Segugio Italiano

The Segugio Italiano[lower-alpha 1] is either of two Italian breeds of dog of scent hound type, the wire-haired Segugio Italiano a Pelo Forte[1] or the short-haired Segugio Italiano a Pelo Raso.[2][3]: 531  Apart from the coat type, they are closely similar,[3]: 531  and in some sources may be treated as a single breed; the Fédération Cynologique Internationale and the Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana treat them as separate.[1][2][4] They are also genetically close to the other two Italian scent hound breeds, the Segugio Maremmano and the Segugio dell'Appennino.[3]: 536  They are traditionally used for hunting hare, but may also be used in boar hunts.[5]: 242 

Segugio italiano a pelo forte
Other namesItalian Rough-haired Segugio
OriginItaly
Traits
Height Males
52–60 cm (20–24 in)
Females
50–58 cm (20–23 in)
Weight Males
20–28 kg (44–62 lb)
Females
18–26 kg (40–57 lb)
Coat Rough and coarse, not over 5 cm (2 in) long
Colour fawn, from dark red to very pale; black-and-tan
Kennel club standards
Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana standard
Fédération Cynologique Internationale standard
Dog (domestic dog)
Segugio italiano a pelo raso
Other namesItalian Short-haired Segugio
OriginItaly
Traits
Height Males
52–58 cm (20–23 in)
Females
48–56 cm (19–22 in)
Weight
18–28 kg (40–62 lb)
Coat short over the entire body
Colour fawn, from dark red to very pale; black-and-tan
Kennel club standards
Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana standard
Fédération Cynologique Internationale standard
Dog (domestic dog)

In 2009 registrations in the national stud-book were 1740 of the wire-haired breed and 4500 of the short-haired.[4]

History

The origins of the breed are unknown but are believed to be ancient.[6] In some Ancient Roman statues, including two in the Vatican Museums in Rome and one in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Diana the Huntress is portrayed accompanied by a hunting dog which is thought to show some similarity to the modern Segugio Italiano.[6][7][8]

Two closely similar skeletons of dogs of greyhound or scent hound type from a seventh-century Lombard necropolis at Povegliano in the province of Verona were described in 1995; they show some morphological similarity to the modern Segugio, except that they are taller, with a height at the withers estimated at 64 cm.[9]: 62 [6]

Dogs of this type were much used during the Italian Renaissance in elaborate hunts with a large number of hunt servants and hunt followers mounted on horseback.[7][8]

Dogs similar to the modern Segugio, both smooth-haired and rough-haired, were shown in Milan in 1886, but there was at this time no clear distinction of breed.[10]: 378  In 1920 a breed club, the Società Italiana Amatori del Segugio e del Cane da Tana, was formed in Lodi, and a breed standard was drawn up; it was dissolved in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, after restrictive legislation was passed by the Fascist government.[11] By the end of the war the breed was at risk of disappearing.[10]: 378 

A new breed society was formed in 1947, with the name Società Italiana Pro Segugio; in that year, the total number registered in the two national stud-books (LOI and LIR) was 69.[11] The breed standard was revised by the cynologist Giuseppe Solaro. In 1948 there were 120 new registrations.[10]: 378 

The rough-haired breed was fully accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1956,[12]: 440 [13] and the smooth-haired breed in 1993.[12]: 440 [14] In 2015, registrations in the national stud-book were 3647 of the short-haired breed, and 1106 of the rough-haired.[3]

It has been exported to a number of countries.[7][8]

Characteristics

There are two breeds of Segugio Italiano, the wire-haired Segugio Italiano a Pelo Forte[1] and the short-haired Segugio Italiano a Pelo Raso.[2][3]: 531  Apart from the coat type, they are closely similar,[3]: 531  and in some sources may be treated as a single breed, although the Fédération Cynologique Internationale and the Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana treat them as separate.[1][2][4] Genetic comparisons have found the two to be almost indistinguishable, and also to be genetically close to the other two Italian scent hound breeds, the Segugio Maremmano and the Segugio dell'Appennino.[3]: 536 

The coat of the smooth-haired breed is uniformly short, while that of the rough-haired breed is coarse and rough, though no more than 5 centimetres (2 in) long; this may have made it more suitable for hunting in cooler mountainous areas.[7][8] Two coat colours are recognised: any shade of fawn-coloured, varying from deep fox-red to very pale; and black-and-tan. Some white markings to the face and chest are tolerated.[15][16]

It is of medium size. When seen from the side, the body is approximately square in shape – the body length is the same as the height at the withers. Wire-haired dogs stand 52–60 cm and weigh 20–28 kg, bitches are about 2 cm shorter and weigh on average 2 kg less.[1] The short-haired breed is approximately 2 cm smaller, with weights in the same range.[2]

