Otterhound Breed Standard
Hound Group

General Appearance
The Otterhound is a large, rough-coated hound with an imposing head showing great strength and dignity, and the strong body and long striding action fit for a long day's work. It has an extremely sensitive nose, and is inquisitive and perseverant in investigating scents. The Otterhound hunts its quarry on land and water and requires a combination of characteristics unique among hounds--most notably a rough, double coat; and substantial webbed feet. Otterhounds should not be penalized for being shown in working condition (lean, well muscled, with a naturally stripped coat). Any departure from the following points should be considered a fault; its seriousness should be regarded in exact proportion to its degree. 

Size, Proportion, Substance

Males are approximately 27 inches at the withers, and weigh approximately 115 lbs. Bitches are approximately 24 inches at the withers, and weigh approximately 80 lbs. This is not an absolute, but rather a guideline. The Otterhound is slightly rectangular in body; the length from point of shoulder to buttocks is slightly greater than the height at the withers. The Otterhound has good substance with strongly boned legs and broad muscles, without being coarse. Balance, soundness and type are of greater importance than size.

Head
The head is large, fairly narrow, and well covered with hair. The head should measure 11 to 12 inches from tip of nose to occiput in a hound 26" at the withers, with the muzzle and skull approximately equal in length. This proportion should be maintained in larger and smaller hounds. The expression is open and amiable. The eyes are deeply set. The haw shows only slightly. The eyes are dark, but eye color and eye rim pigment will complement the color of the hound. Dogs with black pigmented noses and eye rims should have darker eyes, while those with liver or slate pigment may have hazel eyes. The ears, an essential feature of this breed, are long, pendulous, and folded (the leading edge folds or rolls to give a draped appearance). They are set low, at or below eye level, and hang close to the head, with the leather reaching at least to the tip of the nose. They are well covered with hair. The skull (cranium) is long, fairly narrow under the hair, and only slightly domed. The stop is not pronounced. The muzzle is square, with no hint of snipiness; the jaws are powerful with deep flews. From the side, the planes of the muzzle and skull should be parallel. The nose is large, dark, and completely pigmented, with wide nostrils. The jaws are powerful and capable of a crushing grip. A scissors bite is preferred.

Neck, Topline, Body
The neck is powerful and blends smoothly into well laid back, clean shoulders, and should be of sufficient length to allow the dog to follow a trail. It has an abundance of hair; a slight dewlap is permissible. The topline is level from the withers to the base of tail. The chest is deep reaching at least to the elbows on a mature hound. Forechest is evident, there is sufficient width to impart strength and endurance. There should be no indication of narrowness or weakness. The well sprung, oval rib cage extends well towards the rear of the body. The loin is short, broad and strong. The tail is set high, and is long reaching at least to the hock. The tail is thicker at the base, tapers to a point, and is feathered (covered and fringed with hair). It is carried saber fashion (not forward over the back) when the dog is moving or alert, but may droop when the dog is at rest.

Forequarters
Shoulders are clean, powerful, and well sloped with moderate angulation at shoulders and elbows. Legs are strongly boned and straight, with strong, slightly sprung pasterns. Dewclaws on the forelegs may be removed. Feet--Both front and rear feet are large, broad, compact when standing, but capable of spreading. They have thick, deep pads, with arched toes; they are web-footed (membranes connecting the toes allow the foot to spread).

Hindquarters
Thighs and second thighs are large, broad, and well muscled. Legs have moderately bent stifles with well-defined hocks. Hocks are well let down, turning neither in nor out. Legs on a standing hound are parallel when viewed from the rear. Angulation front and rear must be balanced and adequate to give forward reach and rear drive. Dewclaws, if any, on the hind legs are generally removed. Feet are as previously described.

Coat
The coat is an essential feature of the Otterhound. Coat texture and quality are more important than the length. The outer coat is dense, rough, coarse and crisp, of broken appearance. Softer hair on the head and lower legs is natural. The outer coat is two to four inches long on the back and shorter on the extremities. A water-resistant undercoat of short wooly, slightly oily hair is essential, but in the summer months may be hard to find except on the thighs and shoulders. The ears are well covered with hair, and the tail is feathered (covered and fringed with hair). A naturally stripped coat lacking length and fringes is correct for an Otterhound that is being worked. A proper hunting coat will show a hard outer coat and wooly undercoat. The Otterhound is shown in a natural coat, with no sculpturing or shaping of the coat. Faults--A soft outer coat is a very serious fault as is a wooly textured outer coat. Lack of undercoat is a serious fault. An outer coat much longer than six inches becomes heavy when wet and is a fault. Any evidence of stripping or scissoring of coat to shape or stylize should be strongly penalized as a fault.

Color
Any color or combination of colors is acceptable. There should be no discrimination on the basis of color. The nose should be dark and fully pigmented, black, liver, or slate, depending on the color of the hound. Eye rim pigment should match the nose.

Gait
The Otterhound moves freely with forward reach and rear drive. The gait is smooth, effortless, and capable of being maintained for many miles. Characteristic of the Otterhound gait is a very loose, shambling walk, which springs immediately into a loose and very long striding, sound, active trot with natural extension of the head. The gallop is smooth and exceptionally long striding. Otterhounds single track at slow speeds. Otterhounds do not lift their feet high off the ground and may shuffle when they walk or move at a slow trot. The Otterhound should be shown on a loose lead.

Temperament
The Otterhound is amiable, boisterous and even-tempered.

