The Ariégeois is a worthy representative of the excellent common dogs produced by the French regions and who have contributed so much to the wealth of the national cynophilia.
Yet this is a dog that almost disappeared in the late nineteenth century. In his book Le Chien et ses Races, Pierre Mégnin wrote: "The Ariège breed has fallen into a decadence from which it will not recover. And he added, "Artesians and Porcelains are nearly dead as a pure race. There are probably only Arlesian-Normans and Harriers-Porcelaines, apart from a few rare subjects."
This pessimism was probably founded at the time, but, fortunately, the prediction was not accomplished. And while the Dog of Ariege is still relatively rare today, there are some beautiful subjects, especially in Saint-Girons, in the south of France, in Haute-Garonne and in the Gers.
The Ariégeois is a half-blood, or "dog cut", resulting from crossings between thoroughbred stallions like the Gascon-Saintongeois dog (still called Virelade) or the Bleu de Gascogne on the one hand and the best bitches Lighters of the country on the other hand.
Witness the words of the brothers Castet: "Thus Mr. Aldebert presented at the Dog Show of Paris, in 1890, Ariégeois son of a pure Virelade, Tapageur, and a large Briquette of Ariege, Sapho", and than those of the local great huntsman of the time, Count Elie de Vezins, who was one of the most famous haresmen of his region: "The Dog of Ariege, issued from the dog of the order and the Briquet, has preserved physically the typical characters of the purest factor with less species, less size and more lightness. It measures about 21 inches; distinguished, light as a whole, with a dry, elongated head, the pronounced occipital bone, the thin, wavy ear, tied low, the whip, the hare's paw."
Ariegeois of the first generation could present a certain balance, since each individual inherits 50 of the genetic inheritance of his father and 50 of that of his mother. But in the following generations, before the race was finally fixed, it was natural to appear dogs closer to the Blue type, heavier, and others closer to the Gascon-Saintongeois type, much finer and elegant. While the Blues continued to renew themselves frequently thanks to the activity of the club of the race, the Gascons-Saintongeois were going through a very hollow period since the end of the golden age of the dogs of J. Carayon Latour de Virelade . From where, at the level of the breeding of Ariégeois, a long predominance of massive subjects reminding the Blue of Gascogne, especially among the males, whereas the heavy dog ??is never recommendable for the hare. It is even to eliminate for hunting in difficult terrain, especially in the mountains.
Fortunately, the breed seems today to find its distinction thanks probably to the renewal that the Gascons-Saintongeois have been experiencing for some years now. Dogs are lighter and more elegant. The head is drier and the skull narrower but still too flat for the occipital protuberance to be prominent and prominent. The ears are always very French, but sometimes a little long, resembling those of the Blues and Gascons-Saintongeois, whereas the blood Lighter had shortened them. The tissues are, however, quite dry, and the lower eyelid, less drooping, does not reveal the conjunctiva. The influence of the Blue is still reflected by fairly bright fires on the cheeks and above the eyes, while these marks should be pale.
Finally, the Ariégeois often lacks skeleton, and it would gain perhaps a little retempe, either with the Harrier, or with the Anglo-French Small Vénerie.
A rustic animal particularly well suited to small hunting, the Ariégeois is absolutely not a pet dog. Approaching 60 cm at the withers, it has the size limit to hunt the hare, the ideal height being between 48 and 55 cm. He has always been appreciated for the qualities brought to him by the Lighter: intelligence, liveliness, health, skill, activity in the work, persistence and tenacity to meet the defects.
Generally well gorged, Ariégeois have a voice lower and more serious than other common dogs. They are pretty thin nose, an essential quality on this side of the Channel because, as noted thirty years ago a great dog, Mr. de Kermadec, we do not hunt the hare in France in the same way that in England, with "a lot of dogs, a lot of hares and a lot of horses". And the hare's path, light as that of deer, decreases rapidly as time passes.
More docile than Lighters, the Ariégeois also show more wisdom in the led. They are good for hare, deer, wild boar, but they are not rabbit dogs. Like all the dogs of the South, they are particularly at ease on dry, sandy, rocky ground, and their owners agree that they are closer to the hares of the night than their congeners.
In recent years, the Ariégeois overflowed from his native Midi to spread in the west of France, where he was used to make Anglo-French. Those of Philippe Mitterrand, brother of the President, from crossings between Ariégeois and pure Harriers, are a perfect example. The subjects obtained are distinguished from the Anglo-French of Petite Vénerie by their longer ears and Ariégeois by a significantly improved construction. Very homogeneous, robust and resistant, they take their hare.
The real Ariégeois de Saint-Girons, for their part, are totally French dogs. In particular, they were not the subject of any English blood supply. All the freedoms being possible in breeding of current dogs, one can regret it, because this contribution could only strengthen their framework and make them more robust. |
Skull flat or too pronounced dome.
English (United Kingdom)