- Dark fawn tricolour, similar to the coat of the hare or the badger, with mantle or large patches, the head usually fawn, sometimes with black overlay
About the Artois Hound
Origin: France
- Typical life span
- 12-15 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 25-30 kg
- Female
- 23-30 kg
- Height
- Male
- 53-61 cm
- Female
- 51-58 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Scent hounds and related breeds
- Origin
- France
- Also called
- Sabueso Artesiano
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Artois Hound?
Medium-sized French scent hound with distinctive short, dense tricolor coat and powerful build. Known for its endurance, strong hunting instincts, and calm yet energetic temperament.
Artois Hound history and origins
Ancient French scenthound from the Artois region dating back to the 15th century, descended from the St. Hubert Hound. Used by nobility for hunting, the breed faced near extinction after World War II but was revived in the 1970s by dedicated breeders following historical standards
Artois Hound appearance and size
Males typically weigh 25-30 kg and stand 53-61 cm at the shoulder; females 23-30 kg and 51-58 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- The Artois Hound is a Briquet (small type), nowadays especially used in hunting with the gun. He drives the game closer taking advantage of their faults with cleverness, and his speed is average but maintained. • • • In the country: Because of his acute sense of smell, he is capable of out manoeuvring the tricks of the hare. In the wood: With his incontestable qualities of a hunter, in the sparse and well scattered groups of tall trees, he hunts a deer beautifully in the desired direction. In the thicket: his intrepidity and bravery means that he can stir up and even obstinate boar. • Moreover: He is a hardy animal, endowed with a marvellous tongue in a high pitched voice which can be heard from far away. Six to eight tricolour matching Artois hounds constitute a small pack susceptible of giving pleasure to a most demanding huntmaster
- Behaviour and temperament
“Vigorous and hardy dog, with a very fine nose, assembling well in the pack, balanced and affectionate”
Quoted from FCI standard n°28. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Large
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “The Artois Hound is a Briquet (small type), nowadays especially used in hunting with the gun. He drives the game closer taking advantage of their faults with cleverness, and his speed is average but maintained. • • • In the country: Because of his acute sense of smell, he is capable of out manoeuvring the tricks of the hare. In the wood: With his incontestable qualities of a hunter, in the sparse and well scattered groups of tall trees, he hunts a deer beautifully in the desired direction. In the thicket: his intrepidity and bravery means that he can stir up and even obstinate boar. • Moreover: He is a hardy animal, endowed with a marvellous tongue in a high pitched voice which can be heard from far away. Six to eight tricolour matching Artois hounds constitute a small pack susceptible of giving pleasure to a most demanding huntmaster” 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
- 2 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Artois Hound
What you get with the Artois Hound
- Purpose stated in the standard: “The Artois Hound is a Briquet (small type), nowadays especially used in hunting with the gun”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Vigorous and hardy dog, with a very fine nose, assembling well in the pack, balanced and affectionate”
- Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Short, thick and quite flat”
What you are taking on
Nobody has written this side yet. It is a judgement rather than data, so it waits for a person — not for a missing source.
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 · Artois Hound
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Short, thick and quite flat
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°28 — 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 withers: Males and females: 53 to 58 cm With a tolerance of 1 cm. Weight: On average 28 to 30 kg”
- FCI states a tolerance around the figure.
Quoted from FCI standard n°28. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Artois Hound in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Artois Hound
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Artois Hound 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 Artois Hound 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 Artois Hound 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.