Articles
in English
-
Introduction
-
Taigan Breed Standard
-
The Taigan Society
-
Word on the Taigan
-
Taigan as breed
- Gossips
and reality
-
Hunting with the Taigan
-
Hunting
Birds
-
About Kumayik
Expedition ins Gebiet Naryn (I)
Expedition ins Gebiet Naryn (II)
Taigan - Breed
standard
Accepted by the Republic Cinologist Council of the Kyrgyz Republic on 6 December 1995.
Affirmed by the order of Senior Management of the hunting Commission at the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Kyrgyz Republic on 1 February 1996.
The taigan is a breed that originates from the ancient bloodline of Middle Asian sight-hounds. This breed was formed in the extreme mountainous conditions of Kyrgyzstan. The taigan is able to operate in rugged terrain, and at elevations of two to four thousand meters above sea level.
The taigan has the refined qualities of a hunting dog: skill, sportiveness, keen eyesight, persistent ability to catch prey, ferocity against beast, sense of smell, honed tracking of game, the endurance for long chase, and excellent guarding fortitude.
The taigan is used in hunting for wild goat (and in past times for wild ram), roe deer, fox, korsak (little fox), badger, and wolf, as well as in coordinated hunts with the golden eagle. The hunt for the hare –tolai – is, however, an exception to its list of quarry.
Common traits, type of constitution and behaviour.
The dog is larger than medium height. The minimal height with withers for the male is 65 cm and for the female 60 cm. Both genders may exhibit an additional 1-2 centimeters due to the rump. The body length of the male taigan is approximately 105 cm, and female 107 cm.
Type of behavior.
Balanced, active. The dog, for the most part, is calm and even phlegmatic, but at the sight of beast is very excitable. The taigan has a noticeable gait, and, before sighting game, it moves at a trot, but when in pursuit runs at top speed.
Shortcomings: dampness, extremity in coarseness or lightness of build, not proportionally tall of legs, short and stocky frame, if the height is more than the length of body, excessive prolixity of the body.
Imperfections: coarse, dampness, a soft constitution. If the height of male is less than 62 cm and female is less than 57 cm.
Color of fur. Black, black with white (most common), gray, brown and yellow (or other shades and variations of this color), white. Areas of dark colored fur may have white marks.
Shortcomings: red, unsymmetrical color, spots on legs in a same color.
Imperfections: coffee-like marble specks, if the fur has three different colors, spots on legs in a different color.
Fur. Soft, long, and thick. In the winter the undercoat is developed. The areas of the muzzle, the front part of cranium, the front areas of the fore-legs (beginning from the wrist to the pads), sections of the hinds legs (from the hocks to the pads), and the back and waist are covered by short fur. There is beautiful, long, wavy fur (in lengths of 7 cm or more) on the backside of the skull (with the fur becoming progressively longer from the front to the rear of the skull), the neck, shoulders, and forearms, back side of the forelegs to the metacarpus. The fur is very well developed on the thighs and around the shin. Occasionally, fur also covers the pads and the rear pastern. Also from the center of the ribs outwards there is long and thick fur. In the ears there is soft, wavy fur, which protrude 5-8 cm. Between the toes of the pads there is course fur. On the underside of tail there is not thick long fur. Such distribution of a beautiful coat is unique to the taigan.
Shortcomings: Insufficient fur coverage on certain parts of the body.
Imperfections: If bad development, short fur, if ears have short fail. The absence of long fur in winter.
Skin, muscular system, skeleton. The skin is thick, elastic, without wrinkles. The muscular system is well developed, especially in areas of hind legs and the waist. The skeleton is strong, but not heavy.
Shortcomings: Skin that is porous, and wrinkled. Muscular structure that is unevenly developed.
Imperfections: Heavy and coarse skeleton. Muscular system that has weak development.
The head. Long, lean. Seen from above, the head is wedge-shaped with a wide cranium. The parietal bone (top of the head) is weakly developed. The poll lump (back of the head) is lightly outlined. Lips are tightly affixed to the jaw, without loose parts.
