Briquet roughly means medium-sized dog in French. According to the FCI standard, this is the only breed retaining that old term in its name. The size is deliberate: a Vendée Griffon, smaller and finer than its large ancestor but just as persistent in thorny undergrowth.
| FCI | Group 6 (Scent hounds and related breeds), Section 1.2 Medium-sized hounds, Standard No. 19, with working trial |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | France |
| Size (height at the withers) | males 50 to 55 cm, females 48 to 53 cm, tolerance of 1 cm above or below |
| Weight | not specified in the FCI standard |
| Life expectancy | no reliable study figure found (N/A) |
| Coat | long but not excessively so, sometimes bushy, harsh to the touch, with abundant undercoat; pronounced eyebrows and a strong beard |
| Colours in the standard | white-black, black with fawn or sandy markings, white-orange, tricolour, fawn with black overlay, sandy with black overlay, with or without white spotting; solid black or white coats are disqualifying |
The work of Count d’Elva
The standard describes a harmonious reduction and refinement of the Grand Griffon Vendéen, selected by Count d’Elva before the First World War. After wartime losses, the type reappeared in Fontenay-le-Comte in 1946. A Briquet pack won the French roe-deer hunting championship in 1995. FCI recognition came in 1954. A bearded relative with Vendée ancestry is the Griffon Nivernais.
A high nose and plenty of initiative
The required dog is responsive and highly determined, with a fine nose, a pleasant voice and skill over rough ground. It tends to hunt with its nose high, takes initiative readily and should both find game and drive it towards the gun.
Obedience is the handler’s responsibility
One standard sentence deserves particular attention: the Briquet is a passionate hunter, and making it obedient falls to the handler. Plan recall work and impulse control from the start. Without hunting, laid trails, mantrailing and long woodland walks on a long line provide work. If the garden is the only activity, you will soon hear that voice.
Harsh coat and dense undercoat
The coat is long but not excessive, harsh and abundantly undercoated. Brush thoroughly weekly, more often during shedding. After outings, check beard, armpits and low-set ears for grass awns and ticks.
What blood banks can contribute
No reliable study figure exists for lifespan; McMillan and colleagues do not list the breed. Some data come from Italy, where these dogs often hunt. A Perugia animal blood bank examined 50 healthy breed donors. General laboratory ranges did not fit five blood values, so the authors established breed-specific ones (Miglio et al. 2020). Of 32 blood-typed Briquets, 94 percent were DEA 1 positive, compared with 62 percent across all 1,037 study dogs (Carli et al. 2017). A case report describes two littermate puppies with progressive motor-neuron loss; nobody knows the frequency (Mandara and Di Meo 1998).
Suitable, or less so
Suitable for hunters seeking an agile pack hound and active people with daily time for scent work. Less happy with anyone expecting off-lead freedom without training or spending long hours away. The voice is as much part of this dog as the beard.
Before choosing a passionate hunter, try the breed quiz. For a thorough decision, there is our book “Which Dog REALLY Suits You?” (book in German). If a puppy is joining you, the free Puppy Starter Pack helps. That shaggy face looks good on a magazine-cover canvas or as a downloadable digital artwork.
Further reading
- Beagle: a nose with a dog attached, and what that means day to day
- Puppy training: the 5 rules that really work
- Leaving your dog alone: a step-by-step plan without drama
Sources, accessed on 20.10.2026: FCI Standard No. 19 Briquet Griffon Vendéen (fci.be, German version dated 15.10.1999, English version dated 18.02.2000, valid original standard published on 09.01.1999) and FCI breed page No. 19; McMillan KM et al., Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death, Scientific Reports 2024 (breed not included); Miglio A et al., Hematological and Biochemical Reference Intervals for 5 Adult Hunting Dog Breeds Using a Blood Donor Database, Animals 2020; Carli E et al., Frequency of DEA 1 antigen in 1037 mongrel and purebreed dogs in Italy, BMC Veterinary Research 2017; Mandara MT, Di Meo A, Lower motor neuron disease in the Griffon Briquet Vendéen dog, Veterinary Pathology 1998.
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