- Always darkened, i.e., the hair always has the ends darker than the base (black overlay).
- Fawn colouring can be more or less darkened but never orange.
- The darkened end can take on a blue aspect.
- According to the amount of darkening of the extremity of the hair, the coat is darker or lighter.
- Permissible: The presence of white hair scattered in more or less great proportion in the coat and gives rise to shades going from light grey, including wild boar grey
- The coat is most often marked with tan in the eyebrows, the cheeks, breast, the ends of the limbs, and under the tail.
- That characteristic, very visible on the pup, often diminishes with age.
- The coat is characterised by the basic colour, the spreading of black- overlaid hair, and possible association with sparse white hair.
- One hence describes for example the “fawn very slightly overlaid with black” (hare coat), the “sand overlaid with black” (wolf grey), and the “fawn overlaid with blue” (blue grey).
- Permissible: A white spot on the chest
About the Griffon Nivernais
Origin: France
- Typical life span
- 10-14 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 22-25 kg
- Female
- 20-23 kg
- Height
- Male
- 55-61 cm
- Female
- 52-60 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Scent hounds and related breeds
- Origin
- France
- Also called
- Grifon del Nivernais
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Griffon Nivernais?
Medium-sized French scent hound with a robust build, rough shaggy coat, and rugged appearance. Known for exceptional hunting ability in difficult terrain and strong work-focused instincts.
Griffon Nivernais history and origins
Ancient French scent hound from the Nivernais region, originally used by medieval French nobility for hunting wolf and wild boar. Nearly extinct after World War II and the French Revolution, but revived in the 19th century through careful breeding using Grand Griffon Vendéen, Otterhound, and local stock.
Griffon Nivernais appearance and size
Males typically weigh 22-25 kg and stand 55-61 cm at the shoulder; females 20-23 kg and 52-60 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Scent hound used mainly for shooting of wild boar, generally in a pack but also individually
- Behaviour and temperament
“Behaviour: Very good nose, piercing, and particularly enjoying difficult terrains and thickets. Temperament: Excellent at approaching and very good hunter, it’s courageous when holding firm without being reckless. Its courage and initiative allow it to be used successfully in small packs for hunting wild boar. Although it can easily be taught hunting that game, it shows itself occasionally to be obstinate and independent, and its master should know how to make it obey starting at its youngest age”
Quoted from FCI standard n°17. 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 mainly for shooting of wild boar, generally in a pack but also individually” 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 Griffon Nivernais
What you get with the Griffon Nivernais
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Scent hound used mainly for shooting of wild boar, generally in a pack but also individually”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Behaviour: Very good nose, piercing, and particularly enjoying difficult terrains and thickets”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Long, shaggy, and bushy, strong enough and rough (in any case neither woolly nor curly).”
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 · Griffon Nivernais
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Coat
Long, shaggy, and bushy, strong enough and rough (in any case neither woolly nor curly).
The belly and the inside of the thighs shouldn’t be hairless.
The well pronounced eyebrows shouldn’t cover the eye.
A slight beard on the chin and the ear covered enough in hair
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°17 — 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: Male: from 55 to 62 cm. from 53 to 60 cm. Female: With a tolerance of 1 cm more or less”
- FCI states a tolerance around the figure.
Quoted from FCI standard n°17. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Griffon Nivernais in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Griffon Nivernais
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Griffon Nivernais 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 Griffon Nivernais 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 Griffon Nivernais 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.