Griffon Nivernais

• COUNTRY:France
• WEIGHT: 50 - 55 pounds
• HEIGHT: 2 - 24Vz inches
• COAT: Long, hard, rough and bushy
• COLOR: Preferably blue-gray, dark gray or wolf gray;roan, black/tan, tawny rarely seen
• Group: Hound

One of the oldest of the French hounds, the Griffon Nivernais originated in the Nivernais district of central France, just south of Paris. The genesis of the wire-coated hounds is un-known, although crosses to the Phoenician sighthound types could have introduced the wire gene. Shaggy coats were also exhibited by the Eastern-type herding or water dogs so these, too, could have been the source of the rough jacket. Whatever the origin, the wire coats furnished protection from the brush and rocky terrain. The bristly beard, mustache and body coat give the wire coats an unkempt, "devil-may-care" appearance.

The Nivernais can be traced back as far as the 1200s, when they were called the Chien Gris de St. Louis (St. Louis's Gray Dogs) as the favorites of Louis IX. These gray dogs probably came from the Balkans after the fourth Crusade. At home they were refined with crosses to other hounds. They remained in good standing, as they were also favored by the Sun King, Louis XIV, nearly 400 years later.

The breed was originally bred for hunting boar and wolves in packs and was the forerunner of many other scenthounds. Hunts, embellished with trumpeters and liveried beaters, involved hundreds of these hounds. These celebrated Nivernais packs were scattered following the Revolution. More than 100 years later, many dog lovers feared the noble Nivernais was gone forever, but a club founded in 1900 managed to gather remaining specimens and worked to restore the breed. Called Chien de Pays, meaning a local breed or native dog at home, he has made a comeback.

The breed is now used for smaller game and is particularly prized by "Sunday hunters" because of its ease of care, willingness to work and adaptability to any terrain including water. His expression should be "a little sad," but he should never be timid. The standard also demands a dog that is "simple and hardy," built for long hours of hard work rather than speed. Therefore the weekend hunter, who must follow the dog on foot, has a hunting companion that meets those needs. Four or five barbouitlards, (nickname for the breed, meaning dirty and besmirched), are claimed to be better than a dozen hounds of other breeds. He is now utilized throughout France and has been exported to several countries, including Greece, as well as the United States and Canada, where he is used to hunt bear.