- Tricolour with black saddle, or tricolour with large black patches
- sometimes white and orange (bicolour)
- wolf-coloured hair is quite frequent
About the Poitevin
Origin: France
- Typical life span
- 10-13 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 30-35 kg
- Female
- 25-30 kg
- Height
- Male
- 62-72 cm
- Female
- 60-70 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Scent hounds and related breeds
- Origin
- France
- Also called
- Sabueso Poitevin
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Poitevin?
Large, elegant French scent hound with distinctive tricolor coat and lean, muscular build. Bred for endurance and stamina in pack hunting, originally developed for hunting wolves and large game with exceptional scenting ability and melodic voice.
Poitevin history and origins
Created in 1692 by Marquis François de Larrye from remnants of Haut-Poitou hound packs, developed for hunting wolves and large game. Nearly extinct after WWII but restored using English Foxhound crosses. Recognized by the FCI in the Scenthound Group.
Poitevin appearance and size
Males typically weigh 30-35 kg and stand 62-72 cm at the shoulder; females 25-30 kg and 60-70 cm.
Poitevin temperament and personality
Generally described as intelligent, courageous, independent, gentle and devoted.
That is the breed in general, not a promise about one animal. Ask the breeder what their own line is like, and meet the parents before you decide.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Hound
Quoted from FCI standard n°24. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Poitevin
What you get with the Poitevin
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Hound”
- Commonly described as: “Intelligent, courageous, independent, gentle”
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; The Dog API. 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 · Poitevin
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Short and glossy
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°24 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Temperament
Intelligentcourageousindependentgentledevoted
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Poitevin in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Poitevin
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Poitevin 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 Poitevin 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 Poitevin 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.