Basset Fauve de Bretagne
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in
13-15 in
30-40 pounds
11-14 years
The Basset Fauve de Bretagne is a small, solidly built French scenthound with short legs, a harsh red-wheaten jacket and an expression of permanent good humour. Bred in Brittany to push through gorse and bramble on the trail of rabbit and hare, he is far tougher and quicker than his size suggests.
As a family dog he is friendly, robust and companionable, easy to groom and generally sound. What comes with him is a working nose, a hound's independence and a real appetite for food, all of which shape how you live with him.
Friendliness
More Reserved
Social Butterfly
Playfulness
More Restrained
Perpetual Puppy
Energy Level
Low Energy
High Energy
The breed comes from Brittany in north-western France and descends from the Grand Fauve de Bretagne, a larger fawn hound once used on wolf and now extinct. As the great hunting packs declined and hunting shifted to smaller quarry worked on foot, French breeders selected shorter-legged versions that a hunter could keep up with.
The Second World War pushed the breed to a very low ebb. Recovery from the 1940s onward was led by French breeders and the national club, the Club du Fauve de Bretagne, working from a small number of survivors; there is a longstanding debate about whether Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen or Dachshund blood was introduced during that rebuilding, which the French club has consistently disputed.
The FCI classifies the breed in Group 6 with the scenthounds. It reached Britain in the 1980s and the Kennel Club recognised it, while in the United States it worked through the American Kennel Club's Foundation Stock Service before achieving full recognition in the Hound Group. It remains an uncommon breed outside France, where it is still bred and used for hunting.
The standard puts height at roughly 13 to 15 inches at the withers with weight generally in the region of 30 to 40 pounds, giving a compact, deep-bodied dog on short but straight and strong legs. He is noticeably more athletic and less exaggerated than the Basset Hound: shorter in body, higher off the ground, and free of heavy wrinkling and excessive skin.
The coat is very harsh and rather short, flat rather than shaggy, dense enough to shrug off thorns and rain, with a slight beard and eyebrows. Colour is fawn, from a golden wheaten through to a deep red-wheaten, sometimes with a scattering of white on the chest and occasional dark shading on the ears and muzzle. The ears are set at eye level, fine in texture, and just about reach the end of the nose; the tail is carried in a slight sickle.
The Fauve is a cheerful, sociable hound who generally likes everybody: family, visitors, children and other dogs. Bred to hunt in company, he is rarely a loner and does not usually cope well with long stretches by himself. Most are steady and unflappable in a busy house.
He is also a hound, which means an independent working brain and a nose that outranks your voice. Off lead in open country he can and will go, and hound distance is measured in miles. Secure fencing and lead walks in unfenced places are simply part of owning this breed.
Compared with some scenthounds he is quieter around the house, but he has a resonant voice and will use it on a trail or when something interesting happens. Food is a constant preoccupation, and a Fauve will counter-surf, bin-raid and beg with total conviction unless the household is disciplined about it.
In France the breed still does the job it was built for: working rabbit, hare and sometimes fox or roe deer, alone or in a small pack, in thick Breton cover where a taller hound would struggle. The harsh coat protects the skin and the short legs let the dog work at a pace a walking hunter can follow.
Elsewhere the breed is mainly a companion, but the working equipment is intact and needs employment. Scent work and tracking classes suit it perfectly, and many enjoy rally and low-impact agility. Long walks with plenty of sniffing time will do more for a Fauve's contentment than any amount of ball throwing.
Care is refreshingly simple: a weekly brush, a good long walk every day, an eye on the waistline and a secure garden. The harsh coat sheds dirt on its own and the breed has no exaggerations that require special management.
The Basset Fauve de Bretagne is generally a healthy, functional breed with a fairly low level of inbreeding. The condition most closely associated with it is primary open angle glaucoma, an inherited eye disease linked to an ADAMTS17 gene mutation for which a DNA test is available and widely used by breeders. Ear infections are common in any drop-eared hound, and epilepsy and thyroid problems have been reported.
Ask a breeder for the glaucoma DNA test status of both parents plus recent eye examination results, and for hip scores where the national club recommends them. At home, check and dry the ears regularly, keep the dog lean because weight puts extra load on a long back and short legs, and see your vet promptly about any cloudiness, redness or apparent eye pain.
This is a good choice for an active household that wants a small, hardy, cheerful dog with minimal grooming and a genuine working temperament, and that is realistic about the nose and the appetite. He fits into family life easily, travels well and is generally healthy and long-lived.
If you like the shape but want a shaggier, more theatrical version, look at the Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen; if you want a calmer, heavier hound of similar height, the Basset Hound is the obvious comparison.