Approved October 10, 1995
Effective November 30, 1995

 [简介] 奥达猎犬是一种高大的、被毛杂乱的猎犬，壮丽的头部显示出巨大的力量和无比威严，结实的身躯和步幅很大的动作使他能长时间工作。他的嗅觉极端灵敏，对气味好奇，且能坚持研究。奥达猎犬能在陆地和水中捕捉猎物，结合了下列典型特征，大量粗糙的双层被毛；坚固的、有蹼的足爪。不应该处罚正在工作的奥达猎犬（消瘦、肌肉发达，被毛自然剥落）。任何背离下面描述的地方都属于缺陷，并根据背离的程度进行扣分。

[体型] 雄性肩高大约27英寸，体重大约115磅。雌性肩高大约24英寸，体重大约80磅。这些不是绝对的，但属于基本原则。奥达猎犬的身躯略呈矩形，从肩胛与上臂结合处到臀部的距离，略大于肩高。奥达猎犬的体质非常好，腿部骨骼强健，肌肉发达，但不显得粗糙。平衡、准确、而典型的结构，比尺寸更重要。

[头部] 头部巨大，相当窄，覆盖着大量毛发。肩高26英寸的狗，头部从鼻尖到后枕骨的距离大约为11~12英寸，口吻长度与脑袋的长度大致相等。不论体型大小，比例基本不变。表情：开放而和蔼。眼睛：位置深，瞬膜隐约可见。眼睛颜色深，但眼睛和眼圈的色素充足，与整体颜色一致。黑色眼圈和鼻镜的狗，眼睛颜色为暗黑色，而肝色或兰灰色眼圈和鼻镜的狗，眼睛颜色为榛色。耳朵：这个品种的重要特征之一，长、下垂、且折叠（主要的边缘折叠或卷起，呈窗帘状）。耳朵位置低，甚至低于眼睛，贴着头部，向前拉伸的话，能延伸到鼻尖。耳朵上覆盖着大量毛发。脑袋（头盖骨）：长，相当窄，覆盖着大量毛发，非常轻微的圆拱。止部：不突出。口吻：正方形，不显得细长，颌部有力，上唇深。从侧面观察，口吻的轮廓与脑袋的轮廓相互平行。鼻镜：大，颜色深，色素充足。鼻孔开阔。颌部：有力，咬和力象大力钳。咬和：剪状咬和为首选。

[颈部、背线、身躯] 颈部：有力，平顺的融入向后倾斜的、整洁的肩部，有足够的长度，使他能很好的追踪气味。颈部有丰富的毛发，允许有少量赘肉。背线：从马肩隆到尾根处平直。胸部：成熟的奥达犬胸深达到肘部。前胸明显，有足够的宽度，能提供力量和耐力。不能显得狭窄或软弱。肋骨：扩张良好，卵形，向身体后方充分伸展。腰部：短、宽阔而结实。尾巴：位置高，长度足够延伸到飞节。尾巴根部粗，向末端呈锥形，有饰毛（覆盖的毛发和边缘的毛发）。运动时和警惕时，以马刀形上举（不能超过后背），但休息时可能是下垂的。

[前躯] 肩胛：整洁、有力、适度倾斜，肩胛和肘部角度适中。腿：骨骼强健而直，骹骨结实而略有弹性。前肢的狼爪可以切除。足爪：前后足爪都很大，宽，且紧凑（站力立时），但有能力张开。脚垫厚实、深，脚趾圆拱，他的足爪属于网状足（脚趾之间有蹼，允许足爪张开）。

[后躯] 大腿和第二节大腿：巨大，宽阔，且肌肉发达。腿部：后膝关节适度倾斜，飞节清晰。飞节：位置低，既不向内弯，也不向外翻。站立时，从后面观察，后腿彼此平行。前后肢的角度协调，有足够的角度，可以提供充分的前躯伸展性和后躯驱动力。狼爪：如果后肢有狼爪，通常需要切除。足爪：与前面描述的一样。

[被毛] 被毛也是奥达猎犬的基本特征之一。被毛的质地和品质比长度更重要。外层披毛浓厚、粗糙、杂乱、卷曲，呈不规则起伏的样子。头部和腿下半部分的毛发柔软是自然的。背部的外层披毛的长度约为2~4英寸，四肢的毛发略短。防水的底毛短、羊毛状、略带油质的毛发（基本特征），但在夏天，除了大腿和肩部，可以发现其他部位的底毛变硬。耳朵上覆盖着毛发，尾巴上有饰毛（覆盖的毛发和边缘的毛发）。毛发自然剥落，缺乏长度和“刘海”，是奥达猎犬在工作中的正常现象。正确的猎犬被毛应该有坚硬的外层披毛和羊毛状的底毛。奥达猎犬应该具有自然的被毛，不能修剪或雕琢。缺陷：柔软的外层披毛与羊毛质地的外层披毛是非常严重的缺陷。缺乏底毛也是严重缺陷。被毛长度超过6英寸，变的沉重而潮湿，属于缺陷。明显的修剪、雕琢、修饰被毛，将受到严厉的处罚，与缺陷一样。

[颜色] 任何颜色或颜色组合都可以接受。在此基础上，所有颜色一视同仁。鼻镜的颜色深，色素充足，黑色、肝色和兰灰色，根据被毛颜色有所不同。眼圈的色素与鼻镜匹配。

[步态] 奥达猎犬的动作舒展、前躯伸展和后躯驱动良好。步伐平顺，轻松，能够维持很长距离。奥达猎犬的典型步态是非常松弛、拖沓的散步，突然弹起，进入松弛、步幅很大、健康而活泼的小跑，头部自然地向前伸。飞奔时，平顺且步幅非常大。奥达猎犬在慢速时是单一轨迹。当他散步时或慢速行进时，足爪离地面不远，拖着步子。奥达猎犬的牵引应该显得松弛。

[气质] 奥达猎犬是和蔼的、吵闹的狗，性格平静。

标准通过日期：1995年10月10日

标准执行日期：1995年11月30日

原作： 酋长

来源： 转译自AKC

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