Chien Français Tricolore Information & Dog Breed Facts

The Chein Francais Tricolore belongs to the Cheins Francais family which consists of three breeds of French scenthound. The Chein Francais is the result of crossing a number of older hound breeds in the 19th and early 20th centuries, considered to be among the world’s rarest scenthounds.

We all know that during the Middle Ages, hunting became the most popular and important pastime and the sport of the Western European nobility, but nowhere was it as popular as in France. Eventually, hunting became a highly ritualized and socially significant affair. Hunts were more than just a means to pass the time as they became a tool for the nobility to form social bonds. During the hunt, numerous personal, political, and dynastic ties were established. Moreover, competition developed between the French nobles about who could develop the best hunting hounds, which led to the development of several breeds. However, unfortunately, when the French Revolution started, many French hound breeds went entirely extinct. After the defeat of Napoleon, the French monarchy was briefly restored and interest in hunting with hounds increased again. As time went by, technology had advanced to the point where shipping dogs was considerably cheaper and easier than it had even been. As a result of this, the French nobility was able to import a huge number of British hounds, partly due to their superior characteristics and party due to the scarcity of French hounds. It was during the period from 1915 until 1900 that the three Chein Francais breeds were developed. 

Unfortunately, the true origins of the Chien Francais will likely never be known because early breeders did not keep precise breeding records back then. All that is certain is that the three varieties were created from a combination of living and now-extinct French and English hound breeds, with the possibility of a few breeds of French Braque, may have been used as well. The Chien Francais Tricolore is thought to be the result of crossing the Grand Anglo-Francais Tricolore, Billy, and Poitevin. According to some breeders, the Chien Francais Tricolore was created to produce a hound with less English blood than the Grand Anglo-Francis Tricolore, but still capable of hunting deer and boar. The breed was kept exclusively as a hunting dog, and most early fanciers had little interest in registering them with kennel clubs or entering them in dog shows. As a consequence, the breed remained unrecognized by the international canine community for many decades although they were kept purebred. Moreover, the World Wars had devastating effects on the French hounds. Many dogs were left abandoned as people could no longer afford to keep them, and breeding them stopped for many years. Many breeds did not survive, but the Chien Francais, all three varieties, were among the breeds that survived even the Second World War. 

The Chien Francais Tricolore was lumped with the other two Chein Francias until 1957 when a committee was formed in France to review the various French hound breeds and standards. The committee decided to divide the French hounds into two groups: those with English ancestry and those without. Despite the fact that the Chien Francais Tricolore contains English blood, it was determined that, like the Chien Francais Blanc et Orange and Chien Francais Blanc et Noir, there was not enough English within his ancestry to deem him having a significant amount of English blood. Therefore, the Chien Francais Tricolore was classified as a French hound not having English blood. In the same year, all three breeds were granted formal recognition with the Federation Cynologique Internationale, exposing them to the world outside of France for the first time. As these breeds were the most recently recognized of all French scenthounds, they are sometimes referred to as the Youngest or Newest French Hounds. 

Despite the fact that FCI recognition boosts international interest in most breeds, it hasn’t done the same for the Chien Francais Tricolore. They are almost completely unknown outside of their birthplace. However, in 1996, the United Kennel Club granted full recognition to all three breeds as a member of the Scenthound Group.