Breeds / Medium
Blue Picardy Spaniel puppies
A gentle French gundog with a blue speckled coat, biddable and quiet in the house but driven by scent in the field. It is easy to train and tolerant of children and other dogs, and it needs daily work.
The facts
- Size class Medium
- Country of origin France
- Adult weight 20.4 to 24.9 kg
- Adult weight in pounds 45 to 55 lb
- Adult height 53 to 61 cm
- Energy level Moderate
- Grooming Low
- Coat type Not published
- Typical lifespan 11 to 12 years
- Good with children Reliably good
- Good with other dogs Reliably good
Where these come from:
- akc.org for adult weight and height, life expectancy, energy, grooming and the temperament ratings, coat type and health notes
- fci.be for country of origin
No published figure for coat type, so nothing is shown rather than a guess.
About the Blue Picardy Spaniel
The Blue Picardy Spaniel comes from northern France, where local Picardy Spaniels crossed with English Setters brought over for the duck shooting to produce a blue speckled gundog. It is a medium sized, workmanlike dog of 53 to 61cm and 20.4 to 24.9kg, with a moderate feathered coat, long ears and a ticked black and grey pattern. It is gentle, biddable and quiet by gundog standards, rated at the very top for trainability and highly for tolerance of children and other dogs.
The breed does well on roughly twenty minutes of brisk walking, running or fetch twice a day, and it is happier still with hunting or scent work to do. A fenced garden and a lead are sensible, since the prey drive is intact and a Blue will follow a scent off the property. Grooming is a weekly pin brush and comb, a monthly bath, and drying the long ears after wet work. The mistake is treating a soft, easy gundog as a low energy pet.
What to expect at eight weeks
At eight weeks a Blue Picardy Spaniel puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A medium breed puppy at eight weeks is a manageable armful that will not stay that way. Most of the growth happens between now and six months, so buy for the adult dog where you can. Expect moderate energy, in short bursts separated by long naps. Grooming is straightforward, but start handling the coat, feet and ears in week one anyway so it is never a fight later. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything it meets calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of its life.
Health worth knowing about
Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.
- Hip and elbow dysplasia, screened by hip and elbow evaluation of breeding stock
- Ear infections, because the long ears trap moisture, so ears need checking and drying after wet work
From Blue Picardy Spaniel breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/blue-picardy-spaniel/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.
Your Blue Picardy Spaniel puppy's first six months
- Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
- Worming and parasite schedule.
- Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Medium for a Blue Picardy Spaniel.
- Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 20.4 to 24.9 kg adult range.
- Puppy names and the first week checklist.
Other medium breeds
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Not veterinary advice. Breed information is general. Your own dog, and your own vet, always win.