Home / Questions / Chien Français Tricolore
A Chien Français Tricolore can be gentle and devoted with its family, provided the home is very active, rural and connected to hunting. Its exercise demands are shaped by grande venerie work, needing 60 to 90 minutes daily, and its voice is a major part of daily life. Living alongside a pack also matters, so single pet life is rarely the intended setup for this hound.
The family record reads: with children, Good with children; temperament, Patient, gentle, determined and led by the nose. Food motivation is total, which helps training and hurts waistlines. Long hikes, scent work and free running in secure areas fill the programme. Food motivation is total, which helps training and hurts waistlines.
When families struggle with a breed, the cause is almost never the dog's character: it is an exercise, grooming or company bill that nobody added up beforehand. This page exists so the adding up happens first.
Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine, per the care notes, working through the short, smooth tricolour coat: minutes a week. With other dogs the record reads: Good with dogs.
The record in one place: 24 to 28 inches at the shoulder, 51 to 72 lb, a lifespan of 10 to 12 years and 60 to 90 minutes of daily exercise. Most questions about this breed become easier once those four numbers are in view.
The growth record behind the breed: a Chien Français Tricolore puppy weighs 8 weeks at about 6 to 9 lb, 9 months at about 35 to 49 lb, 18 months at about 48 to 68 lb, on the way to 51 to 72 lb fully grown at 24 to 28 inches. The breed belongs to the Non-Sporting group and its home ground is France.
Grooming of 3/5 and shedding of 3/5 set the housework terms for any Chien Français Tricolore household. Owners who planned for the whole arc, young dog and old dog alike, are consistently the ones who would choose the Chien Français Tricolore again. Everything behind these answers, from growth tables to the health list, is laid out on the full Chien Français Tricolore breed profile.
Holidays are the annual stress test: kennels, sitters or bringing the dog all work, but they work best decided before the dog arrives, not negotiated around a booked flight.
The predictable one: exercise at set times inside the 60 to 90 minutes, meals on schedule, a quiet corner that is always the dog's. Families find the Chien Français Tricolore slots into rhythm quickly and protests chaos it cannot predict. Families do best when the dog's jobs and rest are both scheduled, not left to whoever is free.
The energy score answers first: at 3/5 with a daily need of 60 to 90 minutes, the Chien Français Tricolore suits families whose weekends already happen outdoors, and frustrates families whose do not. The dog that is included, exercised and allowed to retreat is the dog the ratings describe.
The stranger record is the predictor: Friendly with strangers. A Chien Français Tricolore comfortable with visitors handles grandchildren and school friends with the same manners, provided the dog keeps its retreat and the children keep the house rules.
The Chien Français Tricolore lifespan in full: what the range means, the life stages and the health checks that protect the top end.
The comparison answered from the records: size, temperament, workload and which household each breed suits.
The Blue Lacy with children, rated and explained: family life, supervision, other dogs and visitors.
Last updated: November 4, 2026