Cirneco dell'Etna

About the Cirneco dell'Etna

On the lava slopes of Mount Etna, Sicilian hunters have used the Cirneco dell'Etna for centuries to work rabbit in daylight heat over ground that would ruin a softer dog's feet. It hunts with nose, eyes and ears together, and the huge upright ears are as much a hunting tool as the nose is.

Small and dry in build, standing roughly 46 to 50 cm, with a short coat in shades of tan from light sand to deep chestnut, sometimes with white on the chest, feet or tail tip. This is a primitive breed, sound and unexaggerated, and the standard rewards a dog that looks as though it could still do the job. They are affectionate with their own people, lively, and quick to notice everything; a stud should be curious and confident rather than shy.

Numbers in Britain are very small, and that shapes what to ask. Hip scores and a current eye certificate are reasonable requests, and beyond those, ask the owner what the breed club currently recommends rather than assuming a long list of DNA tests exists. The most valuable questions in a rare breed are about relatedness and about longevity: how closely the two pedigrees overlap, and how the older dogs behind them have aged.

Health & breeding

We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.