- Solid black, grey, brown, fawn, pale fawn, white or more or less pied.
- Permissible: All shades of red-fawn and pale fawn
- The shade should, preferably, be the same as the colour of the body
About the French Water Dog
Origin: FranceFrench Water Dog
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Retrievers - Flushing Dogs - Water Dogs
- Origin
- France
- Also called
- Perro de Agua Frances
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Water dog used for hunting wildfowl. Like all water dogs, the French Water Dog is more than just a retriever; he must search for, locate and flush out the game hiding in the water vegetation. He then retrieves the game shot by his master. Very resistant to cold, he shall go to water in all weather
- Behaviour and temperament
“Even disposition, very attached to his master, very sociable, loving water even when very cold”
Quoted from FCI standard n°105. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Characteristics
- Size
- —
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Water dog used for hunting wildfowl. Like all water dogs, the French Water Dog is more than just a retriever; he must search for, locate and flush out the game hiding in the water vegetation. He then retrieves the game shot by his master. Very resistant to cold, he shall go to water in all weather” 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 Water Dog
What you get with the French Water Dog
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Water dog used for hunting wildfowl”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Even disposition, very attached to his master, very sociable, loving water even when very cold”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Long, woolly and curly; can form strands.”
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 Water Dog
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Coat
Long, woolly and curly
can form strands.
The coat is furnished, covering the whole body in a natural state.
This is an essential characteristic of the breed.
The French Water Dog may be groomed in a specific manner to accommodate its work and maintenance
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°105 — 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
- “Height at the withers: Dogs: 58cm – 65cm 53cm – 61 cm Bitches: With a tolerance of +/- 1cm”
- FCI states a tolerance around the figure.
Quoted from FCI standard n°105. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the French Water Dog in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a French Water Dog
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the French Water Dog 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 Water Dog 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 Water Dog 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.