Basset Fauve de Bretagne

Sociable and vocal; slow to give up on a scent.
A Basset Fauve de Bretagne
Photo: Abujoy
Adult male
11–16 kg
24–35 lb
Adult female
10–15 kg
22–33 lb
Lifespan
11–14 yrs
Class · Field
also Family

What it's like

The Basset Fauve de Bretagne was bred to push through the dense gorse and scrub of Brittany, and it stays energetic and persistent, quick to pick up a scent and slow to give it up. It is sociable with people and with other dogs, has the independent streak of a pack hound and readily uses its voice.

Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Friendly with everyone
Independence
Decides for itself
Around the home
Sensitivity
Hardy, takes a busy home in its stride
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Likely to chase small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
Is a Basset Fauve de Bretagne right for you?
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Living with one

It has a wire or harsh coat. Loose hair stays caught in the coat until it is brushed, stripped or clipped out. Plan on a brush once a week, plus hand-stripping two or three times a year. It needs plenty of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Basset Fauve de Bretagne is a medium dog, about the weight of a grown Cocker Spaniel. Males end up a little heavier than females. It is one of the lightest medium breeds.

The name describes the dog: fauve is French for fawn. It is a compact, short-legged hound, longer than it is tall but less drawn out than many bassets, with an alert head and dark eyes. The coat is harsh, dense and fairly short, never woolly or curled, in shades from golden wheat to red brick. A small white mark on the chest is allowed. The folded, pointed ears are covered in finer, darker hair.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Basset Fauve de Bretagne puppy is already as heavy as a grown Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
10 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
051015202m4m6m9m12m18m
051015202m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
2.8–4.1 kg 6.2–9.0 lb
2.8–4.2 kg 6.2–9.3 lb
3 months
3.8–5.5 kg 8.4–12.1 lb
3.6–5.4 kg 7.9–11.9 lb
4 months
5.3–7.8 kg 11.7–17.2 lb
4.9–7.4 kg 10.8–16.3 lb
5 months
6.6–9.6 kg 14.6–21.2 lb
5.9–8.9 kg 13.0–19.6 lb
6 months
7.6–11.1 kg 16.8–24.5 lb
6.7–10.1 kg 14.8–22.3 lb
7 months
8.4–12.2 kg 18.5–26.9 lb
7.4–11.0 kg 16.3–24.3 lb
8 months
9.0–13.1 kg 19.8–28.9 lb
7.9–11.8 kg 17.4–26.0 lb
9 months
9.4–13.7 kg 20.7–30.2 lb
8.3–12.4 kg 18.3–27.3 lb
10 months
9.8–14.2 kg 21.6–31.3 lb
8.6–12.9 kg 19.0–28.4 lb
11 months
10.0–14.6 kg 22.0–32.2 lb
8.8–13.2 kg 19.4–29.1 lb
12 months
10.2–14.9 kg 22.5–32.8 lb
9.0–13.6 kg 19.8–30.0 lb
15 months
10.6–15.5 kg 23.4–34.2 lb
9.5–14.3 kg 20.9–31.5 lb
18 months
11–16 kg 24–35 lb
9.9–14.8 kg 21.8–32.6 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Basset Fauve de Bretagnes live yet. The 11–14 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Basset Fauve de Bretagne is the low-set form of Brittany's Griffon Fauve de Bretagne, used to hunt rabbit, hare, fox, roe deer and wild boar. Well known in Brittany in the 19th century, it made its name across France only in the last decades of the 20th, winning the French Cup for rabbit hunting several times4.

The Basset Fauve de Bretagne belongs to an old family of fawn-coated Breton hounds. Its larger relative, the Grand Fauve de Bretagne, was a wolf hound that died out in the early twentieth century as wolf hunting declined. The basset itself became scarce around the Second World War, and breeders rebuilt it in the decades that followed, reportedly with some use of the Basset Griffon Vendéen. It reached Britain in the nineteen-eighties.

Breed standard

The Basset Fauve de Bretagne is judged against standard no. 36, in group 6, Scenthounds and related breeds4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Basset Fauve de Bretagne figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

Dachshund
Dachshunds · Small
Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen
Scent hounds · Medium
Beagle
Scent hounds · Medium
Mountain Cur
Hound · Medium
Or compare the Basset Fauve de Bretagne with any breed you choose
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Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·