Sixty-six dogs of this breed entered the Italian stud book in 2015. The figure appears in the appendix of a study on birth weights and shows how rarely this dog is encountered outside hunting. The name Anglo-Français de Petite Vénerie sounds aristocratic, but this is a working dog for small game.
| FCI | Group 6 (Scent hounds and related breeds), Section 1.2 Medium-sized scent hounds, Standard No. 325, with working trial |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | France |
| Size (height at the withers) | 48 to 56 cm, with a tolerance of 2 cm above and below for outstanding dogs |
| Weight | not specified in the FCI standard |
| Life expectancy | no reliable study figure found (N/A) |
| Coat | short, dense and smooth; skin fine, tight and without wrinkles |
| Colours in the standard | tricolour (white and black with bright tan), white and black with pale tan, both with a black nose; or bicolour white and orange with a tobacco-coloured nose |
Small game, medium size
In France, petite vénerie means hunting smaller game with scent hounds, exactly the purpose specified in the standard: a scent hound for small-game hunting. This distinguishes it from larger relatives such as the Grand Anglo-Français Blanc et Orange, classified as large scent hounds in Section 1.1. The FCI has definitively recognised the breed since January 1983, and the valid French text dates from the same year. Its outline should resemble established French pack hounds.
Three colour varieties under one roof
Among the large Anglo-Français breeds, each colour has its own standard. The medium-sized dog combines all three: tricolour with bright tan, white and black with pale tan, or white and orange. One detail clearly distinguishes it from the large white-and-orange breed: coarse, stand-off hairs at the tail tip are explicitly a fault. The tail should be medium-length, slender and well covered with hair.
Long and narrow, without heaviness
The head is elongated without being too broad, and the muzzle looks slightly pointed. The soft ears are set low and reach within two fingers’ breadth of the nose. The neck is slender without a dewlap, the chest reaches at least to the elbow and the belly is slightly tucked up, but not like a sighthound’s.
A day without hares
The standard has no separate temperament section. Its purpose therefore remains the guide to daily life, suggesting plenty of scent work: tracking games, long walks on a long line and mantrailing. Do not expect reliable off-lead freedom from a small-game hunter. Brush the smooth coat once a week and check the long ears for grass awns after every walk along field paths.
Two references, no disease rate
McMillan and colleagues include the Medium-Sized Anglo-French Hound in their list of breed names for life expectancy, but did not analyse it. An Italian blood-group study found all 12 dogs examined from this breed were DEA 1 positive. That matters for blood transfusions but says nothing about disease. We found no studies giving disease rates for this breed. Ask breeders specifically about hip results, eye examinations and the ages of relatives that have died.
Is this breed right for you?
More likely if you hunt small game with scent hounds or offer long daily scent-work sessions, live rurally and have patience for a dog with its own agenda. Less likely if this is your first dog, you live in town or you want a companion that stays beside you off lead.
Before a hunting dog with its own agenda moves in, our breed quiz helps you make an honest assessment; “Welcher Hund passt WIRKLICH zu dir?” (book in German) explores the underlying questions in depth. When the puppy arrives, take the Puppy Starter Pack along. For your tricolour companion, there is a digital artwork to download or our dog portraits.
Further reading
- Beagle: a nose with a dog attached, and what that means day to day
- Puppy training: the 5 rules that really work
- Autumn shedding in dogs and cats: what is normal and what is not
Sources, accessed on 20.10.2026: FCI-Standard Nr. 325 Anglo-Français de Petite Vénerie (fci.be, German version dated 28.04.1997, English version dated 28.04.1997, valid original standard dated 26.01.1983); FCI breed page No. 325; McMillan KM et al., Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death, Scientific Reports 2024 (breed listed but not analysed); Groppetti D et al., A National Census of Birth Weight in Purebred Dogs in Italy, Animals 2017 (appendix Table A1); Carli E et al., Frequency of DEA 1 antigen in 1037 mongrel and purebreed dogs in Italy, BMC Veterinary Research 2017.
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