Braque Francais Gascogne puppies

About the Braque Francais Gascogne

The Braque Francais, Gascogne type, is the larger of the two French Pointing Dogs, the small Pyrenean type being the other. Both come from the south west of France and the central Pyrenees, where they were kept close to their original form. It is a big, noble pointer with strong bone and loose supple skin, standing 58 to 69 centimetres, in chestnut brown or chestnut and white, often heavily speckled. The Canadian Kennel Club recognises it in the Sporting group.

This is a hunting dog first. It is described as docile, sociable and gentle indoors and comes alive on scenting ground, so long road walks are a poor substitute for real work. Grooming is minimal, a rub over with a hound mitt keeps the thick short coat in order. It suits an active or shooting household with space to run. The usual error is judging the dog by how calm it is at home and then badly undercooking its exercise.

What to expect at eight weeks

At eight weeks a Braque Francais Gascogne 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 large breed puppy at eight weeks looks deceptively normal sized and will roughly double every few weeks for a while. Keep exercise short and low impact, the growth plates are wide open. This is a high energy breed. At eight weeks that shows up as intensity rather than stamina, and it will need a job to do long before it needs long walks. 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.

• Entropion and ectropion, which the breed standard treats as disqualifying and which a vet identifies on eye examination
• Hip dysplasia, which breeding stock can be x-rayed and scored for before mating
• Ear infections under medium length drop leathers, found by checking and drying the ear after work in wet cover
• Missing teeth and bite faults, which the standard asks breeders to check by examining the mouth, since the dentition must be complete
• Cuts, thorn injuries and pad damage from hard ground work, found by handling the dog over after every outing

From Braque Francais Gascogne breed information at https://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/133g07-en.pdf. Discuss any of these with your own vet.

Your Braque Francais Gascogne puppy's first six months

• Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
• Worming and parasite schedule.
• Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Large for a Braque Francais Gascogne.
• Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 24 to 32 kg adult range.
• Puppy names and the first week checklist.

Other large breeds

Previous: Braque du Bourbonnais · Next: Braque Francais Pyrenean