Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin
The Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen, or shortly just GBGV, is a dog breed with its origin in France. They were most likely developed from some larger breeds, that were common in the French region Vendee, most likely from the Grand Griffon. The GBGV breed became standardized in the second half of 19th century and the two men who are creditet for developing the breed are Comte d’Elva and Paul Dezamy who wrote the breed standard as it is known today.
2) Grand and Petit
For a long time there was only a breed standard for Basset Griffon Vendeen, but that changed after the second world war, when huntsman and breeders had to revive the breed and it became clear that there should be two breed standards, one for Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen and one for the Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen. The main difference is of course the height, the GBGV is taller, but the Petit version should also have more squared body and shorter muzzle, ears and tail. From the 1950s the Grand and Petits are considered as separated breeds, although interbreeding between the Grand and Petit was not banned until 1977.
3) Name
The Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen has very descriptive name. The word grand can be translated as large, which means it is the bigger version of the two Basset Griffon Vendeen breeds. The Basset means low and i used to describe all the basset breeds. Griffon is a word describing the wiry coat and vendeen describing the place of origin. So it can be literally translated as a Large Basset with wiry coat from Vendee region.

4) Hunters
The breeds temperament fits well to their hunting ancestry. This is a passionate hunter with well developed senses, which is courageous and little bit stubborn, which is needed when they are on the hunt, dogs like this must be independent. Those dogs are used to hunt in packs and most commonly they hunt rabbits, hares, deer and boars.

5) Companion
Of course, today, the Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen is commonly kept as companion dog. And they are great companions. These dogs are very outgoing and happy and you can be sure that you will never be bored with them. Even though, they know how to be stubborn, they are intelligent, trainable and obedient, but they do need patient trainer. They thrive for human companionship and creates a strong bond with its owners. They can also live with other dogs or children, but you should always monitor the situation between any dog breed and a very young child.

6) Energy
The GBGV is a very energetic dog breed, they were developed to hunt for long time and even today, they love long outdoor walks and exploring. They love playing different games, sniffing and running. Because they are intelligent, they also need plenty of mental stimulation, which can be some interactive playtime, nosework or regular training sessions.

7) Coat
All the french griffon dog breeds have similar hard and rough semi long coat. The GBGV coat should have fringing on his tail, legs and neck. The coat should never be silky or wooly. They coat is protecting them from the bushes and from all kinds of terrain. You can find this breed in many different colors and color combinations, including black and white, black and tan, fawn with spotting or white with lemon, orange, sable, grizzle.

8) Size

This is strongly built and well balanced dog with average height between 39-44 cm which is 15-17 inch and weight is typically between 40-45 pounds, which is 18-21 kg. The females are slightly smaller than males.

9) Health

The Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen has an average lifespan between 12-14 years. Just like all dogs, they can suffer from some health issues, mostly in older age. The health concerns include epilepsy, dermatitis or Leishmaniasis. The specific concerns include craniomandibular osteopathy, cushings disease or hypothyroidism.

10) Mantrailing
The Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen is one of the breeds that is trained for mantrailing in the Europe and in the US. Mantrailing is a scent pursuit of one’s individual scent wherever skin cells are dispersed and the GBGV is excellent at it!