Petit 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
Weekly
Barking preference
Moderate
Personality
Independent + affectionate

Breeder List

Breeder - Ms Kylie Delacourt (Wazazi)

kyliepbgv@gmail.com
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History

The Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen (PBGV) 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 Petiteand boar for the Grand.

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 appearance.

The PBGV has a slightly elongated body with a prominent, well developed nose. It has large eyes with an intelligent expression and a strong bone structure.

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 with them. 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

Image: Radomír Režný | Dreamstime.com

In Conclusion

Now you know a little about the Petit 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 Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, and its needs and whether this breed would suit your lifestyle.

Official breed standard as recognized by Dogs NSW (Last Updated: 10 Dec 2009)

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Breed Standard - Petit 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

Small, active and vigorous hound, with a slightly elongated body. Proud tail carriage. Coat hard and long without exaggeration. Expressive head; leathers well turned inwards, covered with long hair and set below the level of the eye, not too long.

Characteristics

Devil in the country, angel in the house, that’s our Basset. It’s a passionate hunter that must, from an early age, get used to obeying. Perfect assistant to the hunter with a gun on territories of medium size, specialist for rabbit, but no other game escapes from it.

Temperament

Passionate hunter, courageous, likes the bramble and scrub. Docile but wilful and passionate.

Physical Standards

Head and Skull	Skull: Slightly domed, not too elongated nor very broad, well chiselled under the eyes, the occipital protuberance quite developed.Stop: Frontal indentation defined.Nose: Prominent, well developed. Nostrils open, black apart from the white and orange coats where a brown nose is tolerated.Muzzle: Much shorter than that of the Grand Basset but never the less very slightly elongated and straight. Muzzle square at its end.Lips: Covered with abundant moustaches.
Eyes	Quite large with an intelligent expression, showing no white. The conjunctiva must not be apparent. The brows surmounting the eyes stand forward but must not obscure the eyes. Eyes should be of a dark colour.
Ears	Supple, narrow and fine, covered with long hair, ending in a slight oval, turned inwards and not quite reaching the end of the muzzle. Well set below the level of the eye.
Mouth	Scissor bite.
Neck	Long and strong; well muscled; strong at set on; without dewlap; carried head proudly.
Forequarters	Limbs: Bone structure quite strong but in proportion to sizeShoulders: Clean, oblique, well attached to the body.Forearm: Well developed.Wrist (Carpus): Very slightly defined.
Body	Back: Straight, topline level.Loin: Muscled.Croup: Well muscled and quite wide.Chest: Not too wide. Rather deep, reaching the elbow level.Ribs: Moderately rounded.
Hindquarters	Limbs: Bone structure quite strong but in proportion to sizeThigh: Muscled and only slightly rounded.Hock: Quite wide, slightly angulated, never completely straight.
Feet	Not too strong, pads hard, toes very tight, nails solid. Good pigmentation of the pads is desirable.
Tail	Set high, quite thick at its base, tapering evenly to its tip; rather short, carried sabre fashion.
Gait/Movement	Very free and effortless.
Coat	Harsh but not too long, never silky or woolly.Skin: Quite thick, often marbled in tricolour subjects.
Colour	Black with white spotting (white with 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 colour, badger colour or wild boar colour.
Size	Height at withers: From 34 to 38 cm with a tolerance of 1cm more or less.

Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect on the health and welfare of the breed.FAULTS:- Head:- Too short.- Flat skull.- Depigmentation of nose, lips or eyelids.- Short muzzle.- Pincer bite.- Light eye.- Leathers set high, long, insufficiently turned in or lacking hair.Body:- Too long or too short, lacking harmony.- Topline insufficiently firm.- Slanting croup.Tail- Deviated stern.Limbs- Insufficient bone.- Lack of angulation.- Slack in pasterns.Coat- Not dense enough, fine hair.Temperament- Timid subjectELIMINATING FAULTS:- Fearful or aggressive subject.- Lack of type.- Overshot or undershot mouth.- Wall eye. Eyes of different colours (Heterochromia)- Lack of space in the sternal region. Ribs too narrow towards the lower part.- Kinky tail.- Crooked or half-crooked forelegs.- Woolly coat.- Self-coloured black or white coat.- Important depigmentation- Size outside the standard.- Noticeable invalidating fault. Anatomical malformation.Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

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

History

For a long time the Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen had the same standard as the Grand basset, only the size was different (from 34 to 38 cm). The result in utilization was not very brilliant, because they were semi-crooked and as heavy as the Grand basset. That is why that M. Abel Dezamy created a separate standard for them. To define this hound, let us remember what Paul Daubigne wrote: “It is no longer a small Vendeen by simple reduction of the height, but a small Basset harmoniously reduced in all his proportions and in its volume, that is naturally endowed with all moral qualities which presuppose the passion for hunting”. A team of Petit Bassets won the first edition of the France’s Cup on rabbit.