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Schillerstövare
Patient, gentle, determined and led by the nose. From Sweden.
Houndmedium breedSwedenStandards checked
Standards checked: this profile's facts are checked against the breed standards of the AKC, The Kennel Club and the FCI, as described on our methodology page.
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Photos show different individual dogs from licensed libraries, not one dog growing up. Stage labels are approximate, the way a careful editor would judge them.
About the Schillerstövare
The Schillerstövare is a medium sized scent hound from Sweden, developed to follow scent trails for hours, on game from rabbits to boar, baying so hunters can follow. Expect a companionable, musical dog who treats every walk as a detective story. Food motivation is total, which helps training and hurts waistlines.
History
Schillerstövare (Sweden) is a medium sized scent hound whose work was to follow scent trails for hours, on game from rabbits to boar, baying so hunters can follow. The FCI recognizes the breed, and its standard is the reference used across most of the world. It is described as patient, gentle, determined and led by the nose. The adult stands 19 to 24 in at the shoulder and weighs 40 to 53 lb.
Personality
Patient, gentle, determined and led by the nose is the record's Schillerstovare, the Schiller Bracke: Sweden's lighter stover, developed by Per Schiller in the nineteenth century from English Harriers and Swedish hounds, bred for speed and style on hare and fox. Schillers are bright, efficient and good natured, racier than the Hamilton with a harrier's sparkle over the stover's sweetness. Puppies are bright, tan charmers; adults are athletic, devoted companions. Owners describe the sports model of the Swedish stovers: fast, musical and delightful.
Temperament and traits
Energy (4/5)
Trainability (3/5)
Grooming needs (3/5)
Shedding (3/5)
Barking (4/5)
Good with children: Good with children
With other dogs: Good with dogs
With strangers: Friendly with strangers
Apartment life: With enough exercise
Coat and care
Coat: Dense double coat: a harsh, straight outer coat, longer on the back and neck, over a thick undercoat. It sheds seasonally and needs weekly brushing.
Colors: The standard accepts a range of colors and patterns, and individual markings vary a lot.
Measure meals rather than free feeding; this breed does best on a routine of consistent meals, training in short sessions and daily exercise matched to its type. Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine. Long ears drag through everything and need weekly cleaning. Weight creeps up silently in this food loving type, so weigh monthly.
Exercise and grooming
Exercise
Sixty to ninety minutes a day of Swedish forest exercise: the Schillerstovare is Sweden's lighter, racier stover, developed by farmer Per Schiller from English Harrier and local hound stock, bred to run hare and fox with speed and a clear voice in Swedish woodland. Long hikes, tracking and free running in secure areas fill the programme. Expect a companionable, musical dog who treats every walk as a detective story, per the overview. Food motivation is total, which helps training and hurts waistlines. Puppies need gradual building, and the Schiller's speed asks for genuinely secure free running areas.
Grooming
Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine, per the care notes, working through the short, dense tan and black coat: minutes a week. Long ears drag through everything and need weekly cleaning, exactly as the notes say. Weight creeps up silently in this food loving type, so weigh monthly and measure meals rather than free feeding. Nails need trims on a dog built for forest speed, teeth benefit from brushing. Puppies need kind ear handling habits from the start.
Training and daily life
Training
Train the Schiller with food, patience and respect for a fast, bright nose. Food motivation is total, which helps training and hurts waistlines, per the overview. Recall exists in two states, reliable when the nose is idle and fictional at harrier speed on a line, so the goal is management plus manners: secure areas, long lines, an emergency response and excellent household skills. Tracking formalises the profession. Kindness and clarity produce a polished, devoted companion.
Living with a Schillerstövare
The Schillerstovare suits active rural households that want Sweden's speedster stover: patient, gentle and nose led in the record's words, good with children, good with other dogs and friendly with strangers, it rates flats as possible only with the full forest programme delivered. Expect a companionable, musical dog that treats every walk as a Swedish hare hunt at pace. Owners describe the athlete of the stovers: a fast, stylish, sweet natured hound with a harrier's sparkle and a family's heart.
What a Schillerstövare costs
Food cost
About $31 per month for a typical 46 lb adult eating roughly 2.9 cups a day of a standard quality food ($1.60 per lb). Full breakdown in our food expense calculator.
