Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of the breed, either petit or grand?

I know they are scenthounds and as such shouldn't really be exercised off lead?

Josh

There is at least one owner on here that has that breed - hopefully they will see your post and be able to give you some insight :-)

Josh, they are typical scent hounds, friendly, happy, noisy but can be let off lead in suitable areas, their grooming is specialised  they are striped to a certain extent but I don't know a lot about it except you can tell the owners who can and those who can't by the state of their hounds.

PS - they do not always get on with all other dogs particularly the same breed but in general they do with careful introduction.

We have one who does flyball.. Awesome little guy, happy little clown best sums him up. We usually flyball with him offlead at training and as long as he's kept busy, we're ok! He's also done good citz to (i think) silver. Not necessarily a breed NOT to let off, but needs to be done in the right area, and I'd even say you need to pretty hot at being the most interesting thing around - not foolproof with a scent hound I know, but I don't think its a breed you can just "walk" - fun games like hide and seek and they're better. It's a breed I'd like in the future for sure :D

Edit - He's a petit one.

I'd love one, scenthounds are a little independent off lead but would never consider owning one and restricting them to just lead walking, yet sadly met plenty of owners who do.

Thanks for all your help folks. They are quite rare from what I've heard and I've never actually met one. I remember seeing them at Crufts years and years ago now on TV and have wanted one ever since.

It is nice to know that some people do still let them live on the lead as I would definitely not want a breed that I couldn't let off the lead. After having Nando on lead for the past 6 months and finally 'cracking' his recall, I am just enjoying owning him on a whole different level.

I groom a PBGV, she's a nice friendly girl. I'm afraid in spite of my best efforts they don't bring her often enough or groom her properly in between, so I have to clip her short each time, but she doesn't mind that her coat isn't correct for her breed after all. I've seen plenty of other hounds doing GC obedience courses and working rally obedience, so I'm sure a PBGV can be trained to recall, if not perhaps as reliably as some breeds!

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">would never consider owning one and restricting them to just lead walking, yet sadly met plenty of owners who do

Having a dog - a rescue terrierX- who has a fantastic recall until some small furry takes his attention I can see why some dogs don't go off lead except in a secure area. It's not cruel - it would be far more cruel if I just let him off lead and he took off over the horizon to meet his end on a road or was shot by a farmer as I could almost guarantee he would chase sheep if they ran - and my responsibilities are not just to my dog but also for livestock, drivers and others who may suffer due to my dog "sadly being restricted to lead walking" . Being on a lead doesn't mean he has to walk by my side at all times - he is on a long line.......... a very long line that at times, and depending on where I am walking, can be forty feet long or more.

My other dog spends most of any walk off lead but the long line allows the  two dogs to play and interact with each other when they wish to and I have the reassurance of knowing Cooper is safe and I am not risking his life or that of others.

> I would definitely not want a breed that I couldn't let off the lead

If the breeders say that letting them off lead is risky, or they caution against it if the area is unsecured, then choose another breed.

I have a yen for a The Basset Fauve de Bretagne (a similar small hound) and all the good breeders have cautionary tales about lost dogs, and stories with unhappy endings.  There will always be exceptions due to temperament, training, environment, opportunity etc BUT don't choose a breed like this believing that you will change the dog.  Far better that you are realistic and expect that you might have to keep it on lead unless you can guarantee a fully fenced, properly secured, exercise area.

I'm saving this dog for later life when I either own my own fields OR I retire to the city and will just take my wee chap everywhere I go   ... for miles :)

That said, like Harley, I have a terrier type mongrel who needs to spend much more time on lead than my gundogs (due to livestock chasing tendencies).  He doesn't have a terrible life at all and if we are in a livestock area we simply walk further to compensate.  He does us all good!!

I would be more than happy to have a dog constantly on a long-line as they still get the freedom. However, I agree that maybe this is a breed I should not pursue any further, which is unfortunate because I do love them! Back to the drawing board..