Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen

Size
Medium (11kg - 27kg)
Exercise
40 min/day
Training
Puppy school only
Size of home
House with garden
Time at home
Alone with support
Grooming
Low maintenance
Barking preference
Moderate
Personality
Independent + affectionate

Breeder List

Breeder - Mrs Debbie Matthews (Rickaby)

djm.rickaby@outlook.com
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History

Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen (GBGV) is a rustic French Hound that came to prominence during the French Revolution. The Vendeen is an extremely rugged and remote area of France where many rebels went into hiding, and the residents of this district needed agile, rugged Hounds to assist them in hunting.

Both the Petit and the Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen have distinct individual breed characteristics, developed to assist them in hunting their own specific prey: rabbits for the Petit and boar for the GBGV.

Temperament

Both the PBGV and GBGV are friendly outgoing dogs, with the PBGV bearing the nickname 'the Happy Hound'. While they are scent Hounds, they are not perhaps as nose obsessed as other scent Hounds and are very responsive to training. The GBGV is fast and well voiced, but can be stubborn at times. The breed has been known to perform extremely well in Obedience, Agility and Tracking. It does require an extremely well fenced yard, and should not be let off lead in unsecure areas.

Appearance

Often described as 'scruffy dogs' both the Petit and the Grand have a particularly rustic

The GBGV has an elongated body, balanced and elegant with oval eyes and a strong jawline. Its bone structure is developed but lean.

Health

Sadly, the PBGV and GBGV are prone to some health problems including eye diseases, epilepsy and hip dysplasia and it is extremely important that you purchase your dog from a breeder who has a rigorous testing program.

The Basset Griffon Vendeen Club of NSW encourages all members to test their dogs. Generally, a well bred PBGV or GBGV is a long-lived and healthy dog and can live up to 15 years of age.

Maintenance

They are active dogs that require owners who are willing to provide them with mental stimulation, as well as physical exercise. Being pack Hounds, they thrive on being part of the family and getting out and about. They are very responsive dogs and have done well at Obedience when positive methods have been used.

It is recommended that the outer coat be stripped by hand and a thorough brushing each week will remove most dead hair. This will avoid shedding.

Suitability

Overall, both the Petit and the Grand make fabulous pets for people who want a medium-sized dog and are willing to put the time in. The breed thrives on attention and its fantastic, clown-like personality make it a much-loved member of the family.

Both breeds require a well fenced yard, and have been known to dig and climb, if allowed to become bored.

Words: Claire Parker

In Conclusion

Now you know a little about the Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen, you may think that this is the dog for you. Before you make a decision, please make contact with the breed club or your State controlling body for purebred dogs. They will be able to give you information about available puppies and also suggest dog shows where you can see the breed and speak to breeders. In this way you will gain a better perspective of the Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen, and its needs and whether this breed would suit your lifestyle.

Official breed standard as recognized by Dogs NSW (Last Updated: 05 Aug 2009)

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Breed Standard - Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen

A breed standard is the guideline which describes the ideal characteristics, temperament, and appearance of a breed and ensures that the breed is fit for function with soundness essential. Breeders and judges should at all times be mindful of features which could be detrimental in any way to the health, welfare or soundness of this breed.

General Appearance

Slightly elongated overall, it has straight forelegs, the structure of a basset, and must not resemble a small Briquet. It is balanced and elegant.

Characteristics

It is the perfect assistant for the hunter with a gun in territories of moderate size. Fastest of all scenthound bassets, tenacious, courageous, and a little stubborn. It must, from an early age, be accustomed to obeying; its training implies will and punishment, for which he will bear no grudge.

Temperament

Behaviour: Fast, well voiced, a passionate hunter, courageous, loves bramble and scrub.Temperament: A little stubborn but nevertheless well behaved. It is up to the master to take command.

