Description of the large blue gascon hound, rules of care

2024 Author: Arianna Cook | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 17:55

The history of the great blue Gascon hound, external criteria, behavior and health, caring for a dog: feeding, walking, training, interesting facts. Puppy price. They are very reckless, strong and at the same time soft dogs. The history of their origin is not completely clear. It doesn't matter where they came from. The main thing is that such a breed exists. These dogs are still used to hunt a variety of game. They can work both in a pack and separately. They have a low, loud guttural voice and great courage to approach such a dangerous beast as a boar. In modern times, these dogs have come to be loved for their lovable nature.

The history of the origin of the blue Gascony Hound breed

Most 19th century writers agree that the Great Blue Gascon comes from the Saint-Hubert dog. But how? In the Adrensko forest during the time of Garston Phoebus there were black and red dogs. Comte de Foix, when returning from the war from Poland, made a hunting stop at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert. From there, he took with him several indigenous dogs, which he later crossed with local village dogs. This is one version of the origin of the Great Blue Gascony Hound, but there is another hypothesis. Saint-Hubert was born in Aquitaine and some believe that Saint Hubert's dogs (bloodhounds) originate from the Gascon canines. But then where did the blue hounds come from?

Henry IV had a pack of six hundred of these dogs for hunting wolves. Perhaps these pets after his death passed to someone else. But in the end, in the 19th century, they ended up with Baron de Ruble, who was friends with Baron Carine de La Tour. When Baron Careyon wanted to improve the Sintogh hound breed, he crossed it with the blue Gascon of Baron de Ruble. Then de Ruble began to deal only with blue dogs, and Careyon got black and white individuals. As a consequence, there is no longer pure blue blood. That is, in a litter of large blue dogs, there are white or black puppies and from time to time blue puppies can appear in a litter from a white dog. To this day, such manifestations take place.

After the war of 1914, the breed fell into decay. It was necessary to save these dogs. They were kept for hunting with a gun. Because of this, they did not look at the exterior and were left with individuals of the worst constitution. They were lighter, with underdeveloped limbs and poor positioning of the front and hind legs. In 1968, the Frenchman Roger Bashal created the Blue Hound Club. At that time, it consisted of only nine individuals with a pedigree. Breeder Roger tried to improve the breed characteristics of the animals together with serious minded breeders. Thanks to hard work, fans of the breed have achieved brilliant results. Her constitution and limbs have improved. Today, the birth rate exceeds one and a half thousand puppies a year.

These canines originated in an arid region where there were only green oaks and stones. It is very dry at the beginning of the hunting season, but the animals are accustomed to this. They have a fine sense of smell and dogs show themselves perfectly even in extremely difficult conditions. The fact that their coat is short does not mean that it poorly protects the dog. On the contrary, the large blue Gascon hound has a dense coat that allows it to wade even through thickets with thorns. With this breed, they hunt wild boar and all types of large animals: deer, roe deer.

A feature of hunting wild boar is the search for the animal when it is driven out of the forest thicket. Therefore, first of all, the dog must be calm and balanced. Sometimes, when searching for game, it seems that it is difficult for her to move forward, but when the breeze appears, the dog smells and becomes much more mobile.

The blue hound belongs to the so-called southern dogs. Their specificity lies in the structure of the head. They have a very delicate sense of smell and therefore are great at hunting hares. Because of their sensitive nose and sonorous bark, they were often used in the selection of other breeds. The large blue Gascon is ideal for paddocking the wild boar, as other dogs only find the animal, but cannot approach it.

External criteria of the great blue gascon hound

Large, muscular and elegant at the same time. Stubborn in work, with a balanced nervous organization. Used as a companion and hunter. According to official standards, the height at the withers is 65 cm to 72 cm long in males, 60 cm to 65 cm in bitches and has a variation of a couple of centimeters. Males weigh from 22 kg to 30 kg, females from 20 kg to 28 kg. Rhythmic movements.

