Griffon Bleu de Gascogne - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin
The Griffon Bleu de Gascogne is an ancient French breed with Pyrenean origins. The breed is most likely offspring of medium sized Bleu de Gascogne with the Griffon Nivernais and possibly even with the Grand Griffon Vendéen. All three are another French hounds.
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2) Hunting
The Griffon Bleu de Gascogne is a hunter. Hunting was extremely popular in France and this breed was used for hunting by royalty, but also by commoners. They most often hunted hare and other smaller game, but when needed, they were able to go hunt for example wild boar or deer as well. The Griffon Bleu de Gascogne can hunt in large packs, but thanks to their independence, they are also able to hunt alone. It is extremely versatile hunter. Their extraordinary sense of smell and very high prey drive are their biggest weapons on the hunt, next to their endurance and loud voice.

3) Rare breed
The Griffon Bleu de Gascogne is a rare breed, rarely seen outside France and northwest Spain, but in the past, they were quite popular over the Europe, but their numbers were declining for many decades as the hunting dogs were not needed that much anymore and they almost went extinct. But lately, the breed is experiencing a revival and luckily, they are not on the verge of extinction anymore. Today the breed is officially recognized by some of the largest kennel clubs around the world, like FCI or UKC.

4) Companion
Of course, this is not only a hunter, but, just like all the dogs, loyal companion. The breed standard describes this dog as highly excitable, but affectionate. It is also extremely loyal breed with independent mind, but overall friendly demeanor towards its own family. They are pretty alert towards strangers and they can be trained to be okay watchdogs, but they should never be agressive without a reason. They can happily live in a pack with other dogs, especially if socialized together from the puppyhood, but because of their hunting instincts, it might be challenging to socialize them with other household pets. They are also good playful partners for kids, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised.

5) Exercise
This is definitely not a city dweller. The Griffon Bleu de Gascogne is highly energetic dog breed with high exercise needs. They need a lot of daily exercise, physical and mental, just as they need a lot of human interaction. Without these things, they will be unhappy and potentionally develop some unwanted behaviour, like excessive barking. You can take them on long walks to the woods, hikes, jogs or simply play with them. They will love it all.

6) Size
This is medium to large sized dog breed with well built muscular body. The average height is between 50-57 cm, which is 19-23 inch and weight is typically between 35-60 lbs, which is 16-27 kg. Females are naturally slightly smaller than males.

7) Coat and color
This breed has a very descriptive name, which will tell you all you need to know about the dogs coat. Griffon is describing wiry coated hounds from France and Bleu is describing the blue like coat color. De Gascogne is describing geographical region, where these dogs originated. So the breeds name can be literally translated as blue colored and wiry coated hunting breed of Gascogne region. And indeed, the coat of this breed is rough and shaggy and the coats color is white mottled with black, giving a slate blue overall appearance.

8) Bleu de Gascogne
The Griffon Bleu de Gascogne is one of the four breeds that are part of the Bleu de Gascogne family, next to the Petit Bleu de Gascogne, Grand Bleu de Gascogne and Basset Bleu de Gascogne. All four share the same coat pattern, but the Griffon is the only one with longer and rough coat.

9) Maintenance
Speaking of the coat, it is important to mention the grooming and maintenance as well. The breed has quite unkept appearance, but it will still benefit from regular brushing and combing, which will remove all the dead hair. No other grooming is required and the grooming routine is quite simple. Just like with any other breed, you should also regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.

10) Health
There is not much documentation about the breeds health, but it should be generally healthy and hardy breed with average lifespan around 12 or 13 years. The breed is not linked with any serious health issues, but they can ocassionally suffer from ear infections, hip and elbow dysplasia and different allergies.