It shares certain physical characteristics with both scent hounds and sight hounds.[7][8][15] It has long legs, tucked-up loins and a roached (slightly convex) back more typical of a sight hound. The head has many scent hound features including low-set pendulous ears although it has a long, tapering muzzle with thin lips that are not pendulous.[7][8][15] The tail is long and tapered, and is typically carried high when hunting enabling them to be spotted easily when hunting.[7][15]

Character

Traditionally kept as pack hounds, the Segugio Italiano is very stubborn; once on a scent trail they display a single-minded dedication to following it, much like the Bloodhound, although unlike the latter the Segugio Italiano also captures and kills game.[8][15]

Use

The Segugio Italiano was traditionally kept for the purposes of hunting. It is renowned for its keen scenting ability and its considerable stamina when hunting, staying in the field for up to 12 hours without a break; like most scent hounds it bays loudly when pursuing game.[7][8] Its traditional quarry is hare, but it may also be used to hunt boar; it hunts well alone, in small groups, or in packs,[5]: 242  with the hunters remaining stationary and the hounds driving game towards them to be shot.[7][8][16]

In addition to its traditional role as a scent hound, the Segugio Italiano has increasingly been kept as a companion dog.[8][15]

See also

Notes
  1. Pronuciation: [seˈɡuːdʒo itaˈljaːno]

References
  1. [s.n.] (2015). FCI-Standard N° 198: Segugio italiano a pelo forte. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed December 2020.
  2. [s.n.] (2015). FCI-Standard N° 337: Segugio italiano a pelo raso. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed December 2020.
  3. Pallotti, Stefano; La Terza, Antonietta; De Cosmo, Attilio; Pediconi, Dario; Pazzaglia, Irene; Nocelli, Cristina; Renieri, Carlo (2017). "Genetic variability of the short-haired and rough-haired Segugio Italiano dog breeds and their genetic distance from the other related Segugio breeds". Italian Journal of Animal Science. 16 (4): 531–537. doi:10.1080/1828051X.2017.1317221. hdl:11581/400553.
  4. [s.n.] (2009). Un anno, 220 razze e 123.000 cani (in Italian). I Nostri Cani July/August 2009. Milano: Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana. Archived 16 July 2011.
  5. Maurizio Bongioanni, Concetta Mori, Piero Cozzaglio (2001). Il cane: pregi, difetti, caratteristiche e morfologia delle razze di tutto il mondo (in Italian). Milano: Mondadori. ISBN 9788804490029.
  6. Segugio italiano a pelo forte (in Italian). Milano: Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana. Archived 31 October 2020.
  7. Alderton, David (2000). Hounds of the world. Shrewsbury: Swan Hill Press. pp. 21–22. ISBN 1-85310-912-6.
  8. Morris, Desmond (2001). Dogs: the ultimate dictionary of over 1,000 dog breeds. North Pomfret, VT: Trafalgar Square Publishing. pp. 91–92. ISBN 1-57076-219-8.
  9. Alfredo Riedel (1995). Le inumazioni di animali della necropoli longobarda di Povegliano (Verona) = Tierbestattungen im langobardischen Gräberfeld von Povegliano (Verona) (in Italian and German). Annali del Museo Civico di Rovereto 11 (1995): 53-98.
  10. Hans Räber (2013). Enzyklopädie der Rassehunde, Band 2: Ursprung, Geschichte, Zuchtziele, Eignung und Verwendung (in German). Stuttgart: Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-Gmbh & Co. ISBN 9783440143124.
  11. Gino Motta (17 August 2013). Le origini (in Italian). Casalpusterlengo: Società Italiana Pro Segugio. Archived 27 September 2020.
  12. Stefano Pallotti, Stefania Riganelli, Stefano Antonini, Alessandro Valbonesi, Carlo Renieri (2020). Estimates of non-genetic effects for measures of hunting performance in short-haired and rough-haired Italian hound. Italian Journal of Animal Science 19 (1): 439–446. doi:10.1080/1828051X.2020.1748526.
  13. FCI breeds nomenclature: Segugio italiano a pelo forte. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed December 2020.
  14. FCI breeds nomenclature: Segugio italiano a pelo raso. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed December 2020.
  15. Fogle, Bruce (2009). The encyclopedia of the dog. New York: DK Publishing. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-7566-6004-8.
  16. Fiorone, Fiorenzo (1973). The encyclopedia of dogs: the canine breeds. New York: Thomas Y. Cromwell Company. pp. 242–245. ISBN 0-690-00056-1.
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