Grand Bleu de Gascogne

About the Grand Bleu de Gascogne

Among the oldest of the French scent hounds, the Grand Bleu de Gascogne was hunted on wolf and boar in the south-west long before the modern hunting field existed, and its blood runs through many later breeds on both sides of the Atlantic. It works slowly and with great certainty, announcing every stage of the process in a deep, bell-like voice.

This is a big hound. Dogs stand around 65 to 72 cm, long in the head with a slightly domed skull, very long ears that fold and curl, and the mottled black-on-white coat with black patches and tan points that reads as blue from a distance. The expression is noble and a little melancholy. A stud should have good feet, a strong back and clean movement over distance, because this hound was bred for hours rather than minutes.

Hip and elbow scores are the natural first request, along with a current eye certificate; the deep-set eye and loose lower lid seen in some lines make an eye examination worthwhile. Bloat should be raised in any deep-chested breed of this size. With very few registered in Britain, ask about relatedness between the two pedigrees, what the breed club advises, and how the older dogs behind the pedigree have lasted.

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.