French White and Orange Hound

The French White and Orange Hound is the rarest of the three French pack hounds. Its FCI standard, whose current text dates from 1 February 1982, carries no historical summary at all, which is itself telling: the breed is old enough that its beginnings were never written down. The Société Centrale Canine records that it comes from old French breeds and names the Billy among its ancestors.

Like the other two, it was placed in its present form by the 1957 reorganisation that separated the French hounds from the Anglo-French ones. The FCI describes it simply as a scenthound of the large-sized section, judged with a working trial.

The French kennel club describes hardy, bold dogs able to keep up several hours of pursuit at a good pace, with good voice, fine noses and reliability when the quarry changes, hunting red deer and roe deer in a pack that works methodically. The coat is short and fine, lemon-and-white or orange-and-white, and the standard is explicit that the orange must not be so dark that it reads as red.

The breed is registered by the FCI.

What the standard asks for

Bred for: Scenthound

“Typical French hound, distinguished, giving an impression of being rustic”
— FCI standard no. 316

Coat colour: White-lemon or white and orange on condition that the orange is not too dark going on to red.

Size, standard by standard

• FCI — height 62-70 cm

Full standards: FCI.

• Its FCI standard contains no historical summary, unlike most.
• The Billy is named among its ancestors.
• The orange in the coat must not be dark enough to look red.
• It stands between 62 and 70 cm at the withers.
• It is the least numerous of the three Français hound breeds.