Base colour
Fawn coloured, from golden wheaten to red brick in hue
- Permissible: A few black hairs dispersed on the back and ears
- Occasionally the presence of a small white star on the chest, something not sought after
About the Basset Fauve de Bretagne
Origin: France
- Typical life span
- 11-15 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 12-18 kg
- Female
- 12-17 kg
- Height
- 32-39 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Scent hounds and related breeds
- Origin
- France
- Also called
- Basset Leonado de Bretana
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Basset Fauve de Bretagne?
Small, compact scent hound with harsh, wiry fawn to golden-red coat and sturdy build. Known for its energetic, happy disposition and lively temperament, originally bred for hunting small game in Brittany.
Basset Fauve de Bretagne history and origins
Developed in Brittany, France as a downsized version of the larger Grand Fauve de Bretagne (Griffon Fauve de Bretagne). Used for hunting small game like rabbit and hare. Nearly extinct after WWII but restored by crossing remaining dogs with breeds like Basset Griffon Vendeen.
Basset Fauve de Bretagne appearance and size
Males typically weigh 12-18 kg and females 12-17 kg.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Scent hound used for hunting rabbit, hare, fox, roe deer and wild boar
- Behaviour and temperament
“The bassets fauves de Bretagne are impassioned hunters but are also excellent companions of man, sociable, affectionate and equable. They adapt themselves easily to all terrains, even the most difficult, and to all quarry. When hunting they reveal themselves to be courageous, wily, and obstinate, which makes them very successful”
Quoted from FCI standard n°36. 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: “Scent hound used for hunting rabbit, hare, fox, roe deer and wild boar” 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
- 3 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Basset Fauve de Bretagne
What you get with the Basset Fauve de Bretagne
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Scent hound used for hunting rabbit, hare, fox, roe deer and wild boar”
- The standard describes the breed as: “The bassets fauves de Bretagne are impassioned hunters but are also excellent companions of man, sociable, affectionate…”
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 · Basset Fauve de Bretagne
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Coat
The face shouldn’t be too bushy
- Coat very rough
- Harsh
- Rather short
- Never woolly or curly
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°36 — 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 and Females: 32 cm minimum (12.6”) 38 cm maximum (15.5”) with a tolerance of 2 cm (0.8”) for exceptional specimens”
- FCI gives a bound on one side only, so there is no range to state.
Quoted from FCI standard n°36. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Basset Fauve de Bretagne 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.
- Behaviour:
- Timid Head:
- Wide, flat skull. Superciliary arches too prominent,
- Short or pointed muzzle. Heavy and pendulous upper lips. Eyes:
- Light. Ears:
- Flat and large Body:
- Frail in appearance. Top line not level enough. Too tucked up. Tail:
- Out of line. Limbs:
- Poor bone. Splayed feet. Coat:
- Sparse, smooth, fine, soft
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Insufficient breed characteristics, which means the animal on the whole doesn’t resemble other samples of the breed. Jaws/Teeth:
- Overshot or undershot. Eyes:
- Overly light. Pigmentation:
- Totally or partially unpigmented areas on the nose or the edges of eyelids or lips. Tail:
- Kinked. Forequarters:
- Excessive crook. Dewclaws:
- Presence of dewclaws (this breed is always free from dewclaws). Coat:
- Long, woolly coat. Any coat other than that defined by the standard. Height:
- Outside the limits defined by the standard. Defects:
- Noticeable invalidating defect. Anatomical malformation
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Basset Fauve de Bretagne in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Basset Fauve de Bretagne
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Basset Fauve de Bretagne 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 Basset Fauve de Bretagne 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 Basset Fauve de Bretagne 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.