Breed of the Week: The Blue Picardy Spaniel

| 4 comments

For Sale: 20 Francs. 4 puppies born January 25, 1886, white and black épagneuls of the ancient breed of Artois. The father is the most handsome dog in the country. The breed has almost disappeared in France and is sorely missed by our old hunters. The mother is of the same breed. Mother and father out of hunting lines, solid point, on the plains, marsh or woods, hunting always in gun range. Contact M. Larivière, rifleman, Hesdin, Pas de Calais. 

HISTORY

In the 1920s efforts got underway to organize the black and white dogs into an officially recognized breed. A number of well-known personalities including Eugène Cuvellier and Léon Verrier, one of the country’s top dog trainers and a friend of Emmanuel Boulet, helped to stabilize and promote the black and white dogs from the north. But when a club for the brown, white and tan Picardy Spaniel was established in 1921, Blue Picardy Spaniels (as they were by then called) were not accepted. It wasn’t until 1938 that a standard was drawn up and the breed officially recognized. The issue that caused the delay seems to have been a disagreement among breeders concerning just how much of an English style the breed should have. 

As for the Blue Picardy Spaniel, if it is still as it was intended to be, that is to say Continental in its form and character...after an effort by some breeders to maintain or reconstitute this variety during the first years that followed 1945 [it is] almost on the way to extinction.

Fortunately, the Blue Picardy survived due mainly to the efforts of Mr. Piras from Crotoy, who was virtually the only breeder still active after the war. Another breeder, Mr. Lemoing from central France, developed his own line of Blues and in 1973 participated in the first field trial for the breed, held at Malauzat. Until the 1990s, the Blue Picardy was more or less confined to northern France where it was mainly in the hands of hunters. It was essentially unknown in the rest of the world and consistently fell behind its cousin, the Picardy, in terms of the number of pups whelped each year. But the situation soon began to change. 

The usual pace is a medium gallop. While running, the head is normally held in line with the back but can be slightly higher or lower depending on the terrain. Range is close to medium but, like some of the other French breeds, the work standard allows for individuals of superior performance. I’ve seen one or two such dogs and they can range out fairly wide, at a fast gallop. Nevertheless, both breeds are still very Continental in action, typically ranging just beyond gun range at a medium, flowing gallop.

A Picardy hunts with you. They are very cooperative and will adapt to you and the terrain, ranging out or staying close, depending on what you want. If you are hunting in thick beet fields they will stay closer; if you are on open plains they will reach out. They adapt to the cover and will always hunt with you.

"...similar to the Picardy Spaniel’s. But the Blue is more feline in its movements. It has a more setter-like way of working. We say that if the two Picardy breeds were horses, the Blue would be a demi-sang [half-blood] and the Picardy a draft horse. But there are two schools of thought regarding the breed. Hunters typically want a close-working dog, one that works “to the gun”, maybe 50 meters or so on each side. And field trialers want their dogs to run further out and faster. It comes down to selection and training.

I can’t keep mine out of the water. Hunters in Picardy have always wanted dogs that love the water since they hunt a lot in the marshes. So we select our dogs to be good, strong swimmers and retrievers willing to work in very tough conditions. They are excellent dogs for waterfowlers. 

The first Blue Picardies I ever saw were nowhere near France. They were in a snowy field in the foothills of the rocky mountains south of Calgary, Canada. They were owned by Don Fath, one of a very few breeders of blues outside the their native land. I was there to learn as much as i could about the breed and to photograph them in action. What I learned from Don that day was confirmed in France: good Blues from proven hunting lines are very birdy gundogs whose overall look, gait and pointing style definitely reveal an English connection. Blue Picardy Spaniels are bigger boned than field-bred English Setters and have a more rough-and-tumble look to them. They don’t run as fast or far as Setters and they seem to be a bit more laid-back.

In France, I have seen several Blues, mainly in field trials. Most of them ran hard and fast, head held high, out to about 100 meters or so. Their points were solid and, from what the owners told me, they were all good retrievers and strong swimmers. I believe that the breed overall still has a lot of hunt in it. But it is clear, even to the casual observer, that over the last two decades much of the growth in the Blue’s numbers has been among pet and show homes.