French Hounds - The Porcelaine: Little known in Italy, the Porcelaine is a typically French dog, beautiful to look at, elegant when hunting and sweet in the family.
Theories on the origin of the name of this fascinating French hound are wasted: according to some the hair closely resembled that of horses whose coat was called porcelaine, according to others the name is due exclusively to the color of the coat, of a fabulous white porcelain. Still others are certain that the name is due to the delicacy of the dog, similar to porcelain in this one.
Whatever the truth, it seems that the porcelaine originated from the encounter between a Saint Hubert and a bracca d'Italia (according to some theories the crossing took place with white and orange Swiss hounds) and that the breed has saved from the French Revolution thanks to a series of lucky passages from one owner to another.
In truth, the oldest of the French hounds, immediately after the revolution experienced a period of real decline and the interest in this specimen with unique qualities was rediscovered only in 1845 thanks to the work of Swiss breeders.
Today the breed proves ideal not only during hunting as it is endowed with a sense of smell and resistance not for everyone, but also for family life: its presence is friendly and with children, it seems undeniable, it knows how to do it. just as he knows how to do with hares and small game.
Lively, the French hound is a dog that needs a particularly active owner: it does not like to laze and would sell its soul to the devil for a little movement: all this enthusiasm can be clearly seen during the hunt.
The Porcelaine owes its strong structure to the encounter with the Somerset Harrier who also inherited a certain speed from it during the following: in principle, however, we can say that the encounter between this and other breeds has always been very difficult and in some cases penalizing. To observe the evolution of the dog, what is evident is the growth in the tonnage of the Porcelaine which in the early twentieth century was certainly lighter: its main use was almost exclusively aimed at hunting hare and the height requested of it did not exceed 55 centimeters. . Today the Porcelaine is instead bigger, solid and resistant since it is often used in wild boar hunting.
What has not changed over the years is certainly the fine sense of smell of the hound, its courage and its ability to keep up with its prey. Even on the groundbait his work is impeccable: his barking is sonorous and right at that moment all the screaming skills that characterize him emerge.
Its short hair, white and pink like the most precious porcelain today covers a muscular body that reaches 58 centimeters in height in the case of males, while the weight rarely exceeds 28 kilos. One of the most characteristic physical traits of the Porcelaine are the ears, with a narrow, fine and crumpled set. The tail, on the other hand, is robust at the root and of medium length.
Physically well proportioned, the dog has a long back, a high and light neck and very solid hind limbs: the head is typical of the hound and the eyes, normally dark, immediately denote the good character of the dog and its sagacity.
In short, it is a hound perhaps little known in Italy, which any hunter, once discovered, would like to have as a companion when hunting small game or wild boar.