BRAQUE D'AUVERGNE

COUNTRY: France

WEIGHT: 49-62 pounds

HEIGHT: 22-24 inches

COAT: Short, fine, and shiny

COLOR: Black and white; roaning in the white is desirable to create a blue effect; black must appear on head, covering eyes and ears

OTHER NAMES: Bleu d'Auvergne, Auvergne

Pointer

GROUP: Gun Dog





Auvergne is in the central southwest of France, near enough to the Gascony region to assume that the Gascony was the hound ancestor of the Auvergne. During Napoleon's occupation of Malta, he decreed the dissolution of the Knights of Malta (Chevaliers de Malte). One story tells how the forbears of the Auvergne dogs were brought back to France when the knights returned to their country in 1798. His appearance, however, belies the story. Perhaps the knights brought back dogs who were crossed with local types. The Auvergne is a big, tough hunting dog, built for the Auvergne mountainous areas. He is lively, sensitive, obedient and affectionate. Like his French hound progenitors, he is light and elegant in the chase. He wags a docked tail, and can be clear white with black spots, but the roaning is much preferred. The heavy roan-ing is called charbonnee, charcoaled. Ears and head should be a solid black and be clean, with no exaggeration and no flew. Among the disqualifications are the tan points, which are the stamp of the hound.