KENAI
Braque Francais, Pyrenees type

The breeds · gun dog · pointing

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 134

Braque Francais, Pyrenees type.

Pointing dog (FCI 134 utilization clause): the small French pointing dog, 'rustic, not heavy but sufficiently muscled', keeping the proportions and character of the Gascogne type in a lighter, smaller frame; in North America run as a versatile dog that points, retrieves on land and water and tracks.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

22 / 21INHeightdogs 21.5, bitches 20.7. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
38–55LBWeight, all linesbreed 46.3 lb (37.5 to 55).

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 21.5 in (20.1 to 22.8) · bitches 20.7 in (19.3 to 22)

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 134, 2023

Center is the midpoint of the FCI 2023 range (52.5 cm). UKC: 18.5 to 22 inches.

Weight

46.3 lb (37.5 to 55)

Breed clubCanadian Kennel Club, 2015

Center is the midpoint (21 kg). The AKC breed page states 40 to 55 pounds. Two registry figures behind this value, neither the FCI standard.

Coat

'Finer and shorter than that of the Gascogne type' (FCI 134 defines the Pyrenean coat only by that difference); UKC: 'fine, and short', chestnut brown, solid or mixed with white, with or without ticking, roaning or tan markings. A split nose or pronounced depigmentation of the nose leather disqualifies

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 134, 2023

fci_134 and ukc_bfpt; CKC colour text agrees (white with dark brown patches, with or without mottling; cinnamon; pale tan markings). No undercoat is described by any registry.

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · 4 of 5: fine, short coat with no undercoat described

DerivedUnited Kennel Club, 2006

Derived from the UKC and FCI coat descriptions (short dense = 4; scored with the other short-coated braque-type pointers rather than as a single coat of 5, since the standards call it fine and short but not sparse).

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

AKC energy level 5 of 5 (the top band); no UK Kennel Club band exists because the breed is not KC-recognized

Breed clubAKC

The AKC band is a 1 to 5 score, not a minutes figure, so exercise_need_min is omitted rather than mapped. Single registry page behind this value.

Energy

5 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

2 of 5 · 'Beyond regular weekly grooming, the occasional bath will keep the Braque Francais Pyrenean clean' (AKC); shedding: occasional; coat: smooth, short

Breed clubAKC

Weekly brush = 2 on the 1 to 5 scale. AKC page text, not an RKC band (the breed is not KC-recognized). Single source behind this value.

Grooming

Regular weekly grooming and the occasional bath

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Pointing dog (FCI 134 utilization clause): the small French pointing dog, 'rustic, not heavy but sufficiently muscled', keeping the proportions and character of the Gascogne type in a lighter, smaller frame; in North America run as a versatile dog that points, retrieves on land and water and tracks

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 134, 2023

FCI 134 and UKC ('a Braque type pointing dog of medium proportions and noble appearance'); the versatile reading is NAVHDA's definition (navhda_breeds) as applied by the breeders' alliance (bfba_about). Origin: south-west France and the central Pyrenees (ukc_bfpt).

Primary game

Upland birds pointed and retrieved; waterfowl retrieving and tracking as NAVHDA test subjects

Breed clubNAVHDA

No registry or club page opened names a primary species for the breed; this is read from the NAVHDA definition of a versatile dog ('hunt and point game, retrieve on both land and water, track wounded game') that the breeders' alliance tests against. Fewer than three sources behind this value.

Range

Medium: a continental pointing dog judged in NAVHDA on search and cooperation, not distance

Breed clubNAVHDA

No published range figure or club description of range; characterization rests on the NAVHDA search and cooperation subjects. Fewer than three sources behind this value.

Field trial standard

NAVHDA: Natural Ability (to 16 months: field search, tracking, pointing, water entry, physical evaluation), Utility (field, duck search and water retrieves, steadiness, obedience) and the Invitational for Versatile Champion. The breeders' alliance requires NA Prize II-level work in all subjects for any breeding dog and, from 2025, UT Prize III-level work by at least one parent; UKC recognizes the breed for its pointing-dog programs; the FCI standard carries a working trial

Breed clubBraque Francais Breeders Alliance

bfba_req, bfba_about and navhda_tests. The alliance is not a breed club and its requirements bind only its members; no North American registry gates breeding for this breed. The French club (Club du Braque Français, founded 1919, SCC) runs TAN and field trials but its website could not be reached.

Water work

Water entry at NAVHDA Natural Ability and 'work before and after the shot, on land and in water' at Utility are breeding requirements for the alliance's dogs; a fine short coat limits late-season water

Breed clubBraque Francais Breeders Alliance

bfba_req and navhda_tests.

Cold water

2 of 5 · 2 of 5: fine short coat; a pointing dog whose North American breeders prove water work through NAVHDA tests, not a cold-water retriever by coat

DerivedUnited Kennel Club, 2006

Derived from coat (ukc_bfpt, fci_134) and the breeders' alliance test requirements (bfba_req: NA water entry, UT water work).

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

3% · 3.0% dysplastic of 135 OFA hip evaluations on record under the breed name Braque Francais (OFA data service, retrieved Oct 5 2026); 97.0% normal (24.4% excellent, 67.4% good, 5.2% fair); 2.2% mild, 0.7% moderate, 0% severe; OFA rank 203

Breed clubOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA does not separate the Pyrenees and Gascogne types; in North America the breed is registered almost entirely as the Pyrenean (petite taille) type (UKC and AKC both list only that type), so the row is read as this breed's. Labelled breed_club rather than measured because 135 evaluations is far short of the thousands of evaluations behind a measured registry figure. Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock and the breeders' alliance has routed hips to PennHIP since 2023, which does not feed this table. A registry figure, not a population prevalence.

Most common disorders

Conditions the North American breeders' alliance screens or excludes: hip dysplasia (PennHIP 50th percentile or better), eye defects (OFA eye certification), entropion or ectropion, over- or undershot jaw, missing testicles, any diagnosed genetic disorder, and temperament faults (man-shy, gun-shy, aggressive, fearful). OFA's eye registry: 139 Braque Francais evaluations, 92.1% normal; the conditions recorded most often were distichiasis (4.3%) and cataracts of unknown significance (5.8%)

Breed clubBraque Francais Breeders Alliance

bfba_req and ofa_stats (eyes table). No prevalence survey, VetCompass paper or UK Kennel Club data exist for the breed; the AKC page says only that 'most Pyrenean Type French Pointers are healthy dogs'. Not a disorder ranking; the OFA eye counts are small.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 5; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

No KENAI kennel lists the Braque Francais, Pyrenees type yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Braque Français, Braque Francais, French Pointer, Braque Francais Pyrenean, Braque Français de Petite Taille

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