Physical Standards

Head and Skull	Skull: Without heaviness, convex, elongated and not too wide, well chiselled below the eyes. Occipital bone well developed.Stop: Frontal indentation well defined.Nose: Prominent. Nostrils well open. Black and developed, except for white and orange coats where a brown nose is tolerated.Muzzle: Square at its extremity, noticeably longer than the skull, very slightly convex.Lips: Quite pendulous, covering well the lower jaw and giving the front of the muzzle a square profile. They are well covered with moustaches.
Eyes	Of oval shape, large, dark, not showing white; friendly and intelligent expression. The conjunctiva must not be apparent.
Ears	Supple, narrow and fine, covered with long hair and ending in an elongated oval, well turned inwards. Low set, below the eye. They must be able to reach beyond the end of the nose.
Mouth	Jaws strongly developed, scissor bite.
Neck	Long, robust and well muscled. Strong at set-on. Without dewlap.
Forequarters	Bone structure developed but lean. It should be understood that bone quality is not a question of volume but density.The forequarters must be straight with a thick forearm and a very slightly defined but very solid carpal joint (wrist).Shoulder: Long, clean and oblique.Elbow: Should be neither too close to body nor too loose.Forearm: Thick, wrists (carpus) should never touch.
Body	Really that of a basset but avoiding an exaggerated length.Back: Long, broad and really straight, never saddle-backed, and starting to arch its junction with the loin. Withers very slightly protruding.Loin: Solid, well muscled, slightly arched.Chest: Quite broad and well let down to elbow level.Ribs: Rounded, never flat nor cylindrical. Thorax slightly less broad at elbow level to facilitate the movement.Flank: Rather full, belly never tucked up.Skin: Quite thick, often marbled in the tricoloured subjects.
Hindquarters	Solid and well directed in the axis of the body.Hip (Iliac crest): ApparentThigh: Strongly muscled but not too rounded, bone structure and articulations very solid.Hock: Wide and angulated, must never be straight. Seen from the rear, it should not appear turned outwards or inwards.
Feet	Strong and tight with hard pads and solid nails. Good pigmentation of pads and nails is desirable.
Tail	Thick at the base, tapering progressively, set quite high, carried sabre fashion or slightly curved but never on the back or bent at the tip. Rather long.
Gait/Movement	The dog in action must give an impression of resistance and ease; the movement must be free and harmonious.
Coat	Hard, not too long and flat, never silky or woolly. The fringes should not be too abundant, the belly and inside of the thighs must not be bare. Eyebrows well pronounced but not covering the eye.
Colour	Black with white spotting (white and black). Black with tan markings (black and tan). Black with light tan markings. Fawn with white spotting (white and orange). Fawn with black mantle and white spotting (tricolour). Fawn with black overlay. Pale fawn with black overlay and white spotting. Pale fawn with black overlay. Traditional names: hare colour, wolf badger, badger colour or wild boar colour.
Size	Height at withers:Males from 40-44 cmFemales from 39-43 cmWith a tolerance of 1 cm more or less.

Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which that fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.Head:- Too short- Flat skull- Short muzzle- Depigmentation of the nose, lips or eyelids- Pincer bite- Light eye- Leathers set high, short, insufficiently turned in or lacking hairBody:- Too short or too long- Lacking harmony- Topline insufficiently firm- Slanting rumpTail:- Deviated sternLimbs:- Insufficient bone structure- Angulation too straight- Hocks too close- Slack in pasternsCoat;- Insufficiently dense, fine hairBehaviour:- Timid subjectELIMINATING FAULTS:- Aggressive or overly shy- Lack of type- Prognathism (overshot or undershot mouth)- Wall eye. Eyes of different colours (Heterochromia)- Lack of room in sternal region; ribs narrow towards the lower part.- Kinky tail- Crooked or half crooked forelegs- Woolly coat- Self coloured coat black or white.- Important depigmentation- Size outside the standard- Noticeable invalidating point. Anatomical malformation.Any dog showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

History

The Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen is derived, like all bassets, from hounds of superior size in this case the Grand Griffon. The first selections were made at the end of the 19th century by Comte d’Elva who was looking for subjects with straight legs. But it was Paul Dezamy who was especially responsible for fixing type. He understood that in order to catch a hare, dogs of a certain size were needed. He fixed that size at about 43 cm. Today used primarily when hunting with a gun, it is capable of hunting all furry game, from the rabbit to wild boar. A team of Grand Bassets won the 5th edition of the European Cup for hare.