FCI Standard

Translation: John Miller and Raymond Triquet
Origin: France
Date of Publication of the original valid standard: 09.01.1999

UTILIZATION:

Devil in the country, angel in the house, that's our basset. It's a passionate hunter, that must, from an early age, get used to obeying. Perfect assistant to the hunter with a gun on territories of medium size, specialist for rabbit, but no other game escapes from it.

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. Group 6:

Scenthounds and related breeds. Section 1.3: Small-sized hounds with working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY:

For a long time the Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen had the same standard as the Grand Basset, only the size was different (from 34 cm to 38 cm). The result in utilisation was not very brilliant, because they were semi-crooked and as heavy as the Grand Basset. That is why Mr. Abel Dézamy created a separate standard for them. To define this hound, let us remember what Paul Daubigné wrote: It is no longer a small Vendéen by simple reduction of the height, but a small Basset harmoniously reduced in all its proportions and in its volume, that is naturally endowed with all moral qualities which presuppose the passion for hunting. A team of Petit Bassets won the first edition of France's Cup on rabbit.

GENERAL APPEARANCE:

Small, active and vigorous hound, with a slightly elongated body. Proud tail carriage. Coat hard and long without exaggeration. Expressive head; leathers well turned inwards, covered with long hair and set below the level of the eye, not too long.

BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT

    Behaviour: Passionate Hunter, courageous, likes the bramble and scrub.

    Temperament: Docile but wilful and passionate.

HEAD

    Cranial Region

        Skull: Slightly domed, not too elongated nor very broad, well chiselled under the eyes,  the occipital protuberance quite developed. Stop: Frontal indentation defined.          

    Facial Region

        Nose: Prominent, well developed; nostrils open, black apart from the white and orange coats where a brown nose is tolerated.

        Muzzle: Much shorter than that of the Grand Basset but nevertheless very lightly elongated and straight. Muzzle square at its end.

        Lips: Covered with abundant moustaches.

        Jaws/Teeth: Scissor bite.

        Eyes: Quite large with an intelligent expression, showing no white; the conjunctiva must not be apparent. The brows surmounting the eyes standing forward but should not obscure the eyes. Eyes must be of a dark colour.

        Leathers: Supple, narrow and fine, covered with long hair and ending in a slight oval, turned inwards and not quite reaching the end of the muzzle. Well set below the level of the eye.

NECK:

Long and strong; well muscled; strong at set on; without dewlap, carrying head proudly.

BODY

        Back: Straight, topline level.

        Loin: Muscled.

        Croup: Well muscled and quite wide.

        Chest: Not too wide. Rather deep, reaching the elbow level.

        Ribs: Moderately rounded.

        Tail: Set high, quite thick at its base, tapering evenly to its tip, rather short, carried sabre fashion.

LIMBS

    Overall view: Bone structure quite strong but in proportion to size.

Forequarters

                Shoulders: Clean, oblique, well attached to the body.

                Forearm: Well developed.

                Wrist (carpus): Very slightly defined.

Hindquarters

                Thigh: Muscled and only slightly rounded.

                Hock: Quite wide, slightly angulated, never completely straight.

                Feet: Not too strong, pads hard, toes very tight, nails solid. Good pigmentation of pads is desirable.

                Gait/Movement: Very free and effortless.

    Skin: Quite thick, often marbled in the tricoloured subjects. No dewlap.

COAT

           Hair: Harsh but not too long, never silky or woolly       

COLOUR

Black with white spotting (white and black). Black with tan markings (black and tan). Black with light tan markings. Fawn with white spotting (white and orange). Fawn with black mantle and white spotting (tricolour). Fawn with black overlay. Pale fawn with black overlay and white spotting. Pale fawn with black overlay. Traditional names: hare colour, wolf colour, badger colour or wild boar colour.

SIZE

        Height at withers: From 34 cm to 38 cm with a tolerance of 1 cm more or less.

FAULTS

        Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

        Head: Too short, flat skull, short muzzle, depigmentation of the nose, lips or eyelids, short muzzle, pincer bite, light eye, leathers set high, long, insufficiently turned in or lacking hair.

        Body: Too long or too short, lacking harmony, topline insufficiently firm, slanting croup.

        Tail: Deviated stern.

        Limbs: Insufficient bone, lack of angulation, slack in pasterns.

        Hair: Not dense enough, fine hair.

        Behaviour: Timid subject.

ELIMINATING FAULTS

        Lack of type.

        Overshot or undershot mouth.

        Wall eye. Eyes of different colours (heterochromia).

        Lack of space in the sternal region; ribs too narrow towards the lower part.

        Kinky tail.

        Crooked or half-crooked forelegs.

        Woolly coat.

        Self-coloured coat black or white.

        Important depigmentation.

        Size outside the standard.

        Noticeable invalidating fault. Anatomical malformation.

        Fearful or aggressive subject.

N.B. Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum