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Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen

The breeds · scenthound · scenthound

AKC Hound · UKC Scenthound · FCI standard 67

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen.

FCI 67: the perfect assistant to the hunter with a gun on territories of medium size, a specialist for rabbit; a passionate hunter that must be taught from an early age to obey. FCI classification: Group 6, Section 1.3 Small-sized Hounds, with working trial. AKC: a French scent hound developed first and foremost to hunt small game over rough and difficult terrain. UKC: a trailing scenthound for small game over the rough terrain of La Vendée..

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.

13.7YRMedian lifespan13.2 to 14, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightall null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
25–45LBWeight, all linesbreed 25 to 45 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: up to 1 hour per day. AKC energy band: 4 of 5.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

12.5 to 15.5 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2014

Both sexes. Registry bands agree at 13 to 15 in; the UKC tolerance and Wikipedia widen the span.

Weight

25 to 45 lb

Breed clubAKC

Both sexes. The 45 lb is a UKC ceiling for a 15 in male, not a typical weight.

Coat

AKC: rough, long without exaggeration, harsh to the touch, thick shorter undercoat, never silky or woolly; long eyebrows, beard and moustache; casual and tousled; any sculpting, clipping or scissoring is contrary to type. UKC: double coated, shown untrimmed. FCI: harsh but not too long. Color: white with lemon, orange, black, sable, tricolor or grizzle markings (AKC); the UKC list omits black and sable.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2014

Shedding

Shedding 2 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 · AKC: rough, long without exaggeration, harsh to the touch, thick shorter undercoat. UKC: double coated, rough, harsh. FCI: harsh, not too long, never silky or woolly.

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2014

Derived from the standard's coat description; no measured data. Medium double coat = 3.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

13.7 years (13.2 to 14)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust table. UK population.

The dog at home

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

Exercise need

RKC: up to 1 hour per day. AKC energy band: 4 of 5.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule.

Energy

4 of 5

Breed clubAKC

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

Grooming load

3 of 5 · RKC: grooming more than once a week; coat length medium; sheds. AKC coat grooming frequency band: 2 of 5; shedding 2 of 5. AKC standard: the coat is to be shown neatened but never sculpted, clipped or scissored.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped by the library rule; the AKC and RKC bands differ and both are shown.

The work

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

Role

FCI 67: the perfect assistant to the hunter with a gun on territories of medium size, a specialist for rabbit; a passionate hunter that must be taught from an early age to obey. FCI classification: Group 6, Section 1.3 Small-sized Hounds, with working trial. AKC: a French scent hound developed first and foremost to hunt small game over rough and difficult terrain. UKC: a trailing scenthound for small game over the rough terrain of La Vendée.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 67

Primary game

Rabbit (FCI 67: 'specialist for rabbit, but no other game escapes it'); FCI history: a team of Petit Bassets won the first France's Cup on rabbit. AKC and UKC: small game. Wikipedia: bred to trail hares in bramble-filled terrain; in the Vendée the dogs flush and track rabbits in the bramble and send them into the open, where the hunter takes them with a shot.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 67

Search pattern

FCI 67: passionate hunter, courageous, likes bramble and scrub. AKC: a good voice freely and purposefully used; bold hunter. UKC: the voice is used freely. Wikipedia: skilled dogs work with others in the pack, alerting the pack to the presence of a rabbit or one in motion down a trail; the white-tipped saber tail shows above the brush; 'scent will typically trump obedience'.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 67

Wikipedia (editorial) supplies the pack behaviour; no registry text states it.

Field trial standard

FCI classification lists the breed 'with working trial'. FCI history: a team of Petit Bassets won the first edition of France's Cup on rabbit. Wikipedia: many PBGVs have passed a Hunting Instinct Test and earned AKC hunting titles, and have earned AKC scent work and tracking titles.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 67

Trial rules not read; the AKC title statement is Wikipedia's.

How common the problems are

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

Hip dysplasia

12.1% · 851 OFA hip evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026; 12.1% dysplastic (mild 10.0, moderate 2.1, severe 0.0), 86.8% normal (excellent 4.2, good 56.6, fair 26.0)

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics (rank 110). OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, with normal results over-represented.

Elbow dysplasia

3% · 266 OFA elbow evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026; 3.0% abnormal (grade 1 2.3, grade 2 0.4, grade 3 0.4), 97.0% normal

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics (rank 106). Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: in the PBGV Club of America 2000 survey (640 dogs) owners most often reported persistent pupillary membranes, recurrent ear infections, hypothyroidism, neck pain and epilepsy. Primary open angle glaucoma from an autosomal recessive ADAMTS17 mutation is named in the breed. Hip dislocation is named as a risk of the long body and short legs.

EditorialWikipedia

Secondary citation; the club survey page was not read. Editorial.

More

akc bands

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

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 Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen 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
Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, PBGV, Petit, Roughie

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