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Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

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Petits Bassets Griffons Vendéens...

How’s Your History?

Written By Kitty Steidel

Reprinted with Permission from AKC Gazette

W

e discuss what is correct and what is faulty in our 

hounds – how much angulation, length to bone, 

height at shoulder, length to body.

D

o we really know what we are talking about, however?  

Is “correct” a matter of opinion, an ideal, or a figment 

of the imagination?

R

etaining original traits is a great challenge today, when 

the game has changed because dogs no longer do 

what the breed was developed to do.  Traits are evolv-

ing and changing according to evolutionary principle:  

use it or lose it.  The next generation of breeders is going 

to have to try even harder to retain what are considered 

desirable features, those based on purpose.  Fortunately, 

the AKC and parent clubs realize this and provide perfor-

mance events to keep the breed’s history alive.

V

enery, or hunting of wild animals, originated because 

man needed food.  Man developed various types of 

hounds depending on size of game and climatic and en-

vironmental conditions.

F

rom early Roman campaigns, we observe man becom-

ing a skillful hunter.  For some time, only the elite could 

own hounds:  nobleman, royalty and religious figures.  

Gradually, hunting became a popular pastime, a compe-

tition; venery became a show of power.  The clergy and 

noblemen became famous, not for their religious or royal 

duties but rather for their hunting successes and their 

packs.

U

niformity in a pack and adherence to any standard 

came later.  As early as A.D. 656-727, Hubert, son 

of the Duc de Gueinne, hunted with a breed of hounds 

known today as the Hubert Hound.  Eventually, he retired 

from hunting and was canonized and ordained the pa-

tron saint of the sport.  St. Hubert hounds were famous.  It 

is a simplification to say that all breeds descend from the 

St. Hubert, however; if one delves back far enough, some 

distant relation likely can be traced.  According to George 

Johnson in his book Hounds of France, the St. Huberts 

were not uniform in structure or type.  However, because 

the Hubert hounds had a nationwide reputation for hunt-

ing, they were highly desired by others.  

T

hrough the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, venery 

continued.  The nobility and religious orders gradually 

wanted an evenness and uniformity in their packs, even 

if only in terms of color.  Eventually, they combined those 

traits essential to hunting with desirable aesthetic fea-

tures. 

I

n the 17th and 18th centuries, the heyday for the sport, 

noblemen and royalty vied for recognition and hounds 

were given as gifts.  Spacious hunting grounds were es-

tablished and stocked with wild game.

B

y the time venery reached its peak, several breeds 

had been developed to hunt the various sizes and 

types of game.  According to Johnson, some 40 French 

hound breeds were developed.  Large, powerful breeds 

were used on roe deer, red deer, boar and wolf, and more 

diminutive basset breeds were employed on rabbit and 

hare.

A

ll along, a fusion of the St. Hubert hound with local 

dogs was common.  The breeds resulting were named 

after the area in which they developed or the individual 

who instigated their development.

W

ith the French Revolution in 1789, there was seri-

ous curtailment of hunting activities and breeding.  

Many breeds, especially the larger breeds, were decimat-

ed to the point of extinction.  Smaller dogs requiring less 

food survived.

I

t was not until after World War II that the French tried to 

revive or resurrect ancient breeds from whatever stock 

remained or by infusion of a closely related breed.  Thus 

breeds were gradually restructured and new breeds de-

veloped.

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