SaberTails

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rough,denseterrainoftheVendée,hemusthaveaharsh
coatwithdenseundercoat,hairsurmountingtheeyesand
enoughofit,alltoprotecthim.Tocatchtheprey,hemust
havelargenostrilstohuntitout,astrongunderjawand
largeteethtohangon!Hemusthavealivelycourageous
outlook,vitalforthecharacterofahuntinghound.He
musthaveagoodvoicewhichisusedappropriatelywhile
hunting—noteasytoassessintheshowring!

Letustakethetimetolookatsomespecialfeaturesof

thebreed.ThesizesectionofthePBGVstandardhasalways
producedsomediscussionamongPBGVenthusiasts.Should
therebeaheightdisqualificationornot?

Asalreadynoted,asmallerPBGVmayhaveGrand

featureswhereasatalleronemaydemonstratebettertype.
However,itmustbenotedthataPBGVmorethan15inches
atthewithersisintherangeforaGrand,andonelessthan
13inchesistootoy-liketomakeagoodhuntinghound.For
thisreason,thestandardhasadisqualificationatbothends
ofit.(Thelowerenddoesnotapplytopuppies.)

Thesamesectionalsogivesrisetodiscussiononthe

proportionsofthePBGV.GeneralAppearancedescribesthe
breedas‘compact,’butthisdoesnotmeanshort-backed.All
FrenchBassetbreeds(andtherearefive)havesomedegree
oflengthofback.ThePBGVisdescribedas‘somewhat
longerthantall.’

Theheadtypegoesalongwaytodefiningbreedtype.

ThePetitheadisshorterinmuzzlethanfromstopto
occiput.Theskullissomewhatdomed,butnotas
pronouncedasinaGBGVoraBassetHound.Thestopis
clearlydefined(theGrandismoreRoman-nosed),theskull
iswellcutawayundertheeyesandtheunderjawisstrong

andwell-developed.Theearsareofmediumlength
andshouldonlycometotheendofthenosewhen
measured.Itshouldbenotedthattheearsmayat
firstappearcorrectonadogwithatoolongforeface
butare,infact,alsotoolong.Theeyesarelarge,
oval-shaped,dark,showingnowhiteorhaw.This
givesforalovelysoftandwarmexpression.Thisis
afeaturethatisbeinglostwithapreponderanceof
small,terrier-typeeyes.

Wehavealreadymentionedthestructureand

proportionsofthebreed,buttwoareasareworth
furtherclarification.ThePBGV’sfrontisrelatively
straightwithjustasmallamountofcrook,andthe
feetdonotturnout.Thefrontangulationshouldbe
matchedbytherear.ThePBGVdoesnothavea‘wrap
around’frontlikeaBassetoraDachshund.This
accountsforitseasy,freemovement.Secondly,the
toplineislevelwithmusclingovertheloinandvery
littletuckup.

Thetailisafeatureofthebreed,anditsmakeand

shapeisasimportantasinaLabradororPointer.Itis
ofmediumlengthandshouldjustreachthehock
jointbutnotbeyond.Itisthickatthebaseandtapers
regularly.Itiscarriedproudly,likethebladeofasaber.

ThecoatofthePBGVisavitalfeature.Afterall,it

ismentionedinthebreed’sname:‘Griffon.’Heis
double-coatedwithaharshouterjacket.Some
degreeoftidyingupispermitted,butnotsomuch
astodetractfromthebreeds‘tousled’andcasual
appearance.IfthePBGVwasouthunting,hewould
self-trimintheundergrowthbutwouldstilllooklike
aPBGV.Ifhelookslikesomeotherbreedintheshow
ring(andweseemanylooks!),thenthetrimming
isoutoforder.Itshouldbenotedthatthereisno

preferredcolorforaPBGV,darkorlight.However,there
shouldbesomevisiblewhite;bicolorslikeblack-and-tan
arenotfavored.

Finally,howshouldourlittlehuntinghoundmove?The

standardsays‘freeatallspeeds.’Heisagilewithgoodreach,
frontlegsstraight,andtherearlegsdrivingandparallel.
Aboveall,hisgaitshouldbeefficient.ManyPBGVSare
rewardedintheshowringforincorrect‘busy’movement
thatlooksflashybutwouldtireoutadogworking.

SusannahCooperonOwner/Handlingand

Judging.IwasaskedtowriteaboutwhatIfeeljudges
shouldfocusonwhenjudgingPBGVs,whattheyaredoing
rightandwhatIfeelmightneedwork.Iwilldomybestas
anowner/handlertoexpresswhatIfeelandwhatIhave
heardfromotherexhibitors.

IhavebeenshowingPBGVssince1998,andoverthe

yearsthebreedandstandardhaschanged;Idofeelithas
beenforthebetter.WhenIstartedshowing,thePBGVwas
longerthantall,lowertothegroundandheavier.NowIfeel
theyhavebecomemoreabletodothejobtheywerebred
forastheyaretobeslightlylongerthantallandaregetting
morelegunderthem.

WhenitcomestojudgingPBGVs,Ihaveexperienced

goodandbadoverthemanyyearsofshowing.Ido
hopeandthinkmanyjudgesarecontinuingtoeducate
themselvesonthebreedstheyjudgeandtakethetimeto
learnthechangesinthestandard.WhenIfirststartedin
thebreed,mostPBGVswereowner-handled,butthathas
changedandmanyareprofessionallyhandlednow.Iwill
sayitisveryhard,dependingon

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