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BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BREED
The beginnings of the
Griffon breed seem to be very vague. There are two theories about their
origins. One claims that it is a very old breed and the other that it was
not known before 1880 and is a mixture of recent breeds.
Those who favour the old
breed theory base their thoughts on the famous picture in the National
Gallery of `The Marriage of Arnolfini and Cenani' painted in 1434 by Jan
van Eyck. A great authority on the breed, the late Sir Howard Handley
Spicer, said that the little dog in this painting was very like the first
importations from Belgium. It has a Griffon-type body, but not the flat
face. I have a bronze of a Griffon by Mene and the head of that is very
much nosier than those of the Griffons of today. However, one must
remember that the word "Grifion" means rough coated so it could have
applied to other breeds also.
Common thought is that the
present day Griffon was evolved by crossing and re-crossing the Pug, the
Toy Pinscher, the Toy King Charles Spaniel and Affenpinschers. Whatever
the theory adhered to it is agreed that the breed originated in Belgium
and by 1880 they were recognizable as the little rough coated ratting dogs
of hackney coachmen in Brussels.
Soon after 1880 a committee
met to draw up a standard and by 1890 Griffon Bruxellois had become the
rage. Queen Astrid of the Belgians made it au-fait to have a Griffon by
breeding them herself and they quickly became favourable at European
courts. And, as so often happens when a breed becomes popular and
fashionable, all sorts of people became interested and worked on improving
the breed. The chief cross was the Pug which gave the large head and eyes,
the cobby body and wide, deep chest. It also gave the black colour and
smooth coats, and hardened the rough coats. Originally no one wanted the
smooth puppies until breeders realized what good qualities they had. They
were then recognized as a separate variety called Petit Brabancons. When
the Toy King Charles Spaniel was used as another cross it passed on the
glorious red colour, the very flat nose, and unfortunately in some cases
the webbed feet. There are those who think that the Irish Terrier and the
Yorkshire Terrier played a part in improving the breed. The size and shape
of the Irish Terrier head worries me, but certainly we get the soft
top-knot of the Yorkie cropping up occasionally.
Aus / NZ CH "RAWEKE"
Hansel
Member website;No:2 EA &
JA CROAD
Toy
Dog Club of Qld.
AUSTRALIA.
Thank you for
viewing our website; Helmut
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Smooth coat Griffon
Aus / NZ CH "RAWEKE" Gretel
About the mid 1890s the
British became interested and imported dogs from Belgium, as did people in
the United States of America. So many Griffons were exported from Belgium
that it caused grave concern there. The 1914-1918 war hit the Belgium
breeders hard and it was lucky that enough stock was in England to keep
the breed going.
At some stage between the
World Wars Belgium breeders decided to make a stand against Griffons with
webbed feet. It was declared a disqualification. This excluded many of the
best dogs, and while the fault was eradicated, by 1939 there were few
Griffons left. However they did not have this lack of foresight on their
own. I attended a seminar in the United Kingdom about 1980 and there were
a number of breeders who wanted webbed feet eliminated, claiming they were
responsible for slipping stifles amongst other things. Thank goodness
there were enough vociferous people to stop them from passing compulsory
rules about this.
World War II stopped all
breeding and when dog shows started again there was only one big kennel
left; that of Mlle Warzee. It was from her strain of dogs that the breed
revived. In England the breed slowly gathered popularity and with amazing
rapidity the type was set. The first Griffon to achieve Best in Show in
the United Kingdom was the great Ch. Skibbereen Victor of Campfield, bred
by Mrs. Scholfield and campaigned to all his wins by Mrs. Street of the
famous Skibbereen Kennels.
Since those early days
the breed has gone from strength to strength while managing to avoid the
wild enthusiasm that some other breeds attract resulting in indiscriminate
breeding for monetary gain. Thankfully Griffons have just maintained their
appeal to those few who really love them and have the breed at heart.
ALL
ENQUIRIES WELCOME;
This is a good
place to select your C.C.C. registered Puppy, They are all Vet checked,
wormed and Vaccinated.
 +(61) 7 55 463881
 raweke@tpg.com.au
EA & JA CROAD
14 Lorikeet Road
Regency Downs, 4341 ,Q.L.D.
AUSTRALIA
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