Activity and exercise
Plan 60 to 90 minutes a day of walks, play and training. Under exercised dogs of most breeds invent their own projects, and they rarely pick good ones.
Insurance cost
Typical US range $34 to $60 per month for accident and illness cover. Estimate only, based on market ranges for this breed's risk profile; see the insurance estimator and the insurance guide.
On the monthly figures above, a typical adult year runs to about $369 for food and $408 to $720 for insurance, before routine vet care, grooming and gear. Year one costs more: vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, a crate, bedding and training all land at once.
Growth: puppy to senior
How weight typically builds with age for a medium breed, and when full size arrives.
| Stage | Age | Typical weight |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy | 8 weeks | about 6 to 7 lb |
| Puppy | 4 months | about 13 to 17 lb |
| Young | 6 months | about 21 to 28 lb |
| Young | 9 months | about 30 to 39 lb |
| Adult | 12 months | about 35 to 47 lb |
| Adult | 18 months | about 40 to 53 lb |
| Adult | Full grown | 40 to 53 lb (standard range) |
| Senior | From about 8 years | Healthy weight stays in the adult range; watch for slow gain or loss |
Growth pattern follows the size class growth curves published by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, applied to the adult weight range in the breed standard. Individual puppies vary; steady growth matters more than hitting any single number, and your vet's growth checks come first.
Life stages
Puppies need socialisation, ear care habituation, gradual exercise building and secure fencing audited before the nose and speed fully engage. Adolescents are at maximum stamina and velocity, and tracking plus long lines carries the household through. Adults enjoy a sturdy prime: keep weight measured, ears clean and the forest walks serious. Ten to twelve years puts senior status around eight to nine: twice yearly checks, joint friendly exercise and continued sniffy rambles. Old Schillers stay gentle, musical and devoted.
Health
Hip screening and eye checks are the standards for scent hounds, and the long ears need watching for infection. Keeping this food loving type lean is itself a health measure.
Conditions to know about
- Hip dysplasia: Hip screening is a standard for scent hounds, per the record. Ask for scores in writing, and keep this racy stover lean.
- Eye conditions: Eye checks are the other standard named in the record. Ask for current results for both parents.
- Ear infections: The long ears need watching for infection, in the record's words: weekly cleaning is the prevention, and head shaking or ear odour books the vet visit.
- Weight management: Keeping this food loving type lean is itself a health measure, per the record. Measured meals and monthly weighing are the programme.
Facts follow the Schillerstövare breed standard (AKC, The Kennel Club and FCI standards agree on the essentials for this breed). Health notes summarize the conditions breed clubs and veterinary bodies most often flag for this breed. They are general information for choosing and caring, not a diagnosis or a substitute for your vet.
Gear for Schillerstövare owners
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Schillerstövare questions
How long do Schillerstövares live?
A typical lifespan is 10 to 12 years. Weight control, dental care and screening for the breed's known conditions give a dog the best chance of reaching the top of that range.
How much does it cost to keep a Schillerstövare?
Food for a typical adult runs about $31 a month at a standard quality tier, and accident and illness insurance usually falls between $34 and $60 a month in the US. Try the full cost calculator for a complete year one and yearly picture.
Are Schillerstövares good with children?
Good with children. As with every breed, supervise dogs and children together and teach children to respect the dog's space.
How much exercise does a Schillerstövare need?
Plan on 60 to 90 minutes a day, split between walks, play and training games. Puppies and seniors need gentler, shorter sessions.
Schiller or Hamilton, what is the difference?
Sweden's two classic stovers: the Schiller is the lighter, faster, tan and black saddled dog with Harrier blood. The Hamilton is the more elegant tricolour with Foxhound in its foundation. Both are sweet, musical solo hare hounds.
Who was Per Schiller?
A Swedish farmer breeder who developed the breed in the late nineteenth century from English Harriers crossed with local stovers; the famous dog Tamburini became its foundation sire.
Are Schillers good family dogs?
Yes, for active families: patient and gentle at home in the record's pattern. They are fast working Swedish stovers needing real forest exercise and scent work.
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