- Very white, with roundish orange spots, never extended to a mantle.
- These spots usually superimpose other black pigmented spots of the skin.
- Orange ticking on the ears is highly characteristic of the breed
About the Porcelaine
Origin: France
- Typical life span
- 12-13 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 25-28 kg
- Height
- Male
- 55-58 cm
- Female
- 53-56 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Scent hounds and related breeds
- Origin
- France
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Porcelaine?
Elegant, medium-sized French scenthound with a distinctive glossy white coat that gives the breed its name, resembling porcelain. Known for its refined build, endurance, speed, and exceptional nose for hunting.
Porcelaine history and origins
One of the oldest French scent hounds, descended from white St. Hubert hounds in the Franche-Comté region. Dating back to the 18th century, the breed nearly disappeared after the French Revolution and WWII but was carefully reconstructed by enthusiasts in the mid-19th century using Swiss specimens.
Porcelaine appearance and size
Males typically stand 55-58 cm at the shoulder and females 53-56 cm.
Porcelaine temperament and personality
Generally described as gentle, intelligent, energetic, friendly and work-focused.
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
- Scenthound
Quoted from FCI standard n°30. 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: “Scenthound” 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 Porcelaine
What you get with the Porcelaine
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Scenthound”
- Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Smooth, thin, close lying and shining; without bare patches”
- Commonly described as: “Gentle, intelligent, energetic, friendly”
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 · Porcelaine
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
without bare patches
- Smooth
- Thin
- Close lying and shining
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°30 — 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 standard penalises
What a judge marks the Porcelaine 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.
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Lack of type.
- Eyes or nose light; excessive lack of pigment.
- Tail furnished with some longer and coarser, slightly off-standing hairs (like ears of grain).
- Coat harsh and thick.
- Orange mantle.
- Orange spots too bright, tending to mahogany, greyish or mingled with black hairs. Distinct orange spots but too pale, and even the absence of spots is not sought after but are not considered as an eliminatory fault.
- Excess or lack of height at withers. An exception may be made for males which, excelling in their quality and therefore capable of being used at stud, reach the maximum height of 60 cm (24 inches).
- Any fault affecting the utilization of the dog, as rickets, lack of a correct stance, insufficient reach of the movement
Temperament
Gentleintelligentenergeticfriendlywork-focused
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Porcelaine in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Porcelaine
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Porcelaine 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 Porcelaine 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 Porcelaine 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.