Blue Picardy Spaniel - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin
The Blue Picardy Spaniel is still a young dog breed, developed in Northern France in the Picardy region, which was a paradise for hunters of waterflow. At the end of 19th and beggining of the 20th century, both French and English hunters loved hunting in this area with their dogs and they used variety of dogs, mostly English Setters, Gordon Setters and various French Spaniels, such as Picardy Spaniels or Brittanies. The Blue Picardy Spaniel is a result of crossing these dogs together and it is also an amazing waterflow hunter.
2) Recognition
The first black, blue-grey Spaniels were recorded already in 1875, but it was not until 1904 when Picardy Spaniel was shown. But during this time, the breed was named just as French Spaniel. That changed in 1907 when French hunting Spaniels were subdivided into several regional groups and Picard Spaniel and Blue Picardy Spaniel Club was formed. The Blue Picardy Spaniel breed was officially recognized as a separated breed in France in 1938.
3) Hunting
So you already know that the Blue Picardy Spaniel was developed in area favoured by waterflow hunters, and indeed this is a great dog for this purpose. But it is a versatile hunter, capable of locating and retrieving all kinds of game even in adverse and harsh terrain. These dogs are truly all around hunters, capable of field search, tracking, pointing and retrieving and of course, water work.
4) Companions
Of course, this is not only a hunter, but also a great calm and loving companion dog. These dogs are known for their gentleness and soft mouth, which is very important for retrieving job, but also for companionship. Thanks to the gentle and patient personality, these dogs are good partners for kids, but of course you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. Normally, Blue Picardy Spaniels are okay with other dogs in the family as well. This is a responsive dog with strong desire to please, which makes the breed relatively easy to train. It is also an intelligent, playful and friendly companion dog.
5) Swimming
I just mentioned that this is a good companion dog, but it is still not a dog for everyone. These dogs have higher energy and relatively high exercise needs. If you want your dog to be calm, easy going, happy and healthy, longer daily outdoor walks, jogs, hikes, playtime or fun training sessions are absolutely essential. One exercise that most of Blue Picardy Spaniels love the most is swimming. Sometimes it seems impossible to keep these dogs out of the water. It is due to their heritage of waterflow hunters, they were just developed to love the water and to be excellent swimmers and indeed, they are.
6) Size
This is an athletic and muscular dog breed with average height between 56-61 cm, which is 22-24 inch and weight is usually around 20 kg, which is approximatelly 44 pounds. There are no extreme size differences between males and females.
7) Quiet dogs
For a Spaniel type breed, this is quite calm and quiet dog breed. Of course, it is a dog with higher energy and exercise needs, as i mentioned earlier, but if you will provide this breed with enough exercise, they are well manered and very relaxed.
8) Picardy Spaniel
Picardy Spaniel and Blue Picardy Spaniel are two closely related French breeds. It is said, the the Blue Picardy Spaniel is softer and gentler, little bit faster and that it has little bit better sense of smell. But of course, the main difference is the coat. While the Picardy Spaniel has a brown coat, the Blue Picardy Spaniel has black-grey coat, which gives impression of blue color and which was brought into the breed by the English Setter crossing. The coat is flat or slightly wavy. Typically there is a feathering on the ears, tail, underside and legs.
9) Maintenance
The maintenance and grooming of Blue Picardy Spaniel is quite easy. They do shed some deal of fur, seasonally more heavily, and if you want to minimize it and keep the coat as clean as possible, regular brushing is very beneficial. No other grooming is required. Just like with all the dogs, you should also regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.
10) Health
There are not many scientific studies about the breeds health, but it seems that this is rather healthy dog breed, which is not suffering much from any health issues. Just like all the long eared dogs, even the Blue Picardy can be prone to ear infections. Other possible health issues, which can sometimes occur contains typical dog health problems such as hip dysplasia, bloating or some eye problems. The average lifespan of this breed is around 13 years.