KENAI
French Spaniel

The breeds · gun dog · pointing

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 175

French Spaniel.

Pointing dog (FCI utilization). FCI 175: 'excellent pointing dog, it also has a talent for retrieving'; 'enthusiastic hunter' and a calm companion. UKC: 'an excellent pointing and retrieving dog'. Project Upland: easy to train with a light touch, 'the perfect dog for a novice trainer' (breeder Paul Fischenich); a close-to-medium continental pointing spaniel.

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.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
50–60LBWeight, all linesbreed 50 to 60 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 21.5 to 24 in · bitches 21.5 to 24 in

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 175, 2009

low/high span FCI, UKC and the AKC page; no ideal printed.

Weight

50 to 60 lb

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed-page header only; one source.

Coat

FCI 175: long and wavy on ears, backs of legs and tail; flat, silky and well furnished on the body with a few waves behind the neck and above the tail root; short and fine on the head; curly body hair and lack of fringes are severe faults. Colour white and brown, spotting from medium to predominant, cinnamon to dark liver, roan without excess; a white blaze appreciated; any other colour disqualifies. UKC: same colours

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 175, 2009

Project Upland: 'long and flat-lying', requires maintenance, picks burrs (a breeder, via Koshyk).

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

3 of 5 · 3 of 5: long, silky, well-furnished flat coat with long fringes

DerivedFCI-Standard No. 175, 2009

Derived from the FCI coat description; no source states heat performance.

The dog at home

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

Energy

4 of 5

Breed clubAKC

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

Grooming load

1 of 5

Breed clubAKC

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

The work

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

Role

Pointing dog (FCI utilization). FCI 175: 'excellent pointing dog, it also has a talent for retrieving'; 'enthusiastic hunter' and a calm companion. UKC: 'an excellent pointing and retrieving dog'. Project Upland: easy to train with a light touch, 'the perfect dog for a novice trainer' (breeder Paul Fischenich); a close-to-medium continental pointing spaniel

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 175, 2009

Pointing breed; neither standard describes it as a flusher.

Primary game

Project Upland: grouse, woodcock, pheasant, snipe, partridge, rabbit, hare and waterfowl. FCI 175 names no quarry

EditorialProject Upland

Editorial; the standards state the utilization only.

Range

Close to medium, some known to run bigger (Project Upland); Relexans: well short of 300 m

EditorialProject Upland

Single editorial source.

Search pattern

Semi-trot and medium gallop, sustained in open country with 'passion in the search' within a medium range; breeder Bernard Relexans: 'not bootlickers, but not way out there working at 300 meters either', they like to keep contact with the hunter. Strong pointing instinct that develops early (some point the first bird they see): 'solid but very Continental in terms of style', possibly slightly crouched, not lying down like an English Setter. Natural trackers; some passed German HZP and VGP

EditorialProject Upland

Single editorial source quoting breeders.

Field trial standard

Listed as 'French Spaniel (FS)' in NAVHDA's recognized breeds, so it tests in NAVHDA; Project Upland reports two dogs have earned the NAVHDA Versatile Champion title. Eligible for AKC pointing breed hunt tests as a Foundation Stock Service breed. UKC recognized January 1 1996. In France the parent club runs natural-aptitude tests and annual field trials, and dogs also run the BICP and St Hubert tests and the CKC hunt test. FCI 175 is 'with working trial'

Breed clubNAVHDA

NAVHDA and AKC pages are breed lists, not rulebooks; the VC count and French tests are Project Upland's. No NAVHDA breed pass statistics found.

Water work

Breeder Relexans: about 80% are strong natural retrievers, some need encouragement. Breeder Fischenich: 'not as natural as a Lab, of course, but with a proper introduction, they can be outstanding water dogs'. Waterfowl is on the editorial quarry list

EditorialProject Upland

Single editorial source.

How common the problems are

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

Hip dysplasia

9.8% · 9.8% dysplastic of 315 OFA hip evaluations on record under the French Spaniel breed code (OFA data service, current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026); 88.6% normal (19.4% excellent, 62.5% good, 6.7% fair); 6.0% mild, 3.5% moderate, 0.3% severe; OFA rank 136

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Current all-data, undated. Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock and owners may withhold poor results, so this is a registry figure, not a population prevalence. 315 evaluations is a small base.

Elbow dysplasia

4% · 4.0% abnormal of 101 OFA elbow evaluations on record under the French Spaniel breed code (OFA data service, current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026); 96.0% normal; grade 1 4.0%, grade 2 0.0%, grade 3 0.0%; OFA rank 97

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Current all-data, undated; breeding-stock skew applies; only 101 evaluations.

Most common disorders

Project Upland (via Koshyk): ectropion and entropion, and acral mutilation syndrome

EditorialProject Upland

Editorial list from one source; no VetCompass paper or club survey found.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 5; Good With Other Dogs 5; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 5.

Breed clubAKC

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

No KENAI kennel lists the French Spaniel 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. 5 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Epagneul Français, Epagneul Francais, Frenchy

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

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