The Old Croatian Sighthound ( hr, hrti, 'greyhound'), also known as the Old Bosnian Sighthound, is an extinct

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

sighthound Sighthounds, also called gazehounds, are a Dog type, type of dog, hounds that hunt primarily by sight and speed, rather than by scent and endurance as scent hounds do. Appearance These dogs specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it in sight, an ...

from the countries of Bosnia–Herzegovina and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It is claimed the Old Croatian Sighthound was descended from sighthounds kept by the

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

; it closely resembled images of dogs on Celtic coins from the 5th century BC, as such it is believed to be closely related to the

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

, which was introduced to Britain by the Celts. Descriptions of the breed in the region have been found in the writings of

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

s from the 13th and 14th centuries AD. The Old Croatian Sighthound was almost identical to the Greyhound although slightly smaller, with dogs standing between bitches being shorter. The breed had a short coat and was predominantly white with black, brown, red or yellow patches. Traditionally the breed was kept for

coursing Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, t ...

, predominantly hunting

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

; it would catch the game and return it to the hunter. The breed never received recognition by any kennel club and suffered greatly under the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. The government of Yugoslavia banned coursing with sighthounds and further prohibited hunters from owning dogs without kennel club registration. In the early 1980s, some remaining specimens were found in

Orašje Orašje ( sr-cyrl, Орашје) is a city and the capital of Posavina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of river S ...

and the surrounding villages; a pair were brought to the

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

School of Veterinary Medicine with the hope of starting a breeding program, but ultimately the program failed; it is believed the breed was extinct by 1995.

References

Sighthounds Extinct dog breeds Dog breeds originating in Croatia {{dog-stub