Blue Picardy Spaniel

Also known as: Bleu Picard

The Blue Picardy Spaniel emerged in late 19th-century northern France, crossing the Picardy Spaniel with English water spaniels that arrived by ship in the Bay of the Somme. The medium-long, wavy coat carries the distinctive blue-mottled pattern that gives the breed its name. Males can weigh up to 25 kilograms, with an agile build suited to working marshy, wet terrain. The breed is rarely seen outside France, and it never gained much traction internationally. Temperament runs calm and gentle, and it settles well into family life provided it gets enough exercise. The coat needs regular brushing to avoid matting. Life expectancy runs 12 to 14 years.

Browse dog food sized right for this breed

Blue Picardy Spaniel: how old in human years?

55–60 cmHeight
20–25 kgWeight
12–14 yrsLife expectancy

Portuguese Pointer

FCI group: Pointing Dogs
FCI section: Section 1.2: Continental Pointing Dogs, Type Spaniel
FCI: 106
Country of origin: France

Energy level

4/5
Trainability

4/5
Family friendly

4/5
Grooming need

3/5

At a glance

Height

Males 55–60 cm

Females 55–60 cm

Weight

Males 20–25 kg

Females not specified

Life expectancy

12–14 yrs

Coat

medium-long, wavy, blue-mottled (medium-length)

Temperament & Family Life

Blue Picardy Spaniel's average temperament and family-life score for this breed is moderate.

Family friendly 4/5
Good with children 4/5
Good with other dogs 3/5
Friendly with strangers 3/5
Intelligence 4/5
Trainability 4/5

Exercise, Energy & Space

Blue Picardy Spaniel's energy and exercise needs are high.

Energy level 4/5
Exercise need 5/5
Apartment friendly 1/5
Prey drive 4/5
Hunting instinct 5/5

Guarding & Alertness

Blue Picardy Spaniel's guarding and alertness traits are low.

Guarding instinct 2/5
Watchfulness 3/5
Barking level 2/5

Grooming & Care

Blue Picardy Spaniel's grooming needs are low.

Shedding 3/5
Drooling 1/5
Grooming need 3/5

Living with the Blue Picardy Spaniel

An October morning, mist over a meadow, and a blue-grey dog quartering through it in wide, unhurried zigzags until it freezes mid-stride with one paw raised. That is what it was bred for in northern France: find the bird, point it, and wait for you. The hunting drive is strong and the need for exercise is high, so a lap round the block will not do. Ideally you give it a good hour of free running in a safe place every day, scent games, a swim, and a long hike at the weekend.

Training it is a pleasure: it is clever, keen to please and quick to work out what you want, especially with short sessions and generous praise. Just remember that the nose sometimes speaks louder than you do, so practise the recall from day one and keep the lead on near woods or fields full of birds until you are sure of it.

At home this is a gentle, people-loving dog that gets on well with children and doesn't make much noise. As a guard it is hopeless; it greets visitors with its tail rather than its voice. A flat is a squeeze for it: it is happiest in a house with a garden and a family that likes being outdoors too. Once it has had its share of the fields, it settles at your feet in the evening and makes you forget how much mud came in with it.

Grooming and coat

The Blue Picardy Spaniel's coat is medium length and wavy, a mix of black and grey hairs that reads as blue-grey from a distance, like a rain cloud over stubble fields. It sheds moderately, but the waves like to knot: behind the ears, in the armpits and on the feathering of the back legs. Two or three times a week, go through it with a comb and a brush right down to the skin, and tease out any small tangle with your fingers before it becomes a big one.

After a walk through fields or a boggy meadow, the coat brings home whatever the dog met on the way: burrs, seeds, small thorns. Run your hand from head to tail, check between the toes and look inside those long, hanging ears, where plant bits love to lodge. A few snips to tidy the hair between the pads and around the ear openings make your job easier, and a bath is only needed when the dog is genuinely dirty.

How to do it:

By age:

Health and possible conditions

We don't have reliable health information specific to this breed, so we don't list conditions here. Keep up regular vet check-ups, and if you are getting a puppy, ask the breeder about the parents' health testing.

This is general information, not veterinary advice. For your own dog's health, tests and treatment, see a vet.

Food for large breeds — cheapest per kg

This list is chosen by the breed's weight (25 kg) rather than the breed itself: shops label food by dog size, so every breed of the same size gets the same list. Prices are updated daily.

≈ 305 g of dry food a day, from €16,70 a month For a neutered, normally active 22,5 kg dog. Calculate for your dog