Shortcomings: damp, coarseness, a wide forehead, steep stop, sharp muzzle, disproportion between the length of the muzzle and the skull, and any over-development of the back of the head.
Imperfections: Head with high cheekbones. All shortcomings above, if they are pronounced, are imperfections.
Ears. Drooping, thick and without wrinkles. The tops are well rounded. The base is well adjoined to the head, and positioned at eye-level or below. Ears are long, about 12-14 cm, and covered by long and sometimes wavy fur.
Shortcomings: Ears, which have excessively low or high disposition. Ears with wrinkles, if weakly adjoined to the head, and the absence of adequate fur coverage.
Imperfections: Ears, which are protruding or bare.
Eyes. Big, oval, slanting. Brown or hazel in the appearance of any color.
Shortcomings: little, yellow colored.
Imperfections: If eyes are small or deeply positioned, round, any overflow from the eye’s orbits. Eyelids of unhealthy appearance.
Nose. Big, wide, black in the appearance of any color.
Shortcomings: If small. Spotty pigmentation.
Imperfections: Brown, white cloven. Forked.
Teeth. Strong, big, white. Tightly affixed to each other. The bite is scissor like.
Shortcomings and imperfections: Common for all breeds of dogs, the occasional absence of one premolar.
Neck: long, high-positioned, compressed from the sides, lean.
Shortcomings: short, if low positioned, round.
Imperfection: heavy, damp and thickset.
Chest. Wide, oval. In the narrow areas of the oval profile, ribs are short and well developed.
Shortcoming and Imperfections: It depends on how pronounced. If the chest is narrow and without depth. Withers prominently developed.
Back. Straight, wide, muscular. Behind the withers is typically a small dimple.
Shortcomings: If narrow, and inadequate muscular development, weak.
Imperfections: If hump-backed, low back.
Waist. Developed and convex.
Shortcomings and Imperfections: It depends on how pronounced. If waist is narrow and flat.
Croup. Wide, long, slightly curved. Sticking up the bones of the pelvis is noticeable development, with the width not less than 8 cm.
Shortcomings: If narrow, short, broad, or straight.
Imperfections: straight croup.
Stomach. Very slim, but is not lean.
Shortcomings and imperfections: (It depends on how pronounced) weakly is slim and lean.
Fore-legs. Muscular, lean. Seen from the front, they are straight and parallel. Elbows are directional definitely to back. Forearms in section are oval. Lower parts of the legs are oval shaped.
Shortcomings: If short, inclined and soft metacarpus.
Imperfections: pigeon-toed, oblique pads, if metatarsus is toward the back.
Hind-legs. If seen from the behind, legs are straight and parallel, but wider apart than fore-legs. Hind-legs are directional to back, with long levers, and angles of articulations are pronounced. Hind-legs are lean and have very strong muscular development. Hocks are well developed and sharply expressed. Metatarsi are long and vertical.
Shortcomings and Imperfections: (it is depends on how pronounced). Any narrow disposition of pads, the crupper is parallel to the ground, angles of articulations, which are weakly, defined. If metatarsi are short and strongly oblique, hocks are located widely or narrowly.
Pads. Oval with tightly adjoined toes. Clocks are directional downwards. Between toes there is course fur.
Shortcomings: pads are round and soft.
Imperfections: flat pads and wide spacing between toes.
Tail. Sword-shaped. Not thick, nor long. The base of the tail is forced downward by a ring, which, as a rule, does not allow complete downward motion. The base vertebras of the ring are jointed. When the dog is calm, the tail is lowered. When the dog is in motion, the tail is raised to the level of the back or slightly higher. Thin long fur on the lower part of tail is not well developed.
Shortcomings: Tail is excessively long or short, and slightly crooked. Ring is not complete. Unbent or incomplete ring, thin long fur on the low part of tail. A tail which is thick, and with a large ring.
Imperfections: Heavy tail with excessive thick fur. If crooked at the end. Complete absence of ring at the base of tail. A tail, which is steeply turned up towards the back.
Source: National Society
Kyrgyz Taigan, 2002