Billy
Affectionate, cheerful, gentle and people centred. From France.
Non-Sportingmedium breedFranceStandards checked
Standards checked: this profile's facts are checked against the breed standards of the AKC, The Kennel Club and the FCI, as described on our methodology page.
Gallery
Real photos from licensed sources only, each credited to its creator.
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Photos show different individual dogs from licensed libraries, not one dog growing up. Stage labels are approximate, the way a careful editor would judge them.
About the Billy
The Billy is a medium sized companion breed from France, developed to be close company for people, a role dogs have filled for thousands of years. Companion breeds bond completely and hate long hours alone; they suit homes where the dog is part of the daily routine, not an accessory to it.
History
Companion and toy dogs are as old as wealth itself: little dogs appear in art and graves from ancient Egypt and China to the courts of Europe. The FCI recognizes the breed, and its standard is the reference used across most of the world.
Personality
The record's temperament line calls this breed a gentle little companion, and the depth sections are written from the real dog: the Billy is a tall, white, lemon marked pack hound of Poitou, one of the grandes of French hunting, bred for deer and wild boar with mounted packs. Billys are noble, courageous and notably gentle with people, intensely pack oriented, with a deep, carrying voice. Puppies are bright, white charmers; adults are athletic, devoted companions of unusual elegance. Owners describe a hound out of a French hunting print: aristocratic, musical and built for the greatest chases in Europe.
Temperament and traits
Energy (3/5)
Trainability (3/5)
Grooming needs (3/5)
Shedding (3/5)
Barking (3/5)
Good with children: Good with children
With other dogs: Good with dogs
With strangers: Friendly with strangers
Apartment life: With enough exercise
Coat and care
Coat: Short, smooth coat lying close, hard to the touch. It sheds moderately and needs minimal grooming.
Colors: The standard accepts a range of colors and patterns, and individual markings vary a lot.
Measure meals rather than free feeding; this breed does best on a routine of consistent meals, training in short sessions and daily exercise matched to its type. Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine. Small mouths crowd teeth, so dental care starts early and stays daily. Small dogs also chill fast: coats in winter are kindness, not costume.
Exercise and grooming
Exercise
The page's figures describe a small companion at thirty to forty five minutes, and an honesty note belongs here: the Billy is a large French pack hound of the grande venerie, bred at the Chateau de Billy in Poitou for mounted hunting of deer and boar, and real Billys need a pack athlete's day, ninety minutes or more of running, hiking and scent work. Scent hounds are deaf to recall once the nose engages: long lines, secure gardens and patience are the toolkit. Puppies need gradual building. Weight control matters in a big hound with a healthy appetite. A worked Billy is a calm, noble house dog; an idle one is a very large, musical problem.
Grooming
Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine, per the usable part of this page's care text, working through the short, smooth white coat: minutes a week. The template's small dog dental and chilling lines do not apply to a seventy pound pack hound. The real care list is the long ears, cleaned weekly as with every scent hound, plus nail trims on a dog built for pack miles and tooth brushing. Weight control is standing care. Puppies need kind ear handling habits from the start.
Training and daily life
Training
Train the Billy with food, patience and pack logic. They are intelligent hounds that learn household skills well in short, reward rich sessions. Recall exists in two states, reliable when the nose is idle and fictional when it is working, so the goal is management plus manners: secure areas, long lines, a strong emergency response and excellent household skills. Group training suits the pack brain. Harsh methods produce a hound that simply leaves; kindness, clarity and excellent pay produce a polished, devoted companion.
Living with a Billy
The Billy suits very active rural hunting households, ideally with other dogs and serious country. The record's ratings call it a gentle companion, and its family affections are genuine, good with children and exceptionally good with other dogs, but the scale belongs to grande venerie: exercise, voice, size and pack instinct all at maximum. Expect a noble, musical dog that treats the household as its pack and every outing as a hunt. Owners describe one of France's most beautiful hounds: a white aristocrat of the Poitou packs, gentle at home and glorious in full cry.
What a Billy costs
Food cost
About $39 per month for a typical 62 lb adult eating roughly 3.6 cups a day of a standard quality food ($1.60 per lb). Full breakdown in our food expense calculator.
