- White and brown with medium spotting, sometimes getting predominant, with irregular patches, slightly or moderately flecked and roan without excess.
- The brown varies from cinnamon to dark liver.
- A white blaze and white on the head, if the marking is not too wide, are appreciated.
- The absence of white on the head is perfectly admissible.
- The edges of the lips, the eyerims and the nose are brown, without any unpigmented areas
About the French Spaniel
Origin: France
- Typical life span
- 10-12 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 23-27 kg
- Female
- 20-27 kg
- Height
- Male
- 56-61 cm
- Female
- 53-58 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Pointing Dogs
- Origin
- France
- Also called
- Spaniel Frances
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a French Spaniel?
Medium to large versatile pointing dog with elegant silky brown and white coat and gentle expression, known for hunting ability and calm temperament. One of the oldest spaniel-type pointing breeds.
French Spaniel history and origins
One of the oldest pointing breeds, descending from longhaired setting spaniels used since the Middle Ages. Described by Gaston Fébus in the 14th century, standardized in the 19th century, and revived in early 20th century after near extinction
French Spaniel appearance and size
Males typically weigh 23-27 kg and stand 56-61 cm at the shoulder; females 20-27 kg and 53-58 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Pointing dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Balanced, frank, gentle, calm and docile, enthusiastic hunter, sociable with other dogs and an ideal companion in all circumstances. Excellent pointing dog, it also has a talent for retrieving. – 23.01.2009”
Quoted from FCI standard n°175. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Pointing dog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 4 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- —
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the French Spaniel
What you get with the French Spaniel
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Pointing dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Balanced, frank, gentle, calm and docile, enthusiastic hunter, sociable with other dogs and an ideal companion in all…”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Long and wavy on the ears, falling beyond the cartilage, as well as on the back of the…”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · French Spaniel
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Long and wavy on the ears, falling beyond the cartilage, as well as on the back of the legs and the tail.
Flat, silky and well furnished on the body with a few waves behind the neck and above the root of the tail.
Short and fine on the head
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°175 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the breed standard says
- Size
- “Males: 56 to 61 cm Females: 55 to 59 cm. Tolerance: + 2cm or -1cm”
- FCI states a tolerance around the figure.
Quoted from FCI standard n°175. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the French Spaniel down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Skull too broad.
- Teeth badly set.
- Eye colour too light.
- Ear partially white, too short or triangular.
- Lack of bone.
- Hair curly on the body.
- Lack of fringes (feathering)
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Lack of type (insufficient ethnical characteristics which means that the animal on the whole does not sufficiently resemble its fellow creatures of the breed).
- Overshot, undershot (tolerance for reversed bite without loss of contact).
- Wry mouth
- Any teeth missing (except PM1).
- Wall eyes.
- Vicious stare or hawk eye.
- White patch surrounding the eye (white eye mark).
- Presence of dewclaws on the hindlegs.
- Any other colour than white and brown.
- Depigmentation (severely flesh coloured nose and/or eyelids).
- Size outside the limits of the standard
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the French Spaniel in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a French Spaniel
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the French Spaniel on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where French Spaniel owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No French Spaniel breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.