Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen

About the Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen

In the Vendee region of western France, hunters needed a hound that could push through the thorny scrub of the Atlantic coast, and the Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen was the answer where hare were concerned. It is the larger of the two Vendeen bassets, longer in the leg and faster than its little cousin, and it was built to work in a pack rather than alone.

Height runs to about 39 to 44 cm on a long, level body, under a harsh, tousled coat with a distinct beard and heavy eyebrows. White with lemon, orange, black, sable or tricolour markings are all usual. The jacket should look weatherproof and slightly unkempt, never soft. A good stud is straight in front, free in movement and unexaggerated in length of back, since the combination of long body and short leg is this breed's structural pressure point.

Ask for a current eye certificate, and raise glaucoma and gonioscopy specifically, as the Vendeen bassets are a group where eye examination is taken seriously. Hip scores are worth requesting. Epilepsy has been discussed in the breed and no test exists for it, so a direct question about seizures in close relatives is entirely fair. Ear health, given the heavy drop ear, and honest information about longevity round the conversation off.

Health & breeding

We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.