I have been reading a few beagle critiques and have noticed that the judges often use the term "hard condition", for example one said "All the hounds today were shown in hard condition", can anyone tell me what this expression means ?

Well muscled & in prime physical condition. Can also be described as "Dry"condition in some breeds meaning no excess fat & well muscle

I thought it might be refering to muscle tone but then i thought does it refer to the coat condition.

Interesting, have always considered it to refer to body condition, and if the body is in good order the coat will normal be too. Except if the dog is coating at the time. To me a dog/hound does not reach a state that can be described a hard or dry until they are fully mature, I have never met an exhibit yet in puppy that could be said to be in hard condition and I am not sure that they should, nor in junior if my memory serves me right.

So hard refers to muscle tone etc. I'm glad i've found that out as i had all kind of thoughts as to what it meant. The critique that said all the hounds were in hard condition today was for an open show so they may have all been adults. Thanks for your replies.

Or the judge thinks that puppies are in hard condition, just because I don't does not mean another judge wont. ;)

Depends on the dog as well my youngest has taken ages to get really super fit, yet the next youngest has always been fit & had super muscle tone from under 6 months. he's a lot smaller(actual the ideal weight for a cavalier now being 15 lbs)

Grooming the youngest the other day I found he now has a second thigh & has tightened up all over.

Excuse the ignorance but what is a 'second thigh'? Have seen it in a few books but it didn't explain, and as I'm new to this I'm still learning the lingo!

The second thigh is the muscle beneath the top thigh.  Dogs which are not properly excercised do not always have them.  Regarding the question of muscles and hard condition my youngest bitch is naturally muscular and is only 14 months and was described as having the physique of a athlete.  Her brother is excercised the same but is not as muscular.  I do not see why a young dog should not be muscular although I know there is a school of thought it ruins movement.  Not quite sure I agree with it though as my other bitch got a CC under Frank Kane who is renowned for judging on movement and has been excercised and in hard muscular condition since she was first shown at 6 months.

Did not say they should not, I said I had never seen it, have seen a well muscle youngster, it is that pulled together tension that says this dog is fit and well and ready to go. Very difficult to say what I mean, may be my idea of a dog in hard condition is different to others, it is, to me, far more than well muscled but it is one of those things like 'ring presence' hard to explain and may be we do all mean different things.

Just to add confusion, the muscle must also be correct for the breed of dog.  Different exercise brings on different muscles and you can over muscle (possibly not the correct term :P  ) a dog and that can throw out both the outline & the movement

Agreed Sarah :-)  In my breed some folk like to see well muscled thighs but infact if they are over-muscled and start to bulge out they are referred to as being like jodhpurs and this is incorrect for my breed.  I do know some people think it looks nice and I assume they think it is a sign of a dog in hard condition and able to do the job it was bred for.  My breed should have well developed first and second thigh but they definitely shouldn't bulge.

My opinion of hard condition is a dog that is muscled up to give it the picture of power and elegance called for in the standard, to give the impression that the dog is fit and able to do a days work but it shouldn't be overdone.  Coat should be in tip top condition and confirmation excellent.  Bad confirmation would result in the dog tiring before his working day is over because he can't move properly in the way he should be able to.  If they have all of this then in my opinion that is hard condition.  But everyone's opinion of hard condition amongst other things including the standard will be different and that is why different dogs win :-)  Oh and I'm only referring to my breed cos that is where my experience lies.

I remember Carina when she was 6 months old and I had a litter of pups.  A couple came to see the pups and went mad over Carina when they saw her because of her muscle tone, she just rippled with them !!  Her uncle was the same at an early age although most of my Spanish have taken longer.  Just noticed that Ickle Man has now developed lovely second muscles I couldn't believe how big they were, maybe that's where all of his weight is as he still feels skinny, although is near the top of the weight range :d