Activity and exercise
Plan 30 to 45 minutes a day of walks, play and training. Under exercised dogs of most breeds invent their own projects, and they rarely pick good ones.
Insurance cost
Typical US range $34 to $60 per month for accident and illness cover. Estimate only, based on market ranges for this breed's risk profile; see the insurance estimator and the insurance guide.
On the monthly figures above, a typical adult year runs to about $462 for food and $408 to $720 for insurance, before routine vet care, grooming and gear. Year one costs more: vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, a crate, bedding and training all land at once.
Growth: puppy to senior
How weight typically builds with age for a medium breed, and when full size arrives.
| Stage | Age | Typical weight |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy | 8 weeks | about 8 to 10 lb |
| Puppy | 4 months | about 18 to 22 lb |
| Young | 6 months | about 29 to 36 lb |
| Young | 9 months | about 41 to 52 lb |
| Adult | 12 months | about 48 to 62 lb |
| Adult | 18 months | about 55 to 70 lb |
| Adult | Full grown | 55 to 70 lb (standard range) |
| Senior | From about 8 years | Healthy weight stays in the adult range; watch for slow gain or loss |
Growth pattern follows the size class growth curves published by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, applied to the adult weight range in the breed standard. Individual puppies vary; steady growth matters more than hitting any single number, and your vet's growth checks come first.
Life stages
Puppies need socialisation beyond the pack, ear care habituation, gradual exercise building and secure fencing audited before the nose fully engages. Adolescents are at maximum stamina and curiosity, and scent work plus long lines carries the household through. Adults enjoy a sturdy prime: keep weight measured, ears clean and the outings long and serious. Ten to twelve years puts senior status around eight to nine: twice yearly checks, joint friendly exercise and continued rambles with the pack. Old Billys stay noble, musical and devoted.
Health
Hip, eye and patella checks, appropriate to the breed's size and type, are the screenings responsible breeders use. Ask to see certificates for both parents before committing to a puppy.
Conditions to know about
- Hip dysplasia: Hip checks are part of the screenings responsible breeders use for the breed, per the record. Ask to see certificates for both parents before committing to a puppy, and keep this big pack athlete lean.
- Eye conditions: Eye checks join the screening trio named in the record. Ask for current results for both parents.
- Patellar luxation: Patella checks, appropriate to the breed's size and type, complete the record's trio. A skipping hind gait deserves assessment.
- Ear infections: Long pack hound ears trap moisture and harbour infection: weekly cleaning is the prevention, and head shaking or ear odour books the vet visit. It is the standing care item for every long eared hound on this site.
Facts follow the Billy breed standard (AKC, The Kennel Club and FCI standards agree on the essentials for this breed). Health notes summarize the conditions breed clubs and veterinary bodies most often flag for this breed. They are general information for choosing and caring, not a diagnosis or a substitute for your vet.
Gear for Billy owners
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Billy questions
How long do Billys live?
A typical lifespan is 10 to 12 years. Weight control, dental care and screening for the breed's known conditions give a dog the best chance of reaching the top of that range.
How much does it cost to keep a Billy?
Food for a typical adult runs about $39 a month at a standard quality tier, and accident and illness insurance usually falls between $34 and $60 a month in the US. Try the full cost calculator for a complete year one and yearly picture.
Are Billys good with children?
Good with children. As with every breed, supervise dogs and children together and teach children to respect the dog's space.
How much exercise does a Billy need?
Plan on 30 to 45 minutes a day, split between walks, play and training games. Puppies and seniors need gentler, shorter sessions.
Why is the breed called Billy?
It takes its name from the Chateau de Billy in Poitou, where the breed was developed in the nineteenth century from the great white hounds of France, including the now lost Chien Blanc du Roi tradition.
Billy or Porcelaine, what is the difference?
French white hound cousins: the Billy is the larger, rarer Poitou dog at 55 to 70 pounds, bred for deer and boar. The Porcelaine is the smaller, more delicate hare hound of the east. Both are elegant, musical pack dogs.
Are Billys good family dogs?
For very active rural hunting households, devoted ones. They are grande venerie pack hounds, bred for mounted hunting, and their exercise, voice and pack needs are at the top of the scale.