The Griffon blue de Gascogne is a dog suitable even for the most demanding hunters, it is selected in the south of France and is the cross between two recognized breeds, the petit blue de Gascogne and that of the Vendean griffon.
The Griffon blue de Gascogne is selected in the south of France, precisely in the region of Le Gers, the Griffon blue de Gascogne is a dog particularly suitable for hunting rabbit and hare but, currently, it is also used for hunting wild boar because it is able to orient itself well both on flat and mountainous territories.
The selection of this new breed was a very difficult task for French breeders, the Griffon blue de Gascogne comes from the cross between the petit blue de Gascogne and the Vandean Griffon, both very ancient breeds, therefore which bring a large degree of dominance to genetic level.
For decades and decades the "new" blue de Gascogne had to proliferate to obtain the right genetic mix and to have a bristly surface coat and a very dense undercoat, which together with the muzzle and tail, characterize this breed. The bottom of the coat is white and has typical dark patches and like one of its progenitors, it manages to give bluish reflections.
If in France this dog is used for hunting hare and rabbit, here in Italy it is used almost exclusively for wild boar: thanks to the coat of the griffon and the robust structure of the petit, the blue de Gascogne adapts well to dense environments such as those typical of the Mediterranean scrub.
In the Griffon blue de Gascogne there is no place for defects, in fact, a great flaw of its Griffon ancestor was the lack of obedience and difficulty in training, the blue de Gascogne seems to be an easy dog to train and in addition it has a excellent olfactory power and good physical structure.