Head elongated with a strongly developed occipital protuberance. Its lines are parallel, with the lines of the muzzle. The skull is round enough. Cheekbones are flat. The brows are slightly prominent. The frontal furrow is smooth.
Muzzle expressive, large, elongated, equal in length to the skull. The bridge of the nose is straight and wide. The flews are vertical, overlapping the lower jaw. The stop is moderate. The lips are thickened, soft and drooping, forming characteristic folds in the corners. Have black pigmentation. The teeth are powerful, with a scissor bite.
Nose very developed, voluminous. The nostrils are well open. In profile, protrudes beyond the lip line. It is only painted black.
Eyes blue Gascon hound planted harmoniously, medium, oval in shape. Dry eyelid pigmentation is black. The cornea is colored dark brown. Some individuals have too thick eyelashes, but this leads to conjunctivitis. The look is soft.
Ears are attached very low, long, drooping, can easily exceed the distance to the nose. The cartilage is soft and voluminous. They are covered with a slight fringe, which makes them appear longer.
Neck - swan, but not too long. There is a small bifurcated dewlap.
Frame The Gascony Blue Hound is moderately long, lithe and muscular. Its upper part is slightly higher than the back. The croup is well shaped, slightly rounded before the tail is placed. The rib cage is sufficiently lowered and developed. The back line is slightly rounded. The ribs are rounded, not prominent, well smoothed. The abdomen is well tucked into the groin area.
Tail low, long. At first it is thickened, and towards the end it is narrowed, slightly bent. In a calm state, he reaches the popliteal hollows, when the dog walks, he is raised.
Front limbs - slender, even, parallel, strong. The shoulder blades are set obliquely, the shoulders are well muscled. The hind ones are erect, powerful, strong. Elastic strong ligaments allow excellent movement when walking. The thighs have lengthened, prominent muscles. Metatarsus strong. The angles of the joints are harmonious.
Paws - in a lump, rounded with curved fingers well adjacent to each other. Strong nails, springy pads.
Hairline perfectly firm and slightly tough, grows close to the skin.
Leather strong, fits the body well, only there is a slight dewlap in the throat area.
Color very characteristic - blue with black spots, here and there interspersed with red. The main color of the coat is gray, speckled or with a saddle - a large black spot on the back. All specks should be black. The red color is found in the lower abdomen on the paws, near the genitals and of course on the cheeks and above the eyebrows.

Behavior of the Great Blue Gascony Hound Dog

Blue hounds are sociable, loving. Pets are immensely loyal to their owner. They are very funny. When you let go of the blue Gascon to play with the children, then for the boys it is a real holiday. They do not behave gently with the owner and are extremely careful with children in this regard.

Large members of this breed are balanced when given plenty of room to run. People love these dogs and they often keep such a hound in their apartment. This does not mean that the Gascon dogs have lost their hunting qualities. They just fit perfectly into the image of a domestic dog.

Great Blue Gascony Hound Health

They are sturdy, strong and muscular dogs. From hereditary diseases can be called dysplasia of the femur - the abnormal development of the hip joints. This is a loose adhesion of the pelvic head and femur. Of the most common problems, these are diseases of the eyes and ears.

The entropion and ectropion can be ranked as eye diseases, entropion is the twist of the eyelid inside the eyeball so that the wool begins to rub it. Ectropion - when the eyelid bends outward and the mucous membrane protrudes. In this position, she is very easily susceptible to mechanical injury, wind-blown dust and dirt, which irritate her.

This dog has drooping ears that obstruct the ear canal and is therefore not ventilated. Inside are glands that secrete earwax. Its excess leads to inflammation or microbes can settle in it. Therefore, it must be cleaned once a week.

Do not forget that blue cops are big and voracious. They swallow their food quickly. Because of this, it is not well chewed and does not have time to be saturated with saliva, which can cause volvulus. From the perspective of a large animal, large breeds reach maturity later than small breeds. This is the main challenge in a balanced diet, especially in terms of calcium content and replenishment of energy reserves. Therefore, the food is carefully selected and special vitamin supplements are required.

The dog needs to be raised to a certain age, and only then used on the hunt. This is especially true for dogs hunting a large animal. In this case, the hounds are in great danger, since in the process of work they can get injuries and wounds, which can be severe, since the boar has sharp fangs. Sometimes there are wounds like from a surgical knife, where the wound is completely clean.

