The Grand Bleu de Gascogne is a

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of hounds of the scenthound type, originating in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and used for hunting in packs. Today's breed is the descendant of a very old type of large hunting dog, and is an important breed in the ancestry of many other hounds.

Description

The Grand Bleu de Gascogne is an imposing large dog, a typical hunting pack hound of the oldest type, with a lean and muscular body, long legs, slightly domed head, long drop ears, and drooping lips. Size is 65 to 72 cm (25.6 to 28.3 ins) at the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle a ...

, females slightly smaller. Dogs of this breed should show an attitude of calm strength and nobility.FCI ''Grand Gascony Blue'' The colour of the

coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, ...

is white mottled with black, giving a slate blue overall appearance. There are black patches on either side of the head, with a white area on top of the head which has in it a small black oval. Tan "eyebrow" marks are over each eye. Faults are deviations in appearance that have an effect on the health and working ability of the dog, as well as an absence of expected features of colour, structure, and size, indicating that a dog with such faults should not be bred. Faults include aggression or fearfulness, anatomical malformation, and lack of type. Although these are large dogs, "Grand" does not necessarily refer to the size of the dogs. "In most cases it is simply a label for a pack that is used for larger game". Today. the breed is used in hunting boar, deer, and other game. The Grand Bleu de Gascogne is a very large dog weighing 80-120 lbs

Health and temperament

No unusual health problems or claims of extraordinary health have been documented for this breed. Temperament of individual dogs may vary.

History and use

The Grand Bleu de Gascogne ancestors were contemporaries with the St Hubert Hound and English Southern Hound, Comte de Foix kept a pack in the 14th century and

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monar ...

kept a pack in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The Grand Bleu de Gascogne has a long history in the US, the first dogs were bred there in the 18th century; more Grand Bleus are now in the US than France.Fogle, p 162. General Lafayette presented a pack of seven Grand Bleus to

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

in 1785, who compared their melodious voices to the bells of Moscow.Alderton, p 96. The Grand Bleu de Gascogne is noted for its focus on the hunt, as well as a good nose and distinctive, sonorous, deep howl, the breed is "instinctively a pack hound". In the past, it was used to hunt

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

, and

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

; in the field it is considered a rather slow and ponderous worker and today is predominantly used to hunt

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The g ...

s. The Grand Bleu de Gascogne has had a significant influence on the development of several breeds of scent hounds. After the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, it was used to revitalise the old Saintongeois, creating the

Gascon Saintongeois The Gascon Saintongeois is a breed of dog of the scenthound type, recognised in two varieties, ''Grand'' (large) and ''Petit'' (smaller than the Grand, but ''not'' a small dog). Originating in France, the breed is used for hunting in packs a ...

, and the Bluetick Coonhound is considered a direct descendant of the Grand Bleu. The Grand Bleu de Gascogne was used by Sir John Buchanan-Jardine in the development of the

Dumfriesshire Hound Dumfriesshire Black and Tan Foxhounds were a pack of foxhounds kennelled at Glenholm Kennels, Kettleholm, near Lockerbie until they were disbanded in 2001. They were established by Sir John Buchanan Jardine, author of ''Hounds of the World'' (193 ...

; in Britain, any native hounds with blue marbled coats are still referred to as 'Frenchies' after this breed.Hancock, p 149.

References

Bibliography

* Alderton, David, ''Hounds of the World'', Swan Hill Press, Shrewsbury, 2000, . * Clarke, Anne R., Brace, Andrew H. & Sporre-Willes, Renee, ''The International Encyclopedia of Dogs'', Wiley, 1995, .
Federation Cynologique Internationale, ''Great Gascony Blue''
retrieved 15 Dec 14. * Fogle, Bruce, ''The Encyclopedia of the Dog'', DK Publishing, New York, 2009, . * Hancock, David, ''Hounds: Hunting by Scent'', The Crowood Press Ltd, Marlborough, 2014, .

External links

Search The Open Directory Project (DMOZ) links for clubs and information about the Grand Bleu de Gascogne
{{French dogs Dog breeds originating in France FCI breeds Scent hounds