Hamiltonstovare

General Appearance
Rectangular, well proportioned, giving impression of great strength and stamina. Tricoloured.

Characteristics
Handsome, upstanding dog of striking colouring. Hardy and sound.

Temperament
Typical even-tempered hound.

Head and Skull
Head longish, rectangular, with slightly arched and moderately broad skull. Occiput not too prominent. Stop well defined but not over pronounced. Jowls not too heavy. Muzzle fairly long, large and rectangular. Bridge of nose straight and parallel to line of skull. Nose always black, well developed with large nostrils. Upper lips full but not too overhanging.

Eyes
Clear and dark brown with tranquil expression.

Ears
Set fairly high, when drawn alongside jaw, ears extend to approximately half-way along muzzle and should be raised only slightly above skull when responding to call. Soft with straight fall and fore edge not folded out.

Mouth
Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Neck
Long and powerful, merging well into shoulders, skin on neck supple and close fitting.

Forequarters
Shoulders muscular and well laid back. When viewed from front forelegs appear straight and parallel. Upper foreleg long and broad and set at a right angle to shoulder blade. Elbows set close in to body.

Body
Back straight and powerful. Strong, broad, muscular loin. Croup slightly inclined. Chest deep, ribs moderately sprung, back ribs proportionately long. Belly slightly tucked up.

Hindquarters
Strong and parallel when viewed from behind. Well angulated, muscle well developed and broad when seen from side.

Feet
Short and hard. Pads firm and pointing straight forward. Dewclaws only allowed on front legs.

Tail
Set on low, in an almost straight continuation of line of back. In length reaches hock. Fairly wide at base and narrowing off towards tip. Held in straight position or curving slightly in sabre-like shape. Not carried above the backline when moving.

Gait/Movement
Free striding and long reaching. Hindlegs showing drive. Not moving close behind.

Coat
Coat consists of two layers. Undercoat short, close and soft, especially thick during winter. Upper coat strongly weather-resistant lying close to body. On underside of tail, ordinary hair quite long but not forming a fringe. Ample hair between pads.

Colour
Upper side of neck, back, sides of trunk and upper side of tail black. Head and legs, as well as side of neck, trunk and tail brown. White markings as follows: blaze on upper part of muzzle, underside of neck, breast and tip of tail, lower legs and feet.

A mixture of black and brown undesirable, as is a preponderance of any of the three permissible colours.

Size
Dogs 53-61 cms (21-24 ins). Ideal size 57 cms (22 ½ ins).

Bitches 49-57 cms (19 ¼ - 22 ½ ins). Ideal size 53 cms (21 ins).

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.

Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.


This is 'Blossom'. Photo taken at 4 years old.

I can't critique, but that is the most gorgeous dog.
You must be very proud

I think pretty much fits the breed standard lol!
Becky

Have a go, it's just say what you see!

She's lovely isn't she, i'm not even going to try, I dont really know the breed but she is stunning, absolutely.

Have to agree with the others beautiful hound Have met afew Hamilitons but can't say one has caught my eye quite as much as Blossom.

I like her very much, possibly a little out in elbow? looks quite tall, but very well balanced. Reading the standard, does she have too much white on her front legs? Very flashy Hound, Id be proud to own her.

Well done Dawn!

Yes she was too tall. Not so much out in elbow - just needed to be a fraction deeper in brisket. She had awful front feet too although you can't see them in the pic. Personally the white is OK for me and the Swedish judges never seemed to mind when they judged her. It's more white on the neck and body that they worry about.

Blossom passed away a few years ago now aged 14. We still miss her loads. If you count her Best Bitch awards at Ch shows as CCs (the breed doesn't have CCs at all) then she'd have won 32

Debs

Debs, can I just ask about forehand construction. I see your standard asks for 90 degrees between shoulder and upper arm but it is generally accepted now that this isn't appropriate construction for a breed of this type.

From the photo, Blossom looks to be about 120 degrees with really good length of both these bones, and this looks absolutley right on this dog, blending in with the rest of her bone structure.

Do judges adhere to the standard, or apply their better judgement when assessing the forehand?

Pod you're absolutely right.

In my, and many other judges' (and yours too it seems! LOL) opinion, 90 degrees on a long legged hound would not be a good thing. It's something I wish they would change about the standard. On a Basset or a Dachshund then yes - on a longer legged hound, no.

Debs

Id rather have her than some of the ones in the ring today Debs, you can see the quality and the elegance in her, a lot today are so heavy they are awful!