It happens that the wounds are so deep that vital organs are affected, for example, perforated lungs or the abdominal cavity, from where the intestines can fall out. This is how dangerous the boar's tusks are. In this case, the owner needs to remove dirt, grass, leaves, what may interfere with the treatment with an antiseptic. Then wrap the wound in a clean cloth and immediately take the pet to the nearest veterinary clinic.

From the point of view of raising puppies, all precautions must be taken. On average, ten are born in a litter, fifteen carouse and this is a lot. From birth, natural selection begins, which takes two days. Therefore, it is not necessary to carry out the selection for the first forty-eight hours. Puppies are born black and white, which is a little confusing for those inexperienced in this field. But if you take a newborn kitten and run your hand against his fur, you will immediately see that blue is hidden under the white color. On the third, fourth day, it is necessary to carry out a selection selection. You can see if the spots on the skin are correct and if the ears are set low.

A dog's fearfulness depends on its pedigree. If there are many individuals in the line that differed in this quality, it is better to end the reproduction of such a branch and start a new one.

Grooming a large blue gascon hound dog

Wool the hounds are short and dense, so they practically do not get dirty, except in emergency cases, when your dog fell out in something smelly. Then, to remove the "wonderful" smell, you need to resort to the help of baking soda and vinegar, which are used in combination with shampoo. Dogs are combed out using special brushes or rubber gloves, they are good at removing dead hairs. Regularity of the procedure once a week, and when the dog sheds, every other day.
Claws must be pruned as they grow back. This requires claws or natfil.
Ears, which have a hanging shape - clean regularly. Poor ventilation contributes to excess sulfur mass, which leads to various diseases.
Eyes must be inspected after hunting, as there may be injuries and damage, as well as dust and dirt. The foreign particles are washed with soothing agents towards the inner corner. If something more complicated has arisen, then it is better to immediately contact your veterinarian.
Teeth Gascon dogs, just like other dogs, it is better to clean every week, since at first a small plaque accumulates on them and gradually it turns into stones. Such pets have a “divine” smell from the mouth! But when it stinks from the mouth, it's still half the trouble. Dental calculus leads to the multiplication of bacteria in the cavity of the animal, as a result of which periodontal disease and caries appear. If the stones are not removed in time, the gums begin to bleed, and the teeth deteriorate and fall out.
Feeding your Gascony Pointing Dog needs to be as close to natural as possible. In nature, no one cooks porridge. The most important point is that dogs are predators. Their stomach is arranged in such a way that the food that goes there is not fermented, that is, the fiber is not disassembled into its components. In nature, when a predator kills a game, it primarily eats the contents of the intestines and stomach, because there are those enzymes that canines do not have. When you cook, steam, crumble, water, add something to your dog's food, you still won't cook it like you would in a professional food factory. Many are very suspicious of such products. Each breed and age needs its own, specific food. Puppies grow better on premium and super-premium dry food than on natural food. Porridge is carbohydrates that are practically not absorbed by the dog's body. Accordingly, it is necessary to add a sufficient amount of meat and not only. Minerals, vitamins must be balanced. To do this, you need to be absolutely clear about what your dog's body needs in order for it to assimilate everything in the right quantities. And dry concentrates are developed by specialists who know everything about the physiology of canines.
Walking a large hound must be active. A pet living outside the city must have a fenced area for free exit. If the dog lives in an apartment, you should regularly run with him, ride a bike or go to the park where he could “take your soul away”. Try to go out of town with your pet. I walked my four-legged friend every day for two, or three times, for at least thirty minutes.

Training a large blue gascon hound dog

These hounds have the temperament of a real hunter, so many people use it. All teams that hunt boar with a pack must have one or more blue Gascons, and there is a reason for that. This dog loves his job so much that it inspires the rest. In the process of hunting, he does not break away from the track and acts very persistently. These dogs can chase prey for five or six hours.

Their loud, booming voice is heard throughout the area. Hunters like it when in a bunch there are twelve, fifteen dogs with a deep voice, which is true for the dogs of the region. Even if the hunters are somewhere far away, they can still hear them and this quality is very valuable. Gascon hounds are accustomed to living in a pack and easily get used to living with their fellows.

These dogs need to be constantly dealt with. Sometimes it is better to put a collar with a leash on them, then you can easily restrain them. Large blue Gascon hounds are easily obedient to humans. The more they work, the better the result.