He
is a small, rough coated rustic and hardy, game scenting hound bred to hunt
rabbit and hare who is friendly, outgoing and willing to please. He is busy
intelligent and curious and is full of confidence. The words 'innocent
devilment' are often associated with this breed and they are also often
nicknames "The Happy Breed" for obvious reasons along with their
consistent ability to amuse their owners with their never ending play, and
the joy they find in just being alive.
So What's In A Name?
" PETIT BASSET GRIFFON VENDEEN " ...what a mouth full some will say
and how does one really pronounce it?
In French the correct pronunciation is
" Puh-TEE.... Bah-SAY.... Gree-FOHN.... VON-day-uhn "
Yes quite a mouthful, even though not all that
inventive by the Frenchmen who named him, quite aptly describes the dog's
appearance when you understand the French translation, as you can see -
PETIT - (Small) .... BASSET - (low to the ground) .... GRIFFON- (wiry
haired)
VENDEEN- (the region in France where the breed was developed)
Not so bad after all now that you know what it means? But to make it
easier, the name is often shortened by people who have trouble with the
pronunciation each time they discuss the breed to - PBGV's or PB's
or PETIT's and in some countries, ROUGHIE's,
GRIFFONS or GRIFF's. In Australia, the nickname PBGV seems
to have stuck and I will use it in all my future reference to the breed as I
particularly like this nickname. (Although I have had them called the 'ABC
dog' a few times by those who cannot remember the right initials for the
breed's four worded, difficult to pronounce name!)
So now you understand their name how about a little of their history?
Click
here
to read more.