French Spaniel

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The French Spaniel is a medium size solidly built hunting dog with a strong bone structure. It is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, spaniel dog breeds that is believed to have been the progenitors of virtually all of today's hunting spaniels. Developed in France as a hunting dog in 14th century, the breed gained popularity with French Royalty during the Middle Ages. The first French Spaniel Club was founded in France, in 1921. Its president was Father Fournier, a priest to whom bred fanciers owe a great debt. Fournier recognized the utility, heritage and merits of these dogs. He identified their salient characteristics, gathered the finest examples available, and worked tirelessly to rebuild the lineages that are responsible for modern French Spaniels. Because of Fournier's meticulous selection process, and the faithful efforts of those who followed after him, today's French Spaniel is an elegant and athletic dog, firm on point, and comfortable in every environment. One can be confident that this is an intelligent, obedient faithful, family dog, possessed of classic physical beauty.

According to breed standards, the head is of moderate length and width. Muzzle with slightly convex nasal bridge is preferred over straight one. Brown nose is well pigmented with white open nostrils. Oval shape large eyes are dark brown or cinnamon coloured with expressions of kindness and intelligence. Well set back ears are moderately long. Neck is strong, well muscled and slightly arched. Topline is straight with broad and powerful loin and deep and high capacity chest. The tail is full length, not docked, set low, tapering, held slantwise curves. The skin is flexible and close to the body. The coat is dense and flat on the body, shorter and finer on the head but longer on ears, back of the legs and tail. It comes in white and brown, with medium to predominant spotting.

This breed is NOT recognized by AKC however it is recognized by FCI, UKC and CKC.

Color

The breed has a white coat that is marked with varied shaped and sized spots that come in different shades of brown - from warm cinnamon to distinctive dark liver.

Coat

The coat is flat and silky on the body, shorter and finer on the head and long and wavy on ears, back of the legs and tail. The coat hair are water resistant.

Personality

The French Spaniel is a joy to live with. Readily bonding to its master and family, it soon recognizes and adopts family friends. Gentle, loving and even tempered, the dog is not boring at all. Very playful and kind to children, the dog gets along well with other dogs in the family. Very friendly and outgoing, the dog is very sociable with people and adapts well to different situations. Non-aggressive and eager to please, the breed is very trainable. This intelligent dog is an skilled pointing dog that is very hard working and has great stamina. It can tirelessly work for long periods of time, displaying its versatility in tracking, pointing and retrieving game on land and in water. This dog has varied hunting methods. It can run after a prey in an all out gallop or stealthily creep and freeze once a feather prey is scented. An exceptional working dog and an outstanding family companion, the French Spaniel has a classical beauty and makes the owner proud for having such a classical breed.

Care

Short coat needs brushing once a week and bathing is needed only when necessary unless the dog has returned from a hunting expedition. On such occasions, thorough brushing will be needed to remove burrs. Ears should be regularly checked for infection.

Training

The French Spaniel is an eager and willing to please dog breed that is docile and submissive to its owners. It will be an easy to train dog with a confident and stable trainer. The dog is an active breed that will respond best to firm yet gentle training methods. Heavy-handed training or harsh training methods will prove futile for this gentle breed.

Activity

Highly energetic dog, the French Spaniel will need fair amount of physical activities to be happy and content. Daily walks along with fair playing and running time is essential for this dog.