Winter 2016  Saber Tails 49    

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

The ReAL TRuTh AbouT PbGVs

Written by Jennifer King

We tend to be positive about the breed because we love them, of course.  

P

BGVs are not for people who have white carpets and expensive furnishings, who love their lawns more 

than their children, or who worry about dog hair on their clothes.  They can be loud and boisterous and 

messy.  If you don’t give them enough attention, they’ll broadcast the news to your entire neighborhood.  

They can dig and they can jump, which is how we’ve gotten some of our rescue dogs.  If you’re not careful, 

they’ll kill squirrels on your sofa.  If you don’t raise them with cats and other small animals, you can have big 

problems explaining that these are not prey.

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BGVs appeal to people who want a smart, entertaining dog.  A sense of humor is mandatory for a prospec-

tive owner.  You can’t buy a PBGV and tie it out in the backyard or move it out to the garage when you get 

bored with it.  It won’t accept that.  In a pack situation, it gets its affection and stimulation from the rest of the 

pack and from its job.  In the home, you have to fill that void.

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he French hunters are much more practical about the PBGV than most of us are over here.  They want a dog 

with stamina and agility, with the brain and nose to work a track in difficult terrain.  If a dog can’t meet their 

standards, it’s history, and they don’t go out looking for pet homes for the rejects.  

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hy don’t more people have them?  I find most people are looking for Lassie, not a strong willed, exuber-

ant bundle of energy.  They want something that obeys them rather that challenges them, that’s content 

to lie at their feet or that will chase a ball for the kids for hours.  It’s a lot of work owning a PBGV.  They don’t 

passively request your attention, they DEMAND IT NOW, and you’d better keep them amused or they’ll amuse 

themselves in a way you may regret.  

O

ther people who run Border Collies and Goldens in agility think Dottie Allen and I are crazy to put up with 

dogs who sometimes create their own courses, invent a new way to deal with an obstacle, or suddenly 

decide to play the whole thing for laughs.  But that’s why we enjoy working with them, and what makes the 

wins so much sweeter (if less frequent).  We don’t want the breed to be too popular.  Popular catches the at-

tention of the puppy mills, and these puppies are so cute they’d sell like hot cakes in pet shops, and so active 

they’d be readily available in shelters not long after.  So we haven’t tried to make the name easier for people to 

remember or tried to market them heavily.  People who need a PBGV in their lives will find one, sooner or later.  

I 

don’t know what else to tell you.  You have to meet them to realize why so many of us are captivated by them.  

And if you don’t find them equally captivating, then they’re not the breed for you.

<end of rant>