The neck is long and the tail starts thick and narrows to a point at the end.[3]
Height at thewithers is in the range55–58 cm for dogs and53–56 cm for bitches.[4]
The Porcelaine is a hunting dog usually used to hunt hare, roe deer, and in the north wild boar. The Porcelaines hunt in packs. Being a scent hound, it has a very good sense of smell with which it hunts. The Porcelaine is a fierce hunting dog that has been bred to hunt independently without many orders from the owner.[5] The Porcelaine is also being bred in small numbers in Italy and used to hunt wild boar, however Italian indigenous hounds continue to be the preferred